Week #4: Life in the jungle, a rafting adventure and more

This is the fourth installment of my weekly journals from Costa Rica. Check out last week’s post here.

9.9. (continued)

This afternoon, a group of five of us went to the Ara Project. The girls and I drove with Victor, who dutifully taxied us up the gigantic hill on top of which the center is located. The Ara Project sits way up in the treetops in order to accommodate the birds, who typically nest in the cavities of aging beach almond trees. We arrived just in time to watch their daily afternoon feeding session, before which the organization's staff gave a really nice presentation about great green macaws, their history within the Caribbean coastal region, and the Ara Project's breeding and release program. The great green macaw is an endangered species and the group is doing really great things in an effort to grow its population in Costa Rica and its surrounding countries.

Fun fact: Great green macaws can live up to 70-80 years in the wild! #mindblown

10.9.

I have arrived in La Ceiba, the nature reserve located a few kilometers down the road from the JRC. Although it's not all that far from the center, I couldn't feel more cut off from everything and everyone, as there is absolutely no signal nor Wi-Fi available here. La Ceiba is managed by an English guy named Paul and his girlfriend, Morgane. The two of them oversee the JRC volunteers who come here each week, and they also live on site.

I have both positive and negative first impressions of La Ceiba. The site itself is gorgeous -- it feels like I'm living inside of The Jungle Book. However, the amenities here are not all that comfortable. Unlike the Jaguar Inn, which is newly built and boasts modern rooms and a fully-equipped kitchen, the house that our group will be staying in is quite old, run down and generally meh. One of the two lights in my room doesn't seem to be working, two of the three showers are a bit wonky and the bathrooms (separate from the rooms) don't all have hand soap in them. I should also mention that my room is sweltering, humid and without a fan. Being the finicky sleeper that I am, I'm quite curious if I will manage to get any sleep tonight.

Looking on the bright side of things, a few of us girls did get to do something fun this afternoon. Together with Paul, we took three animals on "walks" in the nearby creek and forested area. First, we accompanied a grison named Finger on his daily excursion. If you're wondering what a grison is (I was unsure myself upon first hearing the name), it's a member of the wolverine family and looks pretty much like a cross between a badger and an otter. Finger is a fiery little critter who has a pesky habit of nipping at boots (the team is doing their best to eliminate this behavior). He did manage to nick my calf when his playfulness got a bit out of hand, but fortunately, the bite didn't break the skin. After returning Finger to his enclosure, we took our two raccoons, Chapo and Triton, out for their turn. Walking the raccoons was a lot less hands on; they followed us along and we let them do their own thing for the majority of the time.

11.9.

The workday began with some interesting news: both of our raccoons need to get vasectomies! This is due to the fact that raccoon overpopulation is a problem in Costa Rica, so wildlife centers will often vasectomize rescued raccoons before releasing them back into the wild. So, to get things rolling with the procedures, we first needed to drop off Chapo and Triton at the JRC clinic.

I accompanied Paul on the rides to and from the center, during which he and I got into an interesting conversation. Before being posted in La Ceiba, Paul spent five year working a similar role in a wildlife rescue center in Ethiopia. I was all ears as Paul described life in Ethiopia, which in a nutshell, sounds as colorful as it does terrifying. For example, Paul explained that one of the first things he was told about Ethiopian culture is that the majority of people don't have a concept of risk. For example, Paul explained, construction workers stand on wooden scaffolding without helmets, glasses or uniforms. It's also not uncommon to see laborers sitting on top of electricity poles, holding power lines in between their teeth while they work. Paul then described the horrific traffic accidents that he used to witness on nearly a daily basis, the most of which are caused by reckless driving and people/animals walking openly in the streets. Summing things up, Paul said that he enjoyed his experience in Ethiopia, but for the time being, he's fully satisfied in Costa Rica and has no plans to return.

On the way to fill up La Ceiba's truck with gas, we came upon a protest related to a labor strike that's currently taking place across all of Costa Rica. From what I've been able to gather, workers are striking because the Costa Rican government has proposed new laws that would generally decrease their annual earnings and enforce negative tax reform. The strike means that many buses and taxis are not in service, and the majority of shops (including grocery stores and banks) are closed. We encountered the protest directly near the gas station that we needed to access, and although it was completely peaceful, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit nervous about the situation. Curiously enough, the Soviet-era “Worker’s Marseillaise” was being played over a large sound system while the crowd of protesters marched on. After being held up for about 30 minutes, we were finally able to get gas and be on our way.

If I had an easy morning in terms of physical exertion, it was made up for by the fact that this afternoon’s job was absolutely killer: Our group was tasked with clearing a trail in the middle of the jungle. Machetes in hand, we spread out 5 meters apart from one another and hacked away until we had established a clear walkway around and beneath us. This was seriously hard work. Between the 32-degree temperature, high humidity, ankle-deep mud, multiple types of biting and/or stinging insects and the labor-intensive task at hand, each of us was drained of every bit of energy we could muster by the time that we were done. (Just look at us in the below picture, which was taken by Paul.)

I've decided that I'll be cutting my time at La Ceiba short and will return to the JRC tomorrow afternoon. I've enjoyed my time here, but I've already seen what I want to see and am ready to get back into the groove that I had going at the center. The sub-par accommodation here doesn't help things (did I already mention that last night's sleep was a complete failure?). Tomorrow, I'll stick around for the free breakfast -- an awesome perk at La Ceiba -- and will then see how much of the day I'll be here for.

P.S. I’ve gotten more insect bites in the last 24 hours than I have during the entire rest of my time in Costa Rica. Madre mía.

[Later in the evening] Four of us went on a night tour in the jungle with Paul. Night tours are one of the most popular attractions of La Ceiba and the thing that I was most looking forward to during this week. For approximately 90 minutes, Paul led us along a narrow trail that zigzagged its way up and down many hills, a couple ponds and thick jungle everywhere you look. The sky was clear and full of stars, which made for great visibility. On the tour, we saw the following wildlife:

• Four species of snakes: Fer-de-lance, eyelash pit viper, cateye snake and cloudy snail eater
• Nicaraguan slider turtles
• Eels (not sure of the species)
• Frogs and toads, the most of which were either hourglass frogs or red-eyed treefrogs
• Bullet ants!
• Plenty of other creepy crawlies, including several kinds of wolf spider and the tailless whip scorpion (a.k.a. the stuff of nightmares)

Speaking of creepy crawlies, I don’t think I’ll ever think of everyday insects in the same way again after witnessing the mega-bugs of the Caribbean jungle. While in La Ceiba, I’ve started to get used to seeing crickets, spiders, katydids and grasshoppers the size of my palm in most places as I go about my days. For example, I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night last night (classic me) and found that two out of three doors had several massive insects hanging out on them. I simply stepped aside and used the third door; no big deal. I’m pretty sure that I’ll now find most spiders, flies and beetles in Prague to be pretty wimpy.

12.9.

Here I go, changing my mind again. It seems that I’ll be staying in La Ceiba for one more night after all. I’ve been feeling pretty back and forth on the matter, but staying until tomorrow means another free breakfast, accommodation and ride back to the JRC. I wouldn’t mind paying for a taxi back there, but I actually ended up taking a taxi back to La Ceiba from Tasty’s last night already. The group of girls and I headed there together in Victor’s taxi, during which the group insisted that it should be an “early night” for us at Tasty’s. Then, lo and behold, most everyone (other than me) got drunk and lost track of the time. I could really only hold out until around 1 a.m., and then I was left with the choice of a solo taxi ride or waiting for the girls to leave as a group. I went with the first option, which really wasn’t such an awful price in the end. What was scary, though, was the walk through the jungle that I did alone in order to reach our cabin at La Ceiba. Using my phone’s flashlight, I timidly walked through the pitch black night on a path lined with thick shrubs and trees. It’s not an exaggeration that mostly everything is trying to kill you in the jungle, so my 7-minute-long journey back to the house felt more like half an hour.

My last day at La Ceiba has been pretty underwhelming, to be honest. Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of animals here, which means that the work is mainly forest-based and pretty taxing. The weather has also been unusually hot and dry, which has made the work that much more difficult. There have been interesting parts of spending a few days in the jungle, but I’m more than ready to return to the center tomorrow.

13.9.

Reunited and it feels so good! With the JRC, hostel and the beach, that is :-). This morning, Morgane drove Maria, Joana, Ivet and I back to the Jaguar Inn, from where the Spanish girls were soon to be picked up to head toward Puerto Viejo. Their time at the JRC is now over, but they will be traveling around Costa Rica for the next 10 days. It was great meeting and getting to be around their fun and bubbly bunch for the past few weeks.

I was toying with the idea of going into work at the center already this afternoon, but upon arriving at the hostel, I realized that I needed to take care of a few errands first. I got everything done as needed and then went for a nice little trip to the beach. The Caribbean sun gives the best tans, I swear.

I had an awesome time at Tasty’s Trivia tonight. A few of us went out to dinner beforehand -- hello, 2 for 1 piña coladas -- and showed up just before the game began. The bar had a killer playlist going, including songs like “Stacy’s Mom”, “Tipsy” and “Everytime We Touch” (oh yes). The staff also came up with some especially great questions this week. Here are some highlights: What was the highest sold car in 2017? (Answer: Toyota Corolla.) What is the capital city in Europe with the highest elevation? (Answer: Madrid.) I definitely learned some new things today. Oh, and we came in 3rd place again. #winning

14.9.

This has been my first day back at the center after returning from La Ceiba. I wish I could say that it was an exciting day at work, but in reality, it ended up being a long day with a lot of boring elements to it. Not to complain too much, but I felt myself asking others for things to do a handful of times throughout the day, which made things drag quite a bit. However, I did get to hang out with Perla the raccoon again, which was as delightful as ever. It has been raining on and off again today, so Perla and I took shelter in a space next to the white-faced capuchin monkeys’ enclosure. While Perla napped, I watched our two capuchins launching themselves across their enclosure like the crazy monkeys that they are. Such goofballs. The smaller of the two kept riding on the bigger one’s back, which was such a cute sight.

My after-work plans dont consist of much, as I’m preparing for a rafting trip tomorrow! Bright and early in the morning, a group of five of us will be embarking on a journey to Rio Pacaure, a popular rafting destination in Costa Rica. We opted for a tour package that includes a breakfast and lunch buffet, and I’m excited for both the rafting and the food. The trip should be a great one.

15.9.

What. A. Day.

Things got started early -- 5:30 a.m., to be exact -- as I woke up and scrambled in order to be on time for the shuttle that was due to pick up our group just after 6. The pick-up went smoothly, and in no time, we had embarked on the 2-hour journey up to Rio Pacuare.

I often use long bus or train rides to do some thinking and work through certain thoughts that have been swimming around in the corners of my mind. This bus ride was no exception, and it felt great to have some alone time with my thoughts in the midst of a trip that is otherwise mostly group-oriented. The ones that came to the forefront of my mind aren’t necessarily positive or negative; more so, they are practical thoughts. I’ve been having the niggling feeling that the time has come for me to go home, and given that I only have a few days left in Costa Rica, the timing couldn’t be better. It’s similar to the feeling that you have when you find yourself at a party having a great time, but slowly, things start winding down and although you’re still enjoying yourself, you’d rather leave while things are still fun than overstay your welcome. Don’t get me wrong -- I still very much enjoy working at the JRC and continue to feel so blessed to work with such amazing animals. On a social level, though, it seems that the some of the best bits have already come and gone: I’ve had several friends leave, and even a few members of the JRC staff have gone on holiday for the remainder of the time that I’ll be around. All in all, I feel like the situation is one that warrants the saying of “All good things must come to an end”.

On the bus, I also prepared myself mentally for my upcoming trip to San Jose. The drive along the Caribbean coast was the same route that first brought me to the JRC, and it will be the same one that takes me away from it. Although it’s a simplistic concept, I experienced a real feeling of foreshadowing coming on.

Here comes the part of this entry where I actually talk about the rafting trip :-). After arriving at the tour agency’s office, we sat down for an awesome breakfast buffet that consisted of rice and beans (duh), scrambled eggs, yogurt, tropical fruit and toast. And some much-needed coffee, of course. The five of us had full bellies and were ready to get started on the rafting adventure. We climbed into yet another van that drove our group to a location way up in the surrounding mountains, where the rafting was due to begin. During the drive up, our guide walked us through the safety measures, commands and rescue practices that we’d be using during the trip. In case I haven’t mentioned it already, this was my first time white-water rafting. Have I also mentioned that I have a genuine fear of fast-moving bodies of water with rocks in them? Perhaps this is the reason why I felt myself growing increasingly uneasy while listening to our guide explain what to do if we fall overboard and what happens if the raft flips on top of us. By the time we reached the starting point, I had grown completely uncomfortable, and if I’m being totally honest, I was internally freaking out about the prospect of climbing into a raft and carrying on with the trip.

This being said, rafting is an activity that I’ve wanted to try for a long time. I don’t consider myself to be much of an adrenaline junkie, but I do enjoy rigorous physical activity and being surrounded by beautiful nature. So, I did my best to swallow the lump in my throat, secured my life jacket and helmet and hoped for the best. There were six of us in the raft, and I began the trip sitting on the left side of the back row. Our guide was very kind and did a great job of practicing commands with our group before we really got things moving. I remained pretty frightened for the first 30 minutes or so, but as things went on, I gradually felt myself loosening up. We passed a few gorgeous waterfalls, plenty of interesting volcanic rocks and spotted some interesting wildlife along the way (more on that below). The sections of Rio Pacuare that we covered featured class I through IV rapids, which had names like The Washing Machine (class II), Double Drop (class III) and the Upper and Lower Huacas (both class IV).

Generally, I felt fairly comfortable handling the rapids -- although all of us were consistently being drenched by the currents, all of us managed to stay in the raft for the entirety of the trip. The one complication that we faced happened just after lunch, as we headed out for the second half of the day’s journey. Nobody can really say exactly what happened, our raft ended up getting stuck on the side of a large rock in the middle of the river. It appeared that our guide, who was attempting to avoid another rock, might have gotten distracted and didn’t see the bigger rock that, in reality, was a bigger issue. Long story short, each of us had to carefully maneuver ourselves out of the raft, take hold of one of the safety kayaks that accompanied the rafts, and be pulled to a nearby safe spot (still located in the middle of the river). The six of us stood in waist-deep water for about 10 minutes, doing our best to keep our footing while the current ripped and curled around us. Meanwhile, the entire group of guides worked together to free the raft from the current using safety lines and their collective manpower. The whole thing was pretty intense, but after the raft had been successfully freed, we carried on with the rest of the trip with without any other hiccups. We got an amazing view of the active Turrialba Volcano and passed through breathtaking canyons. At two points during the trip, we jumped off the raft into the deepest parts of the river, letting the current take us along for a blissful ride.

Wildlife that I spotted in and around Rio Pacuare:

• Amazon Kingfisher
• Neotropic Cormorant
• Turkey Vulture
• Black Vulture
• Snowy Egret

In the end, each of us had a blast on the rafting trip. Without wanting to seem too cocky, I do have to give myself a small pat on a back for overcoming the fear of rafting that I had been harbouring for years before today’s adventure. The fun didn’t stop when we got off the raft, though -- the ride home from the day’s trip was interesting in its own way. Earlier this week, I wrote about a labor strike that is currently taking place throughout Costa Rica. That strike is still on, and it continues to affect many of the country’s main roads and highways. By the time that we had made it about halfway back to Puerto Viejo, we reached a stretch of highway that was closed due to the strike. Thus, the bus driver opted for Plan B, which was to take an unnamed gravel road that winds its way through a series of villages, fields and valleys before making its way back to the main highway. This was a simultaneously hilarious and annoying decision. Although there were some of the most beautiful, serene scenes to take in during our back road drive, the jolty feeling of the gravel underneath the bus’ poor tires made for an extremely uncomfortable trip. The smell of burning rubber accompanied us through this whole part of of the journey back, which lasted for nearly an hour. With this in mind, the relief once we had again reached the main highway is hard to properly describe. I spent the final portion of the ride gazing out at a beautiful evening sky, banana plantations that stretch as far as the eye can see, and I even spotted a few wild turkeys with their chicks along the way.

My arms and legs are sunburnt and my body is exhausted, but I’m grateful that I got to spend the day on one of the best rafting rivers in the world.