Carnival y mas

Two weeks ago (wow it is amazing how fast time flies) was Carnival. The festival began on February 27^th and culminated on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It was fun to go into town and enjoy the festivities. There were water cannons, parades, and diablos (devils) roaming the streets. The diablos are people who dress up in ornate red, black, and white costumes with large masks and dance in the street. I found them slightly frightening because they have whips with which they make loud cracking sounds.

Diablos in the street in town.

This past weekend was our weekend off after having midterms last Thursday and Friday. This basically meant that we didn’t have scheduled activities on Saturday so we could spend a night away from the center. A group of us decided to stay on the neighboring island of Bastimentos for the weekend. On Saturday, two of my friends and I hiked through the forest to the other side of the island to go to Wizard Beach and Red Frog Beach. On our way we summited the highest point on the island (a whopping 330 feet above sea level). The hike, while longer than expected, was very enjoyable. One of the highlights was our encounter with a most pleasantly smelling tree. We saw fruits on it, picked one, opened it, decided it looked like a guava, and ate it. It was delicious and fortunately we all survived our impulsive consumption of wild fruit. At our final destination, Red Frog Beach, there was a fundraiser for the local indigenous community of Bahia Honda so that they can send their children to school. They were selling fresh coconuts, empanadas, and johnny cakes (all of which were scrumptious). I was glad that we were able to go to the event because we had visited the community earlier in the semester and so it was nice to be able to support them in this way.

Maria and Tara trying the “guava” fruit.

Struggling with mud on the hike.

We made it to the beach!

Bonus Photo: My friend Herman who enjoyed being photographed after he joined me in the kitchen.

los loros

It is strange being in a place where my professor has to talk over the red-lored parrots that try to interrupt our class with their loud cackling as they fly by, but it sure makes class more exciting. In addition to classes, these past couple weeks have been filled with field excursions.

For our Tropical Coastal Ecology class we have been going snorkeling about 3 times a week as we learn to identify fish, invertebrates, coral, and algae. Each day and each snorkel site is a little different. Sometimes there is so much color and so many animals in the reef it is hard to keep track of all the species we see. The water can be so clear and when the sun is out the sea bottom glistens with the patterns of surface waves. Some of my favorite things I have seen are moon jellyfish and caribbean reef squids. But sadly the effects of human activity in the area are visible.  Amidst this beauty, there are coral reefs that have been damaged and are dying.

A view of one of the reefs

A cool looking seastar

Our terrestrial field work, led by our Resource Management professor, has been just as enjoyable (if not more in my opinion). These include early morning bird watching hikes, butterfly catching (and release), night hikes, and trips to other islands to observe differences in biodiversity. The night hike was especially exciting for me because there was a chance we would see an armadillo. We didn't, but that was okay because we did see a three-toed sloth climbing up a tree. I am still on the hunt for an armadillo sighting.

My group as we are about to leave for our night hike.

Collecting insects for classification.

Eating yummy cacao fruit while hiking on Isla San Cristobal.

A group picture after one of our hikes.