The new guy

Sarah: Well, the countdown has begun. We are less than 3 weeks away from leaving our job here in Costa Rica and returning to the United States. More thoughts on that subject later!

As our time is wrapping up, SNU has hired our replacement. His name is Michael Guillot and he graduated from SNU with a degree in Environmental Studies, and graduated from the University of Houston with a master's degree in Cultural Anthropology. Michael spent 6 weeks down here at QERC back in 2002 and is excited for the opportunity to return to Costa Rica and take the job as the Field Station Manager at QERC.

Michael arrived down here at QERC toward the beginning of August, with the idea that we would spend 5-6 weeks with him, training him on everything we know about QERC and Costa Rica. Whew! It sounds overwhelming to me just to type that. We spent the first couple of weeks at QERC and in San Jose, going over building information, some semester program information, and meeting some people and places in San Jose. We even let Michael go on his own for a day in San Jose, to get him acquainted with downtown - much like we do with the students at the beginning of the semester.

This past week, David took Michael to Nicaragua to show him everything he needs to know about leading a group of students there for 2 weeks. David boiled it down to 5 nights, visiting all of our contacts within the country. For David, it was a chance to help make the connections for people and pass the ball from us to Michael, and also a chance to say some goodbyes to friends we had made. They had a whirlwind week with a night in Managua, a night in the remote village of Candelaria, a night at Rancho Ebenezer (both of those are where we've done previous homestays with students), a night back in Managua for some historical tours and information, and a last night in Granada to finish up like we do with the students.

David with his host family in Candelaria

Michael and David at Laguna Apoyo, Nicaragua

Adele and I decided not to go along for that trip - Adele had just spent a week feeling sick with a cold and working on all her new teeth coming in, and I figured some good rest and relaxation time was needed for her here at home.

While we are sad to be moving on from our job and lives here in Costa Rica, we are excited and confident in Michael's abilities to continue the QERC project.

Danta, danta, don'tcha want a...

Sarah: We have had some interesting experiences lately with the danta (tapir, in English). After the Point Loma group recorded the puma and the jaguar on their cameras, there was a large buzz in the community surrounding the presence of large mammals. In fact, just a week ago, a danta was spotted walking around the gardens at the Savegre Hotel - 2 minutes walking distance from where we are located. So, we put up cameras hoping to catch a view of the danta, and sure enough, it appeared that night.

Here is the camera shot:

Also in regards to dantas, not too long ago there was one hit by a car up on the highway and, sadly, died. However, Los Quetzales National Park, which has its headquarters up on the highway, decided to stuff and mount the danta and display it at their office. Today they brought the finished stuffed product down to the hotel and unveiled it for all to see. It was pretty neat - and Adele was intrigued by it as well!

Arsenio, from the National Park, and Efrain Chacon with the stuffed danta.

Adele wasn't quite sure what to think at first, then decided she loooooved the danta.

9 month girl

Sarah: Adele turns 9 months tomorrow! She is growing and changing and developing so fast that it's hard to keep up with her. She is super chatty, almost always happy, eating a ton, and is really teething, with 3-4 new teeth in and a couple more on the way. With her so busy and active, we have quickly found that QERC is NOT baby-proof. Adele has the gift of being able to find the chemicals in the laboratory, the cleaning supplies, and the tools in the storage room. I spend most of my day chasing her around the building. I have a picture of most of her other new tricks:

Adele is eating so much for meals now and I'm just thrilled! Here is one evening that she got so tired that she fell asleep in the middle of her meal, as David and I were cooking and the music was playing. I'm not so sure if this is a trick, or just a trait she gets after her Uncle Rusty Roth.

Adele loves to play in the most random places, as one of her favorites is any sink she
finds. I just have to stay right near her to make sure she doesn't turn the water on!

Adele can climb the stairs on her own now!

Adele loves to practice walking EVERYWHERE.

Adele can pull herself up on anything, and loves pulling all the
books she can reach off the bookshelf up in the library.

The girl LOVES to be outside - unfortunately with it being the rainy
season, sunny days where the grass is dry are few and far between.

Naturally, everything she finds goes in the mouth - bugs, grass, and dirt. :)

Large cats!!

Sarah: As the mammal research group from Point Loma was finishing up their time here, some exciting last-minute things happened for them. First, they caught a PUMA on camera! And second, they caught a melanistic JAGUAR on camera...in the middle of the day!! Melanistic means that their skin appears black, so the jaguar in fact looks like a black panther. SO COOL. The pictures are from their camera traps, set up in the forest. Check them out.

THE PUMA:

THE JAGUAR: (Click on the picture for better views)

Mammals

Sarah: For about 7 weeks this summer, QERC is hosting a group from Point Loma Nazarene University (CA). Dr. Mike Mooring and his family, and 4 research students, have been here in San Gerardo de Dota searching for mammals (primarily with an interest in large mammals). The research team is down to their final week at QERC and it has been fun to have them around this whole time.

Using a variety of techniques, the team has caught several coyotes and many raccoons on camera, and an ocelot on video. They have also hiked the trails extensively almost every day and have seen various signs of puma! By taking advantage of the local knowledge here, the group has also interviewed prominent community members to get an idea of what mammals have been seen historically.

As this is a pilot study, Mike will evaluate what type of work can be done in the future, and hopefully continue returning with a research team each summer to further the studies done on mammals.

Some pictures of their time here:

Caleb and Jared, hiking in the rain

Dr. Mooring, Caleb, and Bobby setting up a camera trap

Will, in front of the grand oak tree

Some of the group on a community horse ride day

David and Adele and me at a community Bingo

8 months

Sarah: Happy 8 months to my little girl! Here are some things to know about Adele this month:

She waves: It started as a slow-moving turning of the hand, grew in to frantic two-handed waving, and now it's a combination of both. We're not convinced she knows what it means, but it's cute and she definitely does it to get attention or in response to people!

She's crawling: A few factors contributed to this new trick. Carpet in the USA, and cousins who already can crawl and go after toys. All of a sudden, Adele decided she needed to be able to crawl to race her cousins Ash Ford and Benjamin Roth to the toys!

She loves to walk: With assistance, Adele shows off her walking legs by taking giant dinosaur steps all over. To wear her out, we'll take turns walking her all around the building.

She still loves to bounce: Are you getting the idea that this girl likes to be active? She loves to be bounced up and down all day, and giggles and squeals when that turns into being thrown up in the air by Daddy.

She has a new fascination with rocks: Ever since we let her suck on rocks in Colorado while we were hiking around to keep her distracted, she has decided she loves rocks. She loved to try to eat the rocks on the bottom of the lake in Spokane, and now crawls straight to the big rocks that hold our doors open at QERC when we let her loose.

She pulls herself up: Our days of Adele sitting still and playing by herself are over. If she's not going straight to the crawling position, she's pulling herself up into the standing position. We have to watch closely so she doesn't fall over and knock her head on the tile.

She can clap: Somehow along the way, her frantic waving resulted in her hands making contact and now she can (on occasion) clap.

Here are some pictures from the last month:

Vacaciones

Sarah: These past two weeks we spent in the good ol' US of A visiting family for our summer break. Instead of going to Iowa this year, we flew straight to Denver to meet up with my family in Estes Park. The whole gang came - my parents, my younger sisters Katie and Rachel, and my older sister Emily, her husband Greg, her stepson Hunter, and their son Ash. We had a great time all hanging out together, playing with the babies and spending time in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Highlights of the week include (but are not limited to):
~A short beautiful hike in RMNP to Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, and Dream Lake
~Horseback riding in RMNP through Moraine Park
~Ice cream at the Y-Camp
~Church service with large windows showing the beautiful mountains
~A drive up Trail Ridge Road
~Seeing lots of elk and deer
~Watching a coyote
~A beautiful long hike in RMNP past Alberta Falls, to The Loch, and a long (but beautiful) journey back
~Evenings driving around RMNP looking for wildlife
~Cinnamon rolls at Glen Haven
~Whitewater rafting the Poudre River
~The little creatures - chipmunks, pika, marmots
~Time with family!

And some pictures from the first week:

At Bear Lake

An elk up on Trail Ridge Road

Emily and Ash and Adele and me on Trail Ridge Road
Professional family pictures taken at the Y-Camp
Ash and Adele chilling in the grass
The hiking crew at The Loch

The second week we spent with the Hilles, also for their family vacation. We spent the entire week up at a cabin they rent right on a lake near Spokane, Washington. It was a week full of relaxation, naps, being entertained by many kids, and swimming in the lake when the weather and water warmed up a bit. David's parents were there, along with David's sister Jordan, husband Rusty, kids Gracelyn, Gabriel, and Benjamin (and another baby on the way!). David's sister Jenna was able to come over from Montana and hang out with us for our last night.

Highlights from the week include (but are not limited to):
~Fireworks for the 4th of July over the lake
~Cooking hotdogs over the fire pit near the lake (and s'mores)
~The 4th of July boat parade
~Huckleberry smoothies
~David's nature hikes with Gracelyn and Gabriel
~Walking to get ice cream
~Visits from Aunt Karen, Mort and Terry, Aunt Dian and Uncle Laurence
~Watching the sky change colors over the lake in the evenings
~Observing Adele get smothered by 3 cousins who desperately wanted to hold her and play with her every waking moment
~Eating dinners out on the deck in the warm evenings
~Horseshoes and croquet
~Swimming in the lake (or barely getting in for some of us wimps who can't handle cold water)
~Family time!

And some pictures from the second week:

Gracelyn and Adele having a conversation

Adele crawling with Benjamin cheering her on

David throwing Gabriel up in the air

David, Gracelyn, and Gabriel recording what they saw on their nature hike

Hanging out on the raft in the lake

In the (cold) lake

7 months

Sarah: Adele is 7 months today! She is so much fun and we are loving our time with her. Here is a little insight on her personality:

What Adele Likes:
-BOUNCING. Non-stop. (A good arm workout for Mom and Dad!)
-Looking at herself in the mirror
-Drinking out of glasses
-Dancing
-Being tickled by Daddy
-Watching hummingbirds
-Eating grass and dirt
-Animals, especially dogs
-Little kids
-Using her two bottom teeth to bite
-Hanging upside down
-Sleeping with Mom
-Trying to sneak in some taps on the computer keyboard
-Eating her feet
-Stuffed animals, especially those that make sounds
-Finding food that's spilled and rubbing it all over the table
-Splashing in the pool
-Being naked
-Sitting on Mom's lap while being entertained by Daddy

What Adele Doesn't Like:
-Getting dressed
-Sleeping by herself
-Sitting still
-Any pacifier other than her old one that now has a hole in it
-Riding in her car seat for too long
-Getting shots
-Getting flicked when she bites while nursing
-When dogs don't pay attention to her

And some pictures from the last month:

Full circle

Sarah: Now that we are finished with the semester program, we have been working on finishing up other projects. One of those has been painting the building. We did not paint it, but hired some local guys to paint both the inside and outside. The outside went smoothly, and they were actually able to finish that before the semester even ended. We waited to have them start the inside until we had no groups here so we could be free to move all of the furniture out of the room they were painting at the time. The upstairs went easy, and we put everything back together within a matter of a couple days. The downstairs was quite a bit more difficult, as it took us a long time to even stay ahead of the painters by tearing apart a room. Thankfully, Ana was a big help, and she basically took care of our whole apartment for us - taking it apart AND putting it back together. That woman sure likes to organize!

The lab and storage were the most difficult to take apart, and we found quickly that the lab was FULL of stuff in the middle of the room. It reminded us of our first month here at QERC...

When we first arrived to this job almost 4 years ago, most everything was disorganized and a mess, and we took it upon ourselves to go through the lab and storage to try to make some sense of it. It took weeks, but after pulling everything out and going through it all, we found a home for every piece of equipment. We find ourselves finishing up our time similar to the way we started, having come full circle. Here is a picture from 4 years ago, and a picture from a few days ago:










On a separate note, this past weekend brought some more visitors for us. We hosted a group from Pitzer College, and also welcomed back NNU professor Dr. John Cossel. Along with John came his daughter Jessie, and 2 researchers - one of them being a former student of ours, Kyle Luthman. It was great to spend time reconnecting with Kyle, and we we enjoyed having the whole NNU group here for a few days of hanging out.

Hilles in the House

Sarah: This past week we have had the pleasure of hanging out and traveling with David's parents, younger sister Jenna, and her friend Ashley. The Hilles wanted to take advantage of visiting us one last time before we no longer live in Costa Rica, so this time we planned an adventure down on the Osa Peninsula. All pictures on this blog are from the Osa.

Adele warmed up to Nana the first morning, when she dug into a suitcase full of her new 6-9 month clothes and toys. Adele was the excited "kid-in-the-candy-store" and found that she just didn't have enough hands to hold onto everything that she wanted to at the same time! After a morning in the city, we headed out to QERC and enjoyed a couple of rainy days, complete with a hike to the waterfall in some pouring rain.

Though our time at QERC was short at the beginning of the trip, we were eager to get on with the adventure and head down to the tip of the Osa Peninsula. David had found a good deal on renting a house for 4 nights; however, after a long day of driving, ending with some rough and bumpy roads to the middle of nowhere, we were all a little skeptical of what we'd find at our final destination. We were all completely blown away at the sight that awaited us. The house was incredible, sitting on a cliff that overlooked the ocean, decorated with beautiful art, a pool at the edge of the cliff, and an amazing layout with complete open air that felt like we were outside even when we were inside the living room. There were two bedrooms, each with an outdoor shower, lined with beautiful tiles and rockwork and lights for a nice way to cool down in the evening. Jenna and Ashley stayed in the main part of the house, in a loft that overlooked the living room, pool, and ocean.

Our first day there was fairly rainy, but it didn't matter as we woke up to the wonderful sounds of howler monkeys, scarlet macaws, and toucans right outside our windows. We got up to find black-and-green poison dart frogs hopping along our driveway and knew we were in a good place. We spent a lot of the day lounging around, taking turns bouncing Adele (her new favorite way to spend time), and watching the birds and monkeys that would travel in the forests around the house. In the afternoon we went for a walk on the road through the forest, where we saw more monkeys and even a baby coral snake!

For meals, with the exception of the first night, we took advantage of the option of having the local caretaker's wife cook for us, and she made us a feast at every meal. It was good Costa Rican cuisine! The first night we went to the nearby hotel and had a very fancy meal to celebrate Jenna's birthday.

Our second day was nicer weather and we jumped on the chance to walk down the path to the beach. We added a sloth and an agouti to our animal list, and enjoyed some time walking along the beach. Our third day was even nicer weather, and Ashley tried her hand at surfing while David and his mom and Adele and I walked to a small waterfall. We also got lots of pool time in with the hot sunny weather.

Adele did great with the traveling and even got to a point where she was fairly used to her car seat. She still preferred being with me, but if I was able to leave her happy with others, she hardly missed me while I was out of sight. She always woke up happy and enjoyed spending time with Nana and Popa first thing in the mornings.

We headed back to QERC last Saturday and spent one last evening together before Jenna and Ashley traveled into San Jose very early Sunday morning to return to the states. The rest of us had 2 more full days at QERC, where David enlisted the help of his parents to put in some manual labor in the nursery. It was a great way to spend time together and get some more things finished up around QERC. We had to say goodbye to the Hilles on Tuesday morning, but were thankful for such a nice vacation with them!