un dia tipico en la vida de "doctora erins-maria"
4am - 5am: howler monkies. 6 am stumble out of bed and out of my cabina, startling the pack of pecaris (pigs) that camps out by the lab clearing. mild panick ensues, with frantic snuffling and snorting as pigs scatter into the heliconias. i continue across the suspension bridge over rio puerto viejo, dodging the tourists our bird watching, to the comedor for a desayuno consisting of huevos, frijoles y arroz, dos tipos de pan, carne, fruita y cafe. y a veces fried plantians. mmmm. for those of you that have not experienced fried plantains, you have not yet lived life. and i pity you. and we can no longer be friends.
7am meet up with mauricio, who has taken to calling me "doctora erins-maria" and i'm not sure where that "s" came from. heee. "doctora." we arm ourselves with bug repellent, flagging tape, map, water, clippers, bags, cameras and head out for el campo. to collect plants for shade house studies, try to id cyclanths, or to tag individuals for long-term monitoring. or more often, to watch me get stuck in the mud. or get tangled in lianas. in the process, though, we see countless poison dart frogs, spider and howler monkies, a fair number of snakes, bullet ants, tropical birds i still cant identify, and the occasional coati. we make it back in time to curse the spanish identification keys and realize that our asplundia is actually a dicranopygium. and read "fruits partially or completely fused, often circumciselly dehiscent berries, forming a cylindrical or sometimes globulose syncarp." clearly. and THAT is helpful.
11:30 - 1pm: almuerzo. mas frijoles y arroz, ensalada, veggies, some sort of vegetarian stew/casarole/tofu/roasted veggies and pineapple/quesadillas/avacado. fresh passionfruit, or mango, or starfruit juice. and fresh watermellon, pineapple, mango and papaya for dessert. and while i sit, unable to move because i am stuffed like a little sausage and the heat and humidity is at its miday worst, the ticos somehow have the energy for a noon juego de futbol. whew, futbol in the tropics. at noon.
then its back for more time in the field and spanish pronunciation lessons. i still cant say burro or perro. damn those doble erres! and if we're lucky i'll fall off my bike. again. icecream or a swim in the river despues. perhaps some loafing in the rocking chairs or hammock outside the old labs. then a 6pm dinner that rivals lunch. and after all that floundering in the field, you HAVE to get a second helping. back to the hammock after dinner. to read. or partake in wine nite. where pablo busts out a bottle of wine to share with rebecca, frankelin, mamood, or joel and i. and i try and understand and participate in conversation, but usually end up highly confused. or a veces we head over to "la machaca" the bar on the out-skirts of puerto viejo. where karaoke is in full swing and the beers are 500 colones a piece (440 colones = $1).
anyhow, its off to bed. its been a long day in the field, and the mark of a full 4 weeks here! enjoy the pictures! buenas noches amigos.
besos
7am meet up with mauricio, who has taken to calling me "doctora erins-maria" and i'm not sure where that "s" came from. heee. "doctora." we arm ourselves with bug repellent, flagging tape, map, water, clippers, bags, cameras and head out for el campo. to collect plants for shade house studies, try to id cyclanths, or to tag individuals for long-term monitoring. or more often, to watch me get stuck in the mud. or get tangled in lianas. in the process, though, we see countless poison dart frogs, spider and howler monkies, a fair number of snakes, bullet ants, tropical birds i still cant identify, and the occasional coati. we make it back in time to curse the spanish identification keys and realize that our asplundia is actually a dicranopygium. and read "fruits partially or completely fused, often circumciselly dehiscent berries, forming a cylindrical or sometimes globulose syncarp." clearly. and THAT is helpful.
11:30 - 1pm: almuerzo. mas frijoles y arroz, ensalada, veggies, some sort of vegetarian stew/casarole/tofu/roasted veggies and pineapple/quesadillas/avacado. fresh passionfruit, or mango, or starfruit juice. and fresh watermellon, pineapple, mango and papaya for dessert. and while i sit, unable to move because i am stuffed like a little sausage and the heat and humidity is at its miday worst, the ticos somehow have the energy for a noon juego de futbol. whew, futbol in the tropics. at noon.
then its back for more time in the field and spanish pronunciation lessons. i still cant say burro or perro. damn those doble erres! and if we're lucky i'll fall off my bike. again. icecream or a swim in the river despues. perhaps some loafing in the rocking chairs or hammock outside the old labs. then a 6pm dinner that rivals lunch. and after all that floundering in the field, you HAVE to get a second helping. back to the hammock after dinner. to read. or partake in wine nite. where pablo busts out a bottle of wine to share with rebecca, frankelin, mamood, or joel and i. and i try and understand and participate in conversation, but usually end up highly confused. or a veces we head over to "la machaca" the bar on the out-skirts of puerto viejo. where karaoke is in full swing and the beers are 500 colones a piece (440 colones = $1).
anyhow, its off to bed. its been a long day in the field, and the mark of a full 4 weeks here! enjoy the pictures! buenas noches amigos.
besos
posted by erin at 6:03 PM
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