Galapagos

Today was the long boat ride to Isabella. We stopped over on Florenna for lunch and to explore the caves of the first inhabitants of the island. We are now in our quaint hotel in Isabella and we have the choice of octopus or chicken for dinner.  Most have chosen chicken.  Tomorrow is the volcano hike.

Day 8: From Monteverde to Samara Beach

Hello! Today we traveled from the mountains of Monteverde to Samara beach on the Pacific coast. We left very early and ended up having to take a detour due to traffic. It was a bit frustrating, but proved to be a very scenic trip. After we got settled in our hotel and ate lunch, we met up with the directors of CREAR, a non-profit organization that provides education and arts activities for local children. We got to meet some of the children at their after school program. We played a game and made friendship bracelets. We will see them again tomorrow! After playing with the kids, we walked to the beach and swam in the ocean. We all enjoyed watching Jake and Greg pretending to be island castaways. It was a great day! Pura Vida!
-Cate Woodward

STRI Panama - June 17

Clockwise from top left: Students disembark at Barro Colorado Island; the STRI logo in Spanish; A lizard found on the trails; An agouti prances away from our group

Saturday, we took a morning boat out to Barro Colorado Island, a mountain that became an island when the enormous man-made Lake Gatún was formed as a result of the Panama Canal. It is now considered the world's foremost tropical forest research site.  It includes a 50 hectare plot that for many decades has been regularly censused and observed by some of the world's top scientists.

Clockwise from top left: A red-eyed tree frog was sleeping when we first came across it; The frog wakes up; It jumps onto the shoulder of Mitch Kucy '14 shoulder; It jumps onto his camera.

Upon arriving, we split up into four smaller groups to explore some of the island's trails for several hours, with experienced jungle researchers as our guides. Some animal highlights of these treks included red eyed tree frogs (along with their eggs and tadpoles), poison dart frogs, golden orb spiders, a family of howler monkeys, agoutis, hummingbirds, lizards, a huge colony of leaf cutter ants, and the amphibious cecilia.

Clockwise from top left: A red-eyed tree frog showed its leg extension as it climbs up our guide Marcos's arm; It then jumped unbidden onto the head of Maddy Spear '14, as Mrs. Johnson looked on; A poison dart frog on BCI; Two golden orb spiders (the female is the larger one).

Some of the plant life we observed included “beer-belly trees,” “walking trees,” liana vines, heliconias and more. Many of the trees and liana vines were over two hundred years old.

Clockwise from top left: Marcos shows a group a "walking tree," a species that has been known to move its location up to a meter a year in pursuit of sunlight; twisting liana vines; Nature's hummingbird feeder, the heliconia; A group of students observe an enormous tree

We also heard from some of the STRI researchers about the incredible biodiversity of Barro Colorado Island and its key role in the study of tropical forest dynamics.

Clockwise from top left: Croc warning at BCI; A croc; Tommy DiBona '15 and Jordan Davis' '14 talk to Isabel from Colegio Brader; Jessie Wallace '14, Blair Chase '14, Amanda Siviter '14, Hayley Greason '14 and Hlif Olafsdottir '14 enjoy the view from the front of the boat

Clockwise from left: CHC group departs BCI; Madison Land '15, Brooke Castleberry '15, and Carly Rosen '15; Lucy Willis '15, Maddy Spear '14, and Ethan Crawley '14.

After returning from the island, we had the opportunity to meet with Ricardo Moreno, a jaguar researcher who founded the NGO Yaguará to help save the endangered jaguar and other wild cats from extinction. His group educates Panamanian locals to discourage poaching and to compensate farmers whose animals are killed by big cats (to keep them from seeking to wipe out the jaguar population). They also have put GPS tracking collars on many of the jaguar to better understand their behavior and potentially intervene in situations where they may threaten farm animals. Students were very inspired by his story, with some expressing interest in volunteering with his group in the future.

Top: Alex Ghenea '14 is ready to explore;
Middle: Ricardo Moreno shares about his work saving the endangered jaguar;
Bottom: Jessie Wallace '14 and new friend Isabel from Colegio Brader prepare to leave on a jungle hike.

Sunday, we traveled to Portobelo, where we took a tour of the historic center of the city, built by the Spanish as an important stop on colonial trade routes.

Clockwise from top left: Spanish colonial ruins in Portobelo dating to 1752; Hollis Jennings '15 at the old fortress; Portobelo's cathedral; Curtis Kirby '14 and Kevin Cunningham '14 stand watch at the harbor's defensive barrier

After several very full days, students had the chance to relax on the shores of the Caribbean at the beautiful Scuba Panama Center in preparation for a big day of coral-reef snorkeling and jungle ziplining on Monday.

To be continued...
Click photos to view full size!

Clockwise from top left: Collin Smith '14 relaxes in a hammock with matching soda outside a Scuba Panama bungalow; Several caught lionfish, an invasive species whose population Panamanians are trying to reduce; Lucy Willis '15 smiles after successfully splitting a coconut; John Napolitano '14 drinks some coconut milk

Clockwise from top left: Sunset over el Mar Caribe at the Scuba Panama center, Curtis Kirby '14 whips his hair back and forth; Crabs come out of their holes at night and are caught with a camera flash; A very sociable bird; Palm trees by moonlight outside our bungalows

horses and hiking

Good nothing from Broke A Roaring Outfitters! The past couple if days have been wonderful. On Saturday,, we some up in the morning and drove to The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The hike started through a meadow with a view of the surrounding snow covered mountains. it was not before long when we encountered our first obstacle,, a bison grazing on the trail. After we passed him we hiked to Clear Lake, then entered a highly geothermal area. We saw mudpots that were hard yo describe with the sounds, smell, and overall senses. You can watch videos, and read about mudpots, but nothing can truly describe it. As we continued the hike, we came across the canyon with various shades of the rainbow outlining the canyon walls. Uncle Toms trail led us to the bottom of Lower Falls with 309 ft of water crashing down forming a rainbow and ice with the waters spray. Towards the end of the days, we explored Mount Washburn which was a harsh environment without much life but great views . The following day on Sunday, we went on a hike yo Beaver Ponds . We were unable to get to the ponds due to time, but our efforts did have its benefits as we overlooked the Anakonada Mountains. Yesterday afternoon and this morning, we have spent at Broke A Roaring Outfitters riding horses. The first ride, which was the first for many took us through the forest, while the second took us through the meadows. Both rides were relaxing, beautiful, and funny. The laughs are making this trip quite memorable. This afternoon, we will be starting our texting adventure with Flying Pig . The kids are excited, nervous, and ready. One of the reasons why we have this trip us to push students and their belief in themselves. they are getting new confident by the hour, asking thought provoking questions, and are thoughtful in their activities. These trips are a great balance of growing as an individual, education, and fun. They are bonding, playing games, and enjoying each others company.

Galapagos

Happy Father's Day!
Today was another adventure for the students.  After breakfast with our host families, we met our guide Wilson in town to start the day.  We first visited the Interpretation center where students learned about the geologic and biologic evolution of the islands, human influences, and conservation efforts. We then walked to Darwin's cove where we snorkeled with sea lions and turtles for over an hour.  We saw lots of fish and many types of birds along the rocks.  We walked back to town for a nice lunch of fish, rice, salad and fruit. Passion fruit was served too!  We are now back at the host homes resting and plan to meet in town for ice cream at 4.  Tonight dinner with our host families and in the morning we leave San Cristobal and head to Isabella with a stop over at Florenna for lunch.

Day 7: Canopy Tour, Suspended Bridge Walk, and Night Hike

Hello! So far on our trip, every activity has been thrilling. Today's activity was no exception. We started with zip lining and it was so much fun. We had done zip lining before, but on this zip line we were able to go in pairs for a couple of them, which I really enjoyed. My partner was Cate and we zipped over the cloud forest canopy of Monteverde.  One of the zip line runs was 1km in length...nearly 3/4 of a mile! Then after zip lining we got to take a nice nature walk over suspended bridges. After lunch we headed back to the hotel to get ready for a night hike.  Led by our guide, Jorge, we explored the rainforest after dark.  We saw many insects, a raccoon, a wild turkey, a tarantula, a wolf spider, and baby bird called a blue crested mutt mutt in it's nest.  Probably the most exciting part of the night was seeing a sloth with it's baby clinging to a telephone wire on our way home.  This was the closest we've been to a sloth yet and very exciting.  Tomorrow we head to the Pacific coast to a town called Samara.  It will be a long trip, but we are all looking forward to some sun and sand.

-Madison Smith

Feliz Dia de Los Padres de Costa Rica

Happy Father's Day To the worlds best dad! I love you and I miss you and I'm thinking about you today! 

_-cath

Although you probably won't see this because I don't think you know about this blog, happy Father's Day daddy! I love and miss you. Have a wonderful day! 

-------Anna 

Hi Dad! I love you very much. HAPPY FATHERS DAY and have a great day of golf most likely..:)

-Maddie Smith

Hola dad, Happy Fathers Day! I love you and have a wonderful day! Love you and miss you so much! Can't wait to see the best dad on Thursday! 

Love, Carleigh 

Happy Father's Day Diddy! Also happy birthday! Have a great day and I miss you.

Love, Wes

Happy Fathers Day!! Thank you for always being there for me even when it wasn't needed. Go play a round of golf with your friends. I miss you and love you! -----Jake-----

Happy Father's Day Dad. I hope you have a lot of fun in Florida. I love you very very much. Do something fun for your Father's Day while I'm gone. -Gregory Lloyd. 

Happy Father's Day dad!! I miss you so much and I can't wait to see you Thursday! I'm learning so much here and I can't wait to teach you all of it when you go. Tell everyone I said hi and have a wonderful day! 

Love Madison Levine 

Rhi and Ryan, hope you are having a good start to your summer. Today we go for a long zipline and suspended bridge tour. Costa Rica is such a beautiful country. You guys would love all of the plants and wildlife. Hugs, love and kisses. Love Dad.

Happy Father's Day Chuck! Thanks for being dad and "mom" while I'm gone.  Hope Nathan treats you well today. I miss you! Love you! Amanda