by Carolina May, College of William and Mary
Photos also by Carolina May, unless otherwise noted.
After arriving in Puerto Jimenez, we spent a restful day exploring the town, drinking lots of smoothies, and running errands (including sending our laundry to be done in a washing machine!) The next day we attended a workshop hosted by FBS (Fondo de Biodiversidad Sostenible) to meet the landowners we will be working with during our finca projects and learn more about payments for ecosystem services in Costa Rica. Although the workshop was in Spanish and was difficult for most of us to fully understand, we enjoyed the experience and are excited to get to know the families we will be working with over the next few weeks.
Singing after-dinner songs by candle light at Piro camp.
The day after our workshop we took the colectivo back to Piro Station, where we first started our semester. Everyone agrees that “Piro is home”, and we spent the week enjoying our camp’s outdoor showers, spacious kitchen platform, and proximity to Osa Conservation’s main research station. We also spent time getting to know many of the Osa Conservation staff members living at the station, and settled into what we like to call the “Piro Vida.” Throughout the week we worked on midterms and research papers, with plenty of hikes and field excursions mixed into the schedule.
On Friday we took a trip back up to Cerro Arbolito to retrieve the camera traps we set last month. While we were disappointed to see that one of our camera traps had been stolen, the other two cameras contained plenty of exciting photos of animals, including a Puma and an Ocelot. We stopped for lunch at the top of the mountain and then returned along a different route that went along an adjacent ridgeline and then back down to our camp.
Ridgeline on the way back from Cerro Arbolito
On Friday evening we walked to Piro beach to watch the sunset over the ocean and saw some fresh Puma tracks along the sand, as well as the remains of a hatched turtle nest. On Sunday we took the colectivo back to “Backwash beach” for the morning and enjoyed swimming and taking hammock naps by the ocean. We also walked to a nearby resort where we bought mango smoothies and got to swim in the pool before returning to camp to work on midterms and papers.
Sunset over the Pacific Ocean
Puma tracks on Piro beach
On Tuesday morning we got to take part in a seed collection with Augustine, one of the Osa Conservation staff members working on reforestation. We collected seeds from the Balsa tree, which produces long seed pods (called “gatos”) filled with light brown fluff and small seeds. Augustine used a slingshot to shoot a weighted cord over a high tree branch, attached his rope, and climbed up the tree using a belay system and a harness. At the top, he harvested seed pods and dropped them to the ground, where we gathered them and extracted the seeds from the fluff. The harvested seeds will be planted in reforestation projects on the Osa peninsula. Overall, sitting on the beach pulling tufts of fluff from seed pods made for a pretty relaxing morning, and we found the whole seed collection process to be very fascinating work.
Augustine climbs up a Balsa tree to harvest seed pods
Brenna, Katie, Esther, and Max harvest seeds from Balsa seed pods
On Tuesday evening we set out for a night walk led by Osa Conservation’s new science director, Andy. Andy showed us how to carefully catch and handle frogs and what features were most useful to take look at when identifying herps. Over the course of the walk we saw a tarantula, many frogs, a few small snakes, lots of spiders, a nightjar, and several lizards. We also learned surveying skills that will come in handy as we start doing herp surveys while working on the finca projects.
Lizard found on the trails near Piro Station during our night walk. Photo by Katie Goodwin
Esther holds a frog found along the Piro River. Photo by Katie Goodwin
On Wednesday morning we completed our final day of otter surveys on the Cayunda river, finished writing our Conservation Biology papers, and began packing up camp. With midterms behind us, we’re headed to the Corcovado National Park to see enjoy a break from classes and to explore one of Costa Rica’s wildest places!
(Round River’s program in Costa Rica is made possible by our partnership with Osa Conservation.)