Say cheese ........................ smile for the camera

     Well it is day three at La Selva (July 24).  We slept in until about 8am and went to do some camera trapping in the rainforest around 9am.  The comment about the small amount of rainfall in the past 2 days has come to haunt me.  It has rained so HARD here since 4 am.  We went in the heavy rain to place the cameras on the trees.  They do camera trappings of the animals in their natural habitat.  These camera have infrared triggers that takes pictures of the different animals so they can collect critical data about their behavior.  They secure the cameras onto the trees in the forest at knee level height.  As the animals are walking by, the camera will snap a photo which is triggered by the animal's movement.  Some animals will ignore the camera like peccaries but others will stare at the camera as if they were saying "cheese" like the monkeys.  The cameras are placed throughout the jungle and stays there for about 2 to 3 weeks before they are collected for data.  At La Selva due to the camera trappings, they were able to find 3 new felines in the area.  They mainly stay at the area close to the end of the swinging bridge but I have not seen them yet.  I am loving this part of the trip so far.  I am more of an animal person instead of a plant person so this is more fun than transecting the plants yesterday.    I am posting several pictures of me setting up the camera traps this morning.  Notice I have NO make up on and my hair does not look the best, but I just dont care now since we are soaking wet.

Placing the cord around the tree that secures the camera.

Placed the camera onto the tree at knee high level.

Securing the camera onto the tree!!!!! Gosh I look like my mom now.

Making sure it is secured

Turning on the camera !

A job well done!!!! Notice my backpack with a water bottle on one side and a coke on the other side.

Is there such thing as climate change???? um.......................................

    Well day 2 of our adventure at La Selva.  I still can not believe that I am actually here in Costa Rica.  I am so lucky to be on such a great team.  All of us get along without any problems.  I expected it to be so rainy that I could not see but shocking it was not.  It did rain off and on.  The most amazing thing was the canopy of the jungle that is like a natural umbrella.  We ate breakfast this morning in the cafeteria.  They had the best tasting cheese LOVED it!!!!!
    We started out our morning with a lecture from Steve Gaines, he is the department head of the University of California Santa Barbara.  He is also a marine biologist and has traveled the world.  His wife was also a biology teacher for over 25 years.  Wonderful couple.  He gave the most amazing lecture on climate change.  I have to admit I was unsure whether or not it existed but after listening to Steve I am more convinced that it is happening.  I know there is an issue whether it exist or not but there are alot of misconceptions mainly with terminology and correct definitions.    Most people confuse climate change with weather.  It is two different things completely.  Weather most likely changes from year to year.  Climate is the long term average of weather pattern.  The first misconception terminology of climate change.  This is the misconception that will influence people the most. I promise I am not thinking political and I am not starting a POLITICAL debate.   I think of Sean Hannity at this point because he is consistently talking about weather during a season when there an is an odd huge snow storm and automatically assumes and tells his audience that climate change does not exist because of the storm.  He thinks he is informed enough to assume it is the weather pattern cycle that continues throughout the years.  For example, we are experiencing the same pattern of storms and drought during the 40's and 50's.  Michele Malkins a news commentator on his show shares his view and blogs often without truly understanding the simple terminology of weather and climate change. 
     Steve informed us that last summer was the hottest summer on record.  He talked about Keeling the first scientist that researched the climate in 1950.   His main interest was in carbon dioxide and how the different environments and biomes. He is the first person to explained the high precision measurements of carbon dioxide in the air. He found that from 1960-2010 there has been a progressive increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This was the first published study of the affects of climate and the level of carbon dioxide.  There is another main misconception regarding climate change.  There is a link to the increase temperature and increased CO2.  The misconception is that the increase in the CO2 cause the increase in temperatures.  Instead the increase temperature will cause the increase in the CO2.  The CO2 will get trapped and will be release due to the increase in the temperature, 

This is Steve giving our lecture on climate change.  Very good teacher and you can understand why he is a dean at Santa Barbara.

Another picture of Steve lecturing on climate change.

    That afternoon we went on a vegetative protocol with our guide Johanna.  It is a long term vegetative survey and seed assessment as a long term reforestation monitoring.  There is a problem with percent the natural CO2 that comes from the plants due to destruction of the rain forest.  So this is an effort to control this problem and continue to have a great diversity of plants for the natural CO2 needed for the plants on earth.

This Robin a teacher at Ocean Springs High School.  I really enjoy working with her on this adventure.  She LOVES plants and was having a great time doing this transect of this area in this dense jungle.  Personally I could have cared less.  I hate plants except for looking at them.

This is Johanna our guide showing us how to make the transects of the plants. She is plotting the X and Y axis for the transects.

I wanted to show you how thick the jungle was where we are doing this.

Robin is in the thick of things helping Johanna measuring the transects.  This is to determine the different varieties of plants in an area.

    

Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games........................................

     Well, we were up at dawn, ate breakfast and loaded the van to La Selva around 830am.  I have never thought about traffic in San Jose but let me tell you, I have NEVER seen this kind of traffic in my life.  Cars and buses for fighting for a lane on the road.  There would be a bus and a car lined up beside each other on a lane that was meant for one vehicle.   Motorcycles were riding between the cars and buses and everyone was honking their horn.  I am not a good driver and I would have a nervous breakdown if I had to drive in this manner.  This makes my driving look like Morgan Freeman in "Driving with Ms Daisy".  I love that movie.  By the way, I am known as a speed demon on the road when I drive and NO ONE wants me to drive.
     Our bus ride to La Selva was about a 2 hour drive from the hotel.  It really did not seem that long because everyone was getting to know each other, talking and laughing.  Part of the town was pretty nice and I got to see the main hospital in San Jose.  It does not look like a nice hospital at all from the outside.  The building looks kinda old and run down but I read they give good health care though. Patients from the smaller hospitals in the surrounding areas, which I wish I could see, are transferred to the hospital when their condition requires more specialized care.  It is similar to the process in north Mississippi and on the coast.  I really wished I could have seen inside the hospital and the type of care patients receive there.  The nurse never leaves me.  Once a nurse always a nurse.  I was amazed though as the longer we roded we saw the poor part of San Jose.  It was sad. The houses were on top of each other on a hill.  It reminded me of Port of Prince in Haiti.  There were little fruit markets and small places to stop for a snack.  By the way, they sell no Mountain Dew, just coke in glass bottles.  It has been forever since I had a coke in a glass bottle and it was so good.  
     We arrived at La Selva around 1030 or 11am.  This place is so different from any place I have ever been.  We are certainly in the jungle.  We got our luggage all 50 lbs of my luggage and walked a mile to our cabin.  Well, they drove our luggage to the cabin but we still walked the mile.  I was just amazed with everything on our first walk to the cabin.  The ground is wet, heavy amount of moss, huge plant leaves, canopy of leaves from the many trees which provided us with plenty of shade during our walk.  We got to our cabin and no surprise, there was no air conditioner only ceiling fans.  Thank goodness I brought a small fan for my bedside.  There is a balcony with 2 chairs so we can sit and look at the rain forest.  After we got settled, we walked a mile to the cafeteria for lunch.  
     After lunch, Kenneth, our guide, talked to us about safety.  He is head of the department for the education of the rain forest.  His knowledge is AMAZING.  He is also a character which makes him a great host.  We went on our first hike and we were SO excited.  He showed us different plants and trees.  He talked about the battle ants, the mother of all ants.  We heard monkeys talking but did not see any at this time.  I enjoyed EVERY minute of it.  Everything I read and try to teach my students about adaptation and survival of the fittest is actually happening in the rain forest. and I get to witness it.  It is too exciting.      We had our supper then we went to an air conditioned classroom room where Morgan talked about the things we will be doing on our trip.  We also met Peggy and her husband Steve who are also experts and love to work with our groups. Morgan and Peggy are our hosts for the trip.  We finally went to our cabin and I was asleep as soon as I laid down.  So far, an amazing day!!!!!!!

I am in front of the van that took us to La Selva.  Notice the guy loading the many 50 lbs bags of luggage on top of the van.

 

Lynn, Robin, Carole and myself on are way to La Selva.  I look so tired from the traveling yesterday.  Well, I was tired!!!!!!

We just arrived at La Selva.  I have no idea what happened to my hair and Lynn's looks like a model for that matter.  

This is Kenneth our guide.  He is giving us our safety presentation.  Speaks very good English

I am on a bridge at our first hike.  Notice the hat, and shirt they gave us.  I am rocking the backpack and rain boots.

This is a battle ant.  It is at least 1 inch long.  They have huge jaws and their bite will sting and hurt for at least 8 hours.  They are also known as predators. 

This is an ant mound of the battle ants.  I think this one is huge and look at the huge holes and tunnels these ants have created.  Amazing!!!!!!!!!

The big day finally arrived. July 21, 2013.

The 4 of us at Gulfport airport about to board our plane to Atlanta.

Well after all the preparation and getting ALL of the supplies together, and the many weeks we were anxiously waiting for this day to arrive, it is finally here.  It just does not seen real.  I have a bruise on my arm were I have pinched myself to make sure it is real.
     The beginning of my morning did not start very well.  First of all, I had a HUGE hangover headache from the cocktails I have not named yet from the night before.  It is the lemonade and whip cream vodka.  It was a GREAT last supper though. Next, the power went out around 730am for about 45 minutes.  I was SO scared it would be off for hours and I am unable to get ready.  I wanted to look great for the airport as if it was going to actually judge my outfit and hair.  Luckily, the power came back on and I was able to look beautiful for the airport and flight.  
     Once we landed in Atlanta, which was a short and smooth flight. The airport is just as busy as the city of Atlanta.  I read it is the busiest airport in the US.  I believe it too.  We went to concord E which is the international flights.  I did not realize how many different cultures and areas the different passengers were from outside the United States.  Fascinating to say the least.  We had a 3 hour layover so we decided to sit down and have a great meal at TGIF.  The best idea ever!!!!!! Had a glass of moscato and a great meal.  Service was also great.  Afterwards we went to our gate and there is a soccer team returning to Costa Rica.  It makes me wonder where they went to play soccer in the US and I thought why so far away.  We boarded the plane but we waited about 90 minutes to take off due to bad weather.  It was not too bad though.  Once we took off, we were introduced to a male flight attendant who was precious and very friendly.  His responsibility was to translate the English speaking rules and service to Spanish.  There were both English and Spanish speaking passengers on the flight.  Because of the 4 hours flight,we watched a dumb movie but also watch Glee afterwards.  I now know why I never thought about watching Glee.  The trip went off without any incidence.  We landed at San Jose, went through customs and checked our suitcase at the airport.  There was a guy working behind an area just laughing at us trying to put our 50lb suitcase through the scanner.  As Lynn said, we look like a bunch of clowns here now.  I laughed so hard.  Once we arrive at the hotel, we settled in for the night and I slept hard with the help of Ativan.  I was in the same spot when I woke up the next morning to go to LaSelva Biological Station.  No movement at all.  It is very unusual for me. 

The very sweet guy who met and greeted us at the hotel.  He carried our luggage to our rooms and you can see my pink striped bag on the bed.  I carried that on the plane instead of a backpack.

  
     

Final days before take off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wonderful group of teachers going to Costa Rica with me. Thank you Lynn Zimmerman for inviting me on this wonderful experience. 
     I have enjoyed my two weeks vacation with my dad in North Carolina and my family in New Albany, which I always love visiting my hometown.  I just got back to Ocean Springs on Tuesday.  I only have a few days to get everything ready for my trip.  Fortunately I already have most of the things I need for the trip.  
     I met with Lynn and the group on Wednesday at St Martin High for preparation for our presentation.  I had just went to the dentist and I felt very weird from the numbing medications.  I usually do not have any problems with Novocaine or Lidocaine (not completely sure which one they use), but that day it made my heart race and more rapid breathing.  Of course I never told the dentist what was going on.  I was ready to leave to meet the group.  Somehow, with the help of my hubby Scott, I managed to get everything done.  Dont know what I would do without him. It was like I was in another zone or felt even spaced out (more so than usual lol)!!!!!!! 
     Well Thursday I had to see my wonderful doctor for my routine monthly meds, while I was there she wrote me additional meds that I will need for my trip.  She gave me medications for nausea, possible parasite infections from the water and Ativan to help me sleep if I need it. Of course I am going to be so tired from going through the tropical rain forest to need the medication.  The excitement is becoming huge now that this trip is actually happening in a few days. 
     Well Saturday my husband Scott made it his personal mission to tease me about me not coming back from the trip.  So................. he decided to give me a LAST SUPPER with our friends Rachael and Frere.  It was a great meal and found a new drink, which I have not named yet.  It is a mixture of lemonade and whipped cream flavored vodka.  Very good drink in fact a little too good.  My other family members called to wish me good luck and wanted to make sure my life insurance policies were up to date and signed.  It kinda felt like I was going off to battle or something!

Part of the presentation we will be doing in Costa Rica.  I am researching  4 endangered species of animals in Costa Rica.  This poster though is the one Robin is doing, endangered species of plants.

Shopping Shopping Shopping!!!! Getting some things for the rain forest.

     Well..... There are several items to purchase regarding the proper wardrobe to wear on the extremely wet floor of the rain forest.  My husband had to sit down a come up with a plan regarding what type of shirts, pants, and socks.  I mean there are different varieties of insects in the jungle of Costa Rica.  There are more types of insects than any other biomes.  Some are not very harmful, causing a little swelling and itching.  There are others that deposit larva under you skin, such as the bot fly.  This fly will attach itself under the skin and deposit the eggs.  From this point the eggs will become larva.  It will stay underneath the skin until the fly is an adult and will breakthrough the skin, fly away.  These bot flies are very prevalent in this area.  The area that the fly deposit the egg will become very red, swollen, and painful.  There is no way you can squeeze the larva out of the skin.  It will have to be lacerated and the larva must be removed with a small clamp.  It is worth knowing that the larva is still alive and moving as it is being extracted.  It is very common they bury themselves deep into the skin and tissue. 
    We went shopping for some dry fit exercise shirts, and dry fit yoga leggings to tuck in under my boots.  I am very lucky because I got most of these clothes on sale since it is summer.  I also got a "see through" netted pullover shirt to help keep the bugs from attacking and biting me.  Lets hope it works.  
     Scott thought it would be a great idea to by a camel backpack for hiking in the jungle.  This backpack has a 2 litter water bag attached to the inside back of the backpack with a hose attached to it.  Actually it is a wonderful idea.  I am so anxious to see the different varies of species and hopefully be able to learn how some of the species came from a common ancestor and how they diverge to become 2 different species.  I must admit that is my weakest area of biology.  I need more information about speciation.in order to explain it to my students. Warning these pictures are pretty gross.

                              This is a typical grown bot fly. 

                                  The larva being removed

                                        An extreme case of bot flies.

                                    A bed of larva.  yuk, gross!

Plane tickets are here!!!!!

     Well on May 30th I get a phone call from Lynn Zimmerman that our travel itinerary has been sent to us through our e-mail.  I quickly looked at my e-mail and I was so thrilled.  Now that our plane tickets have been purchased we are one step closer to going to Costa Rica.  This is our itinerary, we will be leaving Gulfport at 11:50 am and arrive to Atlanta Georgia at 2:15 pm this includes the time change.  Atlanta is an hour ahead of us.  You know all roads to other destinations go through Atlanta Georgia. There is about a four hour layover in Atlanta which is a great thing.  For anyone who has not traveled through the Atlanta airport, any layover less than two hours may result in a missed connecting flight.  If you plane does not leave in time or unable to land exactly on time in Atlanta then mostly likely you may miss your flight.  It has to be one of the busiest airport in the country.  I read on the internet that there is a newly built section or building at the airport for international flights.  It is concord E and F.  You no longer have to check out your bag and recheck in your bag for the international flight.  This will certainly make it easier for us travelers!!!!!  We will board our plane at 5:35 pm to San Jose Costa Rica.  We will arrive at San Jose at 7:30 pm.  I just now realized that it is a four hour flight with the time change which is an hour behind us and two hours behind Atlanta.  I had been thinking it was only a three hour flight.  Luckily, they will be serving brunch on the plane and there is a wine selection on the plane if needed. I have never been on a flight longer than a couple of hours at the most. 
       We are staying at "The Adventure Inn".  It looks like it is a nice hotel with a pool and a hot tub, which I plan on using it that night.  The restaurant in the hotel that looks nice with a nice selection of food and cocktails. I have looked up the menu on line. We will be meeting the other three teams selected to go on this trip. Could not be more excited.  We have to be up and leaving the hotel by 7am.  It takes three hours to get to La Selva in the rain forest.  I will certainly going to need by beauty sleep.  Since I am getting older, I will definitely need all the beauty sleep I can get at this point.  
     So since it will be a long flight to San Jose, I will definitely have to plan for the best and the worst in case that happens. I have bought the cutest beach type bag for the flight.  I will be carrying my new laptop, MP3 player, snacks, and anything else for the flight with me when I board the plane.  I will most likely use the four hours to work on my power points for my biology class.  I got to keep myself busy during the flight.  Also I will need to wear comfortable shoes and dress nice for the flight since I will be representing Moss Point school district.  I got a new pair of white jeans or maybe I will wear my regular skinny jeans and dress it up with a nice shirt. Whatever I wear it will certainly be comfortable though.  

This is the new concord E and F for the international flights in Atlanta.  Looks very cool.

The pool and hot tub at the hotel "Adventure Inn" in San Jose.

One of the rooms in the hotels.  I am not sure which room we are going to stay for the night.  I hope it is this nice and clean.

This is the restaurant Moon Glow in the hotel.  I can not wait to try the food.