Lara's Life: Post-Undergrad: El Pacífico

Cruising on the highway with my friends, top down
And we're all on our way to the beach.
And everyone keeps laughing at the those we are passing...

Thursday through Saturday: we took the group on their biology trip to the Pacific coast.

Sunburn, bug bites, singing on the bus and bundles of fun... minus the 36 hours of not eating due to some strange infirmity that put me writhing in a sleepless state in bed Thursday night and really out of it on Friday... (my stomach's still recuperating!).

Early Thursday morning, we were up and on our way with all our students by 6:30am, singing along to Grouplove and all on our way to the beach. After two to three hours on the road, we arrived at ECMAR, the marine biology station that the Universidad Nacional (UNA) has in Punta Morales. (http://www.una.ac.cr/ecmar/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=1)

We hit the beach for the early morning, slathering on our SPF 50, 55, and 70+ sunscreen for the harsh April sun. The students explored mangroves, hermit crabs, one lost a shoe to the incoming tide, and a couple jellyfish stings later, we were out of the water (how I was not a recipient of such stings, I do not know, since I was shoulder-deep in water between two people who were grazed by the clear tentacles). Regardless, we were back splashing in the waves and enjoying the soft, warm breeze of Costa Rica's summer on a somewhat private Playa Blanca (this was the beach where we took our JanTerm freshmen a few months back; thank goodness the tide was high this time, avoiding the mucky, muddiness of the Nicoya Gulf for the most part).

Snorkeling!

On the beach, safe from jellyfish, but not from crabs, apparently.

Eating lunch at the UNA ECMAR marine biology station,
escaping from the midday sun's harsh rays, but still sweltering in the heat.

Thursday afternoon after the midday heat had past (we try to avoid the sun between noon and 2:00pm at least), and after a good couple games of hearts, people began waking up from their naps and I returned to the beach with a few of the students to enjoy the beach some more, exploring and avenging wrath upon the dead jellyfish carcasses that peppered the beach as the tide went back out. Lindy and some of the students waded out, not much more than chest deep, far out into the muddy bottomed flats of the gulf waters.

Heather took this photo of me prodding the dead jellyfish.
Scientific research of course. We later touched the tops of them.

Then I got sick. My body would not allow me the comfort of feeling better, for I was unable to get whatever it was out of my system, though I tried! So I writhed around, sleepless, hot, and uncomfortable in my bunk for the evening and night, missing out on not only the academic talks for the night, delivered by the director of ECMAR, but also the birthday celebrations for one of our students. Miserable and out-of-it would be understatements in describing my state that night.

ECMAR to Tárcoles.

Friday followed, continuing the frustrating feelings of crumminess, heat exhaustion (probably in part to also energy deprivation from not eating), and tummy pains. We traveled to Tárcoles, a small fishing town, pop. 2,000, where Coope Tárcoles hosted us and taught us of their fishing cooperative (http://coopetarcoles.org/index_en.html). Unfortunately, I was still pretty out of it during the morning talks and introductions to the co-op, otherwise I'm sure I would've enjoyed much more the educational and informational talks we were given about the 27-year-old co-op and its history and activism in promoting responsible fishing, and probably would've at least tried the ceviche.

We went to have lunch in our Tico home stays, though I took the time to pass out in the bedroom, trying to get some sleep in the stifling heat of the 36ºC (96ºF) day. We went back to the co-op that afternoon for a few more talks. After some soda crackers and suero (electrolyte powdered drink mixture), I was feeling much better once we started the tour around the town and fishing co-op: from shore to boats, to processing plant, to the office. We went clamming and an 8-year-old girl named Sofía spent some time with me on the rocks as we enjoyed the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

A worker in the cooperative with pescado loro (parrot fish).
Colors are beautiful, aren't they?

Clamming on the beach's rocks in Tárcoles.

Sofía took this photo of the two of us as we sat on the rocks and chatted that evening.

Then we went back to our respective host families for the night. After some lovely conversation, we turned in early for the night and I finally got a long night's rest!

Saturday morning was fishing day! We put on the SPF UV-blocking lotion (though it apparently didn't do ME much good!) and went out on the waters to toss in some nets and put down our lines. We enjoyed a morning of boating and then swimming at Playa Limoncito. A few hours later, we pulled our nets back in and then went back to have a late lunch with our host families, packed up, and concluded our time in Tárcoles.

Fishing with Isaiah

After swimming at Playa Limoncito

Emily, me, and Bean with our host fam in Tárcoles:
Rosa, Ruben, and one of their three children, Yeksi.

We enjoyed the quickest road trip home of our lives, accompanied by lots of sing-alongs to awesome oldies, rock-paper-scissor battles with adolescent tourists who were another buseta we passed along the road, and epic dance-partying it up on the bus. We also continued the dance party at a random convenience store in Orotinas (while buses, trucks, and cars honked and their occupants stared at us as we had an ice cream dance party outside our buseta along the roadside). What a way to bring in Semana Santa festivities, right?