Seasons Changing

David: It is a treat to observe seasons change. I think that an extremely rewarding exercise is to closely observe the changing seasons in a place where you can closely look at the details around you. Here we are seeing more rain, new flowers, new bugs, and we are missing the migratory birds that have returned once again to northern climates to raise kids.

Seasons have changed in more than air temperature and levels of water in the rain gauge. We lost our students to the end of the semester so the crazy college season is transitioning into a slower paced season of projects and short-term student groups and researchers. Actually, right now we have two professional photographers here who are working on a collection of moth and butterfly photographs. They are trying to take a more artistic approach versus the traditional nature photography close up shot.

There is also a married couple who is beginning to use our facilities here and will continue to be here off and on over the next few years. They are combining their biology and sociology interests to put together a very interesting PhD project. The project is looking at the correlation of forest conservation to quality of life of the people that live in the areas of conservation. They are focusing on the area of Los Santos which is an area that we are a part of.

Besides staying busy with hosting and small projects like landscaping with native plants we were lucky to have a couple of our friends visit us recently. Jason and Jana Grenn found themselves in Costa Rica, all the way from Alaska, for vacation and a visit to the Hilles. We were able to take a few days to join them on the south pacific coast and then brought them here to QERC to enjoy the cloud forest.

It was a blessing to share a few days with the Grenns and we had some highlights along the way. Jason and I rented some boogie boards in Dominical and shredded the nar-nar. The waves were pretty big. We spent more time rolling inside the waves than actually riding them. There was one particular rogue wave that as it crashed over me all I could think about was the wave in “The Perfect Storm.” I was Mark Whalberg and Jason was George Clooney. Jason took the brunt of it and went down with the ship.

We drove the Costenara highway south with them and on the way to Ojochal we stopped at a waterfall to check it out. It ended up being a diamond in the rough. It was a beautiful swimming hole with a picturesque waterfall. But, the kicker was that there was a rope swing. As my grade school campers at Mission Springs taught me to say, it was off the chain. A few local kids were there showing off and Jason and I couldn’t come close to being as acrobatic as they were.

We enjoyed a couple relaxing rainy days at QERC drinking hot chocolate and playing Carcassone. Then, we took them on the indisputable thrill of their vacation and probably our time here in Costa Rica. We rafted the Pacuare River again. Only this time in the rainy season and the river was pumping. Roberto, owner of Tico River Adventures, told me that if the river was any higher they would have canceled the trip, and if the group was anyone but us they also would have canceled. It was serious stuff. Normally the river takes 4 ½ hours to raft. The river was moving so swiftly that we finished it in 2 ½ . That means that the rapids were huge too. It was 110% of your daily recommended adrenaline. Sarah and I are back at QERC, still limping around because our muscles are so sore.