Naps and Crocodiles

Lunes, 11 de Diciembre, 2017
Las Cruces Biological Station
15:00 
Sometimes my favorite days are the travel days. The days where you don't do anything but stare outside a bus window as the blurry trees whiz by you -- just as fast as you move on from one thought to the next. It’s the chance to sit still, put some music in, and think about where you are, who you are with, and what you are doing.

For me it’s the nostalgic reminder of returning to Costa Rica, a place where I volunteered on a coffee plantation just four years ago. However, instead of working to expand coffee production, I'll be documenting how conservation projects effect rainforest ecosystems where coffee harvesting once existed. The next eleven days will be the blend of my passions – the blend of visual storytelling with climate science. I’m humbled and grateful to be an outsider in this community of amazing scientists. 

As romantic as I make long bus rides send, I fell asleep pretty quickly int it – go figure. But I quickly awoke to Scott hurrying us off the bus to go check out some Scarlet Macaw parrots. These birds are relatively rare to Costa Rica, and it was quite a treat watching them interact high above the canopy.

 Not much later, we got to the infamous crocodile bridge. An immense overpass where more than two dozen crocodiles sit on the banks of the river waiting for people to toss them rotten rats and chickens. I’ve never seen crocodiles in the wild – a surreal scene watching these modern-day dinosaurs.

The remainder of the drive was rather poetic as we made our way up into the mountains – driving curvy roads and passing cars on corners at way too fast of speeds for a big bus. Austin and I talked cameras and bluegrass as we each named our favorite bands in between pictures. We kept our eyes glued to the window for the occasional child on the bike or small-town market – always keeping a finger on the camera shutter. Perhaps the most memorable window photo came as we passed a dump truck driver – providing a wave following our bus driver’s friendly two-part honk.





 

As we approached Las Cruces after a long 8-hour drive, our stomachs growled and directed us towards the dining hall. With spirits high and a delicious meal checked off the list, the energy for the next 10 days couldn’t have been higher. -Brian 15:40