Promises of an early bed time were made yet again, but it just didn't happen. We were fortunate to go without a thunderstorm during the afternoon and the evening, leaving us with a beautiful, clear, star-filled sky. You can see so many more stars down here, plus a few different constellations since we are further south in the northern hemisphere. The lightning from storms in the mountains lit up the sky every few minutes. I enjoyed the star gazing on the patio, while many of the students made a shoulder massage train to ease the aches of shoveling and pushing up on the surfboard.
The morning came too soon, but we had an exciting day planned. We had an early breakfast at 7 because we needed to be at Bahia Adventuras by 8. Rustic Pathways actually helped Bahia Adventuras start up. They gave the guides a loan for their first boat, now they have 3 boats and several employees from the Playa Uvita area. Their guides really do a fantastic job working with our students- they speak English very well, are knowledgeable about the geology and the plants & animals of the area, and they have a great sense of humor for working with high school students. We were split into groups of 10 and 15, given our lifejackets, and we met our guides Cesar and Wayne. The bus took us the short distance to the national park and the boat launch area, right next to the river. Cesar pointed out the termite nests and talked about what they do and also talked about the ibis with us- before we even got on the boat. We took off our sandals at the shoreline and put on our lifejackets, then waded out into the water and hopped on the boat.
We were told beforehand that we had a 98% chance of seeing dolphins today, but we probably wouldn't get to see any whales because humpbacks are typically in the area for migration in July and August. We followed the different seabirds because wherever they were feeding, there are usually dolphins. Our boats followed frigates, brown booby, and pelicans out farther and farther. We started to lose hope when the only thing we found was a dead dolphin floating among the debris. I had a proud teacher moment (and I was a little grossed out) when Alex and Garrett pointed out the visible bones on one of the dolphin's fins and said it was like the homologous structures we discussed in biology class... yeah, we're kind of nerds. But in a good way.
Our boat started to leave the area when the assistant guide on our boat, Jose, pointed out a whale surfacing in the distance. We followed it for a ways, trying to get closer. It turns out that it was a Bryde's whale, which is very uncommon. Cesar has been working with tour boats for 14 years and it is only the 3rd time he has seen one. I asked him if they were endangered and he told us that it is so rare to see, that there isn't enough information to determine where it belongs on the conservation list. Bryde's whale is about 50 feet long and it is a baleen whale, which means it filter feeds for krill and smaller fish by swallowing 500 liters of water several times in order to eat over 1,000 kilos of food a day.
In the middle of our pursuit of the whale, we also found 2 olive ridley sea turtles "having some fun," as Cesar said. Olive ridley turtles are vulnerable species, not threatened, but can still be affected by poaching and pollution. Cesar said that they only mate every 3 years, but when they do, they remain together for 35 hours. They weigh about 50 kilos, but appeared to be only 2 or 3 feet wide. Cesar also said that the female may wait a while to lay eggs- she can delay it based on the environmental conditions.
We continued on our way to the island, passing more seabirds and some puffer fish. Cesar explained the geology of the island and Costa Rica, describing the interaction between the Pacific and Caribbean tectonic plates. Some of the shoreline and islands are actually cliffs from the Caribbean plate being pushed upward, then as you move out into the ocean, the type of rock changes with the Pacific plate. I found it interesting, but I may have been the only one listening... We were hoping to snorkel at the island, but two scuba divers told us that the visibility was poor, so we moved on. The boat took us to a small lagoon on the coastline where we could see two caves eroded into the cliffs by the crashing waves. The trees from the jungle spill right over the edge of the cliffs. During low tide, people can actually walk through the caves.
Another attempt was made to snorkel. The boats took us to the whale tail reef formation. The tide was slowly moving out, so we could see people walking along the whale tail. Visibility still wasn't great, but most of us still grabbed snorkels and decided to give it a try. The water was pretty murky, but we could still see coral, sea urchins, parrot fish, and some smaller fish. I think that we were just happy to be in the water. When we got back on the boat, we had fresh pineapple and watermelon to snack on and hold us over until lunch.
The boat came back to Playa Uvita and by this time it was low tide- the group couldn't believe how much more beach there was than when we left. We said thank you to our guides, rinsed off all the sand, then came back to the hotel for lunch. Many students agreed that today's lunch was the best meal yet, which makes sense, since we have so many Chipotle fans- make your own tacos/burritos. They had seasoned chicken, fresh salsa and guacamole, lettuce, beans, and rice. For dessert we had some type of citrus flan. No need for parents to worry- we are eating well!
At 1:30 we left for more surfing at the beach. At this point in the trip, half the group is fired up for surfing and the other half is so tired that they are content to just swim. And that's what happened today. About 15 students decided to surf this afternoon, but by the time the hour was up, there were only about 8 students still out there. After a break for water and sunscreen, one of the surf instructors, Brian, took Matt, Garrett, and Patrick out further off the coast for more surfing. Everyone else opted to swim for the last part of the afternoon. The waves were a little different today and we were constantly being told to swim closer to shore, closer to this flag or that flag, etc., but we still made the most of it. We watched as the storm clouds started to build up on the shoreline, then gradually grew darker and darker. The surf guides cut our afternoon short at 3:30 so we wouldn't get rained on. As we were coming in, Patrick rode a wave all the way to the shore, looking like a natural.
After a quick stop at the supermarket (Milano and Nature Valley consumption is at an all-time high), we are back at the hotel. There was a little rain, no downpour for as ominous as the clouds looked. The students swam in the pool and are now showered and running around from one patio to another. They are such a fun group.
We'll have dinner at 6 tonight. There is talk of changing the plan for tomorrow just a bit, but Edguardo has to run it all by Mau. Costa Rica plays a World Cup game at 12 tomorrow, so we may try to surf at 8 tomorrow, eat lunch, watch the game with locals, then do our community service project. Tomorrow will be our last night in Uvita- hard to believe!
Short notes:
- Katie, Peter, and Mrs. Wooden had "Gato," a local who's been helping us out at the beach, prep coconuts for them to drink from this afternoon. I'm pretty sure it may have made Katie's day :)
- Rem told the group that I was going to be a nun(???) instead of a teacher. Not sure where he got that from, so now I'm trying to avoid being called "Sister Anderson."
- Victoria is probably the least sunburned here, so we applaud her sunscreen efforts. However, today on the boat it was decided that she is a terrible photographer. Win some, lose some.
- The guides think that Lou should become a tour guide in Costa Rica: guides that speak French are currently in the highest demand here.
- Matt & I have frequent chats about the Browns. His idea of encouragement is to tell me several times a day to "do it for Alex Mack." Slightly embarrassing.
- Anne is the screamer of the group. We can't figure out what is so scary, but she screams. All the time. Screaming and yelling. Morgan is getting close to her level, but we're trying to curb it.
- Ryan is the hairstylist of our team. Not sure she could even tell you how many braids she's done this trip. But everyone goes to her for the perfect French braid.
Still a little sunburned, bruises, but no bug bites! Pura vida :)
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