Too much to explain?

Looking back, I'm not sure I can completely cover everything I should tell you about from the past days. Here's some of what I've got:

Cuerici was a much like a haven, I would say. From the heat, from the internet, from bugs. It's a private reserve that was established by one campesino (Don Carlos) from the area and several (probably wealthy) Ticos from San Jose and other cities. They bought land up in the mountains, combined with the old land of Don Carlos' family. It's now used only for conservation and for education, both of local schoolchildren and college students. Don Carlos also still runs a trout farm there, along with some blackberries, the primary crop of the area. I really liked the montane oak forest around it, and running and hiking the one loop trail. Here's a picture of the sunrise from a spot ten minutes up the road leading to the reserve, looking out towards the Pacific, which is normally visible when not covered in clouds.


I've already seen some great things here at Palo Verde. We've watched howler and white-faced monkeys, huge iguanas, the biggest cockroach I've ever seen, interesting ant acacias, walked out into the wetlands to look at storks and crocodiles, and seen this amazing sunset from a lookout up on a cliff. My pictures were stitched together into this panorama by a program.


For more descriptions and such, check out Hart's blog, who uses better words than I. Tomorrow, we visit sugar cane and rice fields. Also, it is my birthday, the third day in a row that we will have a birthday in the program. Cake every day!