Back to civilization!  (ish).  The internet is exceedingly slow so it looks like pictures are off the table for the moment.  Not only does Palo Verde lack proper internet, but also hot water (again); it does however have an abundance of heat, humidity, and mosquitos. This is a good last image, Costa Rica.  The station is absolutely beautiful, however.  It abuts a very large marsh that has been internationally recognized for its importance as a nesting site for aquatic and migratory birds.  And here my last three weeks will be spent.  

Where I last left you, we were heading into Monteverde, with only our backpacks and two weeks worth of things.  Here we had an hour and a half hike in the dark to the station.  And while COLD with frigid water, this was one of our best sites.  It had a perfect view of the Arenal volcano, and on clear nights we could see the lava rolling down its sides.  It was here we removed another (and hopefully my last!) bot fly.  I am now tied with the program record for the most bot flies in one semester, an honor I accept mostly for good story material and of course jungle cred. The hike out was not so favorite, lasting over two hours due to its incline of straight up and the fact we all had to carry our extremely heavy backbacks.  It was like throwing things out of a sinking ship before we left, people deciding that they didn’t really NEED four shirts or a towel.  

After that, we headed for Nicaragua. To summarize this part of the trip: Step 1 – arrive at station.  Step 2 - station burns down.  Step 3 – leave early.

In case that piques your curiosity, originally we get to Nicaragua and I’m thinking its not going to be so bad – sure, the water isn’t potable and we are a 30 minute boat ride even from receiving cell phone service, but the station was really cute and the tables had tablecloths. (Tablecloths!) However, the second night there I wake up at midnight to my professor’s voice, I run outside and imagine my shock to see that the building is on FIRE.  The FIRE is in all caps because it was absolutely huge, the flames a story higher than the roof of the building.  It was over the kitchen and dining hall and hadn’t yet spread to the part of the building that had our rooms.  I run back in the room, wake the roomies, and soon all of us students are running out to a field.  As we are running out, the station’s workers are running toward the fire (my professor also had to wake them).  We are then able to try and save our stuff, so we all run back to the rooms and just start throwing everything into bags.   We run out and sleep on mattresses on the floor of the home of the station’s owner.

Good news is that we all saved all of our things, minus two of my socks.  The fire destroyed the dining hall, kitchen, and one room which I suppose can be seen as somewhat good news since it was eventually brought under control.

Also good news is that we got to return to San Jose and have a free day to recoop, and thus I got to see the James Bond movie and take a hot shower.  And both of those were much waited for.

Now we’re at Palo Verde, with only a faculty led project, an independent project, a plant exam, two finals, and an insect identification left between me and home! 22 days.  I wish you all less eventful adventures than I have been having, miss you!