So there is a big traditional day that they celebrate in one of the stations here. It is called the Derby day. It is held at Barro Colorado Island and it's all about racing. Why racing, well there is a big horse race every year in Kentucky which is called the Kentucky Derby so here we pretty much have our own Derby but with big toads! yeah we race big toads and bet and everything.
So to make it even more fun the day is full of activities and of course some good alcohol. The boat picked us up at 8AM here in Gamboa, once we got there we chilled for about an hour and then we had a huuuuge brunch, never ate so much food I believe, hahaha it was like 4 heart attacks on a dish. We played volleyball, jump from the boats into the lake, and so on. At about 4pm everybody went to get ready for the race, girls got "fancy" dresses and hats and guys wore shirts and ties. The race was held at the heliport of the island. There were like 8 frogs in total and it was like 2-3 rounds, I didn't pay much attention to the details of the race, I was just having fun. After the race we had a big party until like 5AM, then at 6.30 we took a boat that brought us back to Gamboa. It was an amazing time!
This blog is about my adventures while doing research. Yeah this is what I do, this is what I love, and hopefully will continue to this until I die...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Magic Gamboa round 2
Well, it's been 10 days since I arrived to Gamboa and things are going good. This year seems to be a lot wetter a lot a lot of rain, which is good because there are more butterflies but it makes the hikes tougher and overall we are always wet!
My roommate is and old friend from college in Colombia, his name is Sergio. He studies bats and we get along pretty good. The other day he went to the field and on the road he had take to come back he found a kitten and brought it to the house. The little thing is pretty darn cute, I have to say, but it's a big responsibility. The good thing is that Sergio seems pretty committed with the cat, so he's been washing him, taking him to the vet, etc. I'm definitively not good at these chores but I'm there to pet him when he comes to me whenever I come back after a long day, hahaha. His name is Lolo.
Since I'm in the field and tired most of the time I go the the lady that cooks lunch for me and for dinner and lunch I have something easy to prepare or get a protein shake and fruits. Also there is so many mango trees everywhere that whenever I want a quick snack I just pick a mango and voila! Sergio also happens to like cooking which is awesome because we have good meals whenever he cooks.
Ok that's it for now, it seems that we make have a little surfing trip with some friends next week, I'll keep you posted!
My roommate is and old friend from college in Colombia, his name is Sergio. He studies bats and we get along pretty good. The other day he went to the field and on the road he had take to come back he found a kitten and brought it to the house. The little thing is pretty darn cute, I have to say, but it's a big responsibility. The good thing is that Sergio seems pretty committed with the cat, so he's been washing him, taking him to the vet, etc. I'm definitively not good at these chores but I'm there to pet him when he comes to me whenever I come back after a long day, hahaha. His name is Lolo.
Since I'm in the field and tired most of the time I go the the lady that cooks lunch for me and for dinner and lunch I have something easy to prepare or get a protein shake and fruits. Also there is so many mango trees everywhere that whenever I want a quick snack I just pick a mango and voila! Sergio also happens to like cooking which is awesome because we have good meals whenever he cooks.
Ok that's it for now, it seems that we make have a little surfing trip with some friends next week, I'll keep you posted!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Back in Panama!
Well the trip from Nicaragua was quite an adventure. When I arrived to the bus station in San José all the people behind the counter had mouth covers, everybody is scared about the swine flu. All what I've been doing is just washing my hands as often as possible and avoiding people who has flu-like symptoms. We left San José at 12 noon and arrived to the border at 6.30 pm. When the immigration officers spotted my nice Pelican case they requested to open it to check it, obviously I had a lot of equipment and the officer said, you know we need to make a list of all these things but the office is now closed since it's Sunday and you don't want to pass the night here at the border ...why don't we help each other... Well yes, the mother F***er blatantly asked for a bribe and what else could I do?? He told me just be discrete please, so I passed him my passport with 5 dollar bill inside and problem solved.
Next day at 3am we arrived to the bus station in Panama city, obviously it was dark, and carrying more than 60 kilos (2 big bags and 2 small bags) in scientific equipment and some clothes at this time is not the best thing. I saw a kid and told him you want to earn a few bucks, well just help me push this bags over the bus stop hoping that I could get a taxi at 3am willing to take me to Gamboa (a one hour trip). Well luck hit me again and a nice pick-up taxi stopped and I negotiated the price and voilà! I arrived to Gamboa and my house mate (an old college fried from Colombia) opened the door and help me with the bags.
The house is nice, big, and my room is big and nice as well, not a lot of decorations but enough space for sure.
Yesterday and today I've been just doing all the paperwork to get going and doing some groceries and hopefully I can start looking for butterflies tonight or tomorrow.
Next day at 3am we arrived to the bus station in Panama city, obviously it was dark, and carrying more than 60 kilos (2 big bags and 2 small bags) in scientific equipment and some clothes at this time is not the best thing. I saw a kid and told him you want to earn a few bucks, well just help me push this bags over the bus stop hoping that I could get a taxi at 3am willing to take me to Gamboa (a one hour trip). Well luck hit me again and a nice pick-up taxi stopped and I negotiated the price and voilà! I arrived to Gamboa and my house mate (an old college fried from Colombia) opened the door and help me with the bags.
The house is nice, big, and my room is big and nice as well, not a lot of decorations but enough space for sure.
Yesterday and today I've been just doing all the paperwork to get going and doing some groceries and hopefully I can start looking for butterflies tonight or tomorrow.
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