2019 Costa Rica International Research Experience

Day 6 Costa Rica Toucan Today was our final day collecting data for our project. Along the way, Corbin (my mentor) was playing Tupac and this Toucan landed right above our heads in the trees. He was checking us out and looked at us sideways a few times. This was the second time I have seen a toucan but his time was it was super close. I am happy I got a picture of one and the quality turned out really good. Next time I want something cool to show up, I will just play some Tupac. Owl Butterfly? Blue Morpho?? I have no idea what the name of this butterfly is but it was soooo big! Again, Corbin was playing Tupac then this butterfly landed on a tree right next to us. It stayed there and didn't fly away. I was able to get quite a few pictures of it. I have never seen a butterfly this big. I am not sure what the colors were on the other side possibly blue and yellow. Either way, this was an awesome shot! I would say this was a good day out on the field. We finished collectin...

Day 5 Costa Rica Bird Friend Today was a super long day, 10 miles worth of hiking. At first I went out to the field with Mandy and her crew. We hiked the Ridge Trail to get soil samples (for her project). We came to the Ridge trail and Loop Trail intersection. Then K'Lona and I continued up the trail and got another soil sample at the Ridge and Wilson Trail intersection. The trail is uphill majority of the way. After collecting our samples we walked back down to the river. I had to do my data collection along the river by myself, but my friend (pictured above) didn't let me down and led the way to our first research plot. I am glad I was not completely alone because I was slightly scared but this bird made me feel a lot better. He was also interesting to look at and I wish I knew what kind of bird he was. After gathering my data, I headed back up to the lab at the station. Jessica needed help so I volunteered to go out with her to set some animal cameras near the ging...

Day 4 Costa Rica Good Luck Ceremony  This morning we had the honor to receive a blessing and good luck ceremony by the head tribal leader of the Embera tribe of Panama near Columbia. It was a great honor to be able to receive this from someone from such high regard in his tribe and it is an honor that he is here sharing his culture with us. The picture above is of an elder of the Ngobe tribe and tribal leader/chief of the Embera tribe. Today was our first day in the field with our perspective mentors. My mentor is Corbin and he is a Phd student studying Microbiology. Today we hiked down to the Rio Java again and set up our plots for our research. I was happy that we got to have some good luck before this journey because I thought the river would have a lot of snakes. To my surprise, I did not see one snake today! I am again, very thankful to have the group of Indigenous Peoples here with us and their presence has made this experience that much more enjoyable. The elderly man ...

Day 3 Costa Rica  This is me! I figured it was time to introduce myself, since today we spent some time doing this with the Indigenous group from Panama. My name is Paula Aubrey and I come from the village of Turep on the Yurok Reservation. I was raised mainly by my grandmother and grew up on the reservation. I recently graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in Nutrition. I plan to go to graduate school to pursue a masters in Public Health Nutrition. I have a strong interest in traditional foods and sharing that with indigenous peoples. Today was a day filled with A LOT of exercise. I started my day at 4:30 am and worked out before the sunrise. Around 7:30 we began our tour of the property and it was very informational. It was surprising to see so many different plants from around the world all in one place. I took so many pictures!  Photo of Scott, Deb, Ian, Nicole, Aldwin, and Lucas on top of the lookout tower. We hiked down to the Ri...

Day 2 Costa Rica Pit Stop Today we traveled from San Jose to the Las Cruces Biological Station. It was a long and windy drive but it was very enjoyable. We had the opportunity to test out our Spanish at many locations (if we wished). This was the first time that I actually used the small amount of Spanish that I do know. I felt accomplished even though there were times that I didn't know how to explain myself. I succeeded in at least trying to say what I did know or looked up. By the way, Google Translate is a must and it is helpful to download the language in which you are trying to learn or use.  Dinner at the Las Cruces Biological Station I recently finished up my undergrad degree in Nutrition at the University of Idaho. Dinner tonight was by far the best food I have had in a long time. Everything was very fresh and tasted way better than anything you can get in the United States. The salad items were to die for. The beets tasted sweeter than in ...

Day 1 Costa Rica Rose at Hotel Aeropuerto Today was my first full day in Costa Rica. Thus far, this trip has been amazing. I have grown to love this place and all the beauty it has to offer. I have been trying to speak more Spanish, but it is difficult for me to say the words even if I do kind of understand. This experience so far has made me want to learn more Spanish in the future so that I can better communicate with those that speak the language. I feel like this experience would more impactful if I could speak some Spanish rather than just understanding a few words. Regardless, I added the above picture to show how beautiful this place is and all the things it has to offer. This is the first time out of the United States, and it has been amazing so far.  Bobcat Not Bobcat The second picture is of a cat I seen at Hotel Aeropuerto. At first, I thought it was a bob cat or possibly a mountain lion. Then I realized it was just a regular...