CostaRica

We have arrived in Costa Rica!

Friday was a day for travel - to the airport, two planes, and a small bus to the hotel. We are in the city of San Jose, and the streets we traveled on gave us the impression of being on a very busy strip of Jericho Turnpike with a few differences. First is the terrain - it is very hilly so you are always going up and then down one hill after another. At home on our flat sand bar of Long Island (yes we certainly have hills too) you cannot really see what is behind the stores on the road you are traveling. Think about it: You can see across your street to your neighbor's house, and maybe their yard, but probably not to the street behind them! Here the hills make all the difference. On either side of the road there is a store, a factory, a car dealership and then the hills start sloping up so that you can see rows of small closely packed houses in many colors. Your eye can follow the colors up for a distance and then the colors stop as the hills become foothills and true mountains. This is because San Jose is in a valley. It is wonderful to be so close the mountains all the time.

Saturday: Today we are heading to the Arenal Volcano. It is one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world. There are actually six active volcanoes in Costa Rica, but this is the one we will see! Everywhere in Costa Rica is a reminder of volcanic activity and the power of the Earth to change and reshape itself. Central America is young - only 15 - 25 million years old. It is here because two very small plates (as in the plates that make up the crust of our Earth and that slide into and away from each other) are converging here: the Cocos and the Caribean Plates. The Cocos Plate is actually the fastes moving plate on the Earth - it is moving at 8.6 cm per year!

[|Find out more about Plate Tectonics here]!

Sunday: A long bus ride brought us to the northern border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. There we spent the day on a big slow moving boat which took us up the Rio Frio as it winds its way through the Cano Negro Wildlife Preserve. From the boat we spotted many different species of aquatic birds, American Cayman, howler monkeys and white faced cappuchin monkeys as well. At one point there was a pungent odor that wafted toward us - we were ready to spot a skunk on the river bank - but it turned out to be a flower in bloom that is highly prized by perfume makers such as Chanel No. 5!


 * [[image:basilisk width="130" height="87"]] || [[image:whitefaced.jpg width="138" height="115"]] ||  ||

Monday Today we traveled from Arenal to Monteverde. There is no road on Long Island as bumpy as the road we took through the mountains here! Looking through the window of our van, every view is stunning - you can see green hills undulating and the grass changes shade as you watch from teh clouds which are speeding by! Much of this land was scrub brush and forest before it was cleared for farming. Coffee grows on the lower elevation hillsides and above that, there are dairy farms. The farmers produce milk which is sent to the Cheese Factory in Monteverde every morning. Some farmers use cars or trucks to get their milk canisters to the factory but still more use carts or pack horses. media type="youtube" key="MBDh9-nKTAg" height="205" width="253"

Up Early or you will miss it! This morning we went with two naturalists into the Monteverde Cloud Forest. There was not enough time to see everything, since we were surrounded by primary forest with an incredible diversity of flowering plants, trees and especially birds. Although cloud forests are a very small portion of the ecosystems of the world, they are one of the most endangered. They are affected by human activities (especially those that cause air pollution) and the global changes occurring in our climate. Scientists believe that by the time you are in college, these places and the plants and animals in them, might be all but extinct. media type="youtube" key="XqXmoJSO7a4" height="203" width="250"
 * Tuesday**

Carerra National Preserve We are close to the Pacific Ocean now, on the west side of the continental divide. Today we hiked along a logging road and into a wildlife preserve. It was impossible to keep up with all of the animals we saw. White-faced Cappuchin monkeys crisscrossed the vines above our heads and large lizards were everywhere. We also spotted a toucan, a laughing falcon and many other birds as we walked. At one point, the preserve is bordered by the Tarcoles River, known for its crocodiles and aquatic bird populations. We watched from a grove of trees, a natural bird blind, hoping to see a crocodile have lunch. No luck today, maybe he had a big breakfast!
 * Wednesday**
 * [[image:P1011977.JPG width="248" height="189" caption="three toed sloth"]] || [[image:PC311897.JPG width="249" height="190" caption="Crocodile in the Water"]] || [[image:PC311886.JPG width="245" height="186" caption="King Fisher"]] ||

Manuel Antonio, a Sub-Tropical Humid Forest I cannot believe that I am looking at the Pacific Ocean. The volcanic formations just off the beach are beautiful. Once upon a time, this entire area was just a series of small island outcroppings, but thousands of years of sedimentation, a process by which sand and soil builds up, has connected most of the islands and formed them into a narrow peninsula. This has been a great place to see different types of lizards, frogs and spiders. We watched a golden orb spider making a nest close to the forest floor. One thing I already miss from our days in the mountains is the cool weather. Here it is hot and sticky, and even the Pacific Ocean is almost 80 degrees. Friday & Saturday San Gerado de Dota (known as the Valley of the Quetzals) We are high in the mountains again. Well actually we are 7,000 feet above sea level in a narrow valley in the Central Mountain region of Costa Rica. This valley is known for its trout fishing, farming, and as a bird watcher's paradise - it is a sure spot to see Quetzals. These are incredibly colorful birds. Imagine a coloring book outline and you have all the crayons! I could stay here forever, no doubt about it. The weather is chilly in the morning and at night - we actually had blankets and propane heaters! - and just warm enough for t-shirts during the day. There is no place here that I could not curl up with a book, spend time watching and listening to the forest, or quietly take thousands of pictures of everything. Clouds are constantly rolling through, producing mist and fog. Mosses grow everywhere in these conditions, and are seen all along the limbs of the apple trees in their orchards. Even when the trees are leaved and full of fruit, the mosses will remain. Now, without leaves, the trees look like they have dressed up for Halloween, it is eerie but beautiful.
 * Thursday**
 * [[image:P1012020.JPG width="204" height="154" caption="volcanic outcropping"]] || [[image:golden_orb.jpg width="186" height="161" caption="Golden Orb Spider"]] ||  ||
 * [[image:IMG_4570.JPG width="225" height="170"]] || [[image:quetzel.jpg]] || [[image:P1022055.JPG width="357" height="269"]] ||

Prologue: I'm home now and back to school. This wikispace will stay up for the remainder of the school year so that you can view it and use the links at anytime. I will also monitor the discussion page or you can email me as always cmeirs@hhh.k12.ny.us

Remember to travel whenever you can, but travel lightly across this Earth we share, Best wishes for 2009! Mrs. Meirs