Since I didn't have internet access regularly in Costa Rica, I let the blog lapse. And of course, writing a blog in retrospect is a totally different ballgame. So, I'm going to try to blog the trip in chapters, or stories, rather than chronologically. I might as well start with one of the many ridiculously strange situations I found myself in...
I love to look at things in a context that goes something like..."where was I a month ago?" and, wherever I was, "would I ever have guessed I'd be here, and in this current situation?"
For example, after getting back from India two years ago, I couldn't help but think, "One month ago today, I was in a temple in India, surrounded by my Tibetan friends, looking at the Dalai Lama...today, I am in a demountable classroom in Homewood, surrounded by my 3-year old "friends", looking at a boy's ass while he is trying to poop in the urinal." Oh how the mighty have fallen.
It's amazing how your life can seem so different from one month to the next, and the bizarre situations you might find yourself in.
Even when I left for Costa Rica, I honestly never imagined that I would be laying next to my mom/mum (I'm having an identity crisis) in a ditch on the side of an airport runway - hiding, of course, from the poacher arsonists that were lighting our canoes on fire. I guess I should have known.
It all started with a turtle nest...
After many days of finding no eggs, nests, or turtles on the beach, our team had found a nest on the beach and relocated it to safety in the hatchery. It was the first nest to be relocated, and quite an exciting beginning to the turtle-saving season at the Corcovado Turtle Project. However, the next night, poachers broke into the hatchery, found the nest, and took the eggs. Likely, they would sell them for people to eat - or, if they were particularly randy poachers, keep them to eat themselves (turtle eggs are thought by some to be aphrodisiacs).
Of course, as we set out the following night (to patrol for turtles - and by default, poachers) I was a bit on edge. Afterall, my head lamp was not likely to be a match for any of the machetes carried around by the locals. I should add that generally, the poachers - at least at our beach - are not typically a problem as far as being any danger is concerned (well, except if you're a baby turtle, I suppose), but nonetheless I try to steer clear of people who have both machetes and different opinions than me.
So, Mum and I set out at dark to meet the rest of the team down at the beach, equipped with our black clothing and head torches. Now when I say dark - I mean DARK. Like, no moon, no lights, no nothing. On a cloudy night by the beach, you can't even see your hand in front of your face. So, we left our little pink house, and walked the mile (?) to the airport runway. We picked up speed as we passed the airport/house with the dog that chases people, but made it to the runway sans rabies. Now, in order to get the the beach, you need to cross a runway. Yes, a real runway. Like the kind that planes land on daily. So, we looked both ways and started walking down the runway.
We were really early to meet the team, and as we got closer to the end, we saw something off in the distance. Naturally, we kept walking toward it - and we realized it was smoke. We got closer and closer until we realized that the smoke, and also flames, were coming from exactly where our canoes were parked (do you park a canoe?). Now I should explain that this was not a forest-fire looking smoke (as if I'd know), but rather, looked to me like an intentionally set fire coming from right about the proximity of our canoes. And honestly, tensions were high after the whole hatchery/stolen nest debacle, and who knows what people are capable of?
So, at this point, Mom and I looked at each other and then I did the next logical thing - ran to the side of the runway and sat in the ditch. Not wanting to be left alone in the middle of the runway to die (either by arson, machete, or being hit by a landing plane), Mom followed me into the ditch, where I promptly told her to be very quiet. She obeyed willingly for about a minute - and then turned to me: "Um, why are we sitting in a ditch?" Since I clearly didn't have a good answer for this, I just started at her blankly.
As I'm writing this in retrospect, I feel like the noble thing would have been to go to the canoes and attempt to put out the fire. But really, they were sitting in water already - what more could I have done, and the bottom line is - who knew who was down there?! We were really early for patrol, so I knew it wasn't the rest of the team, and that no one would have expected us to be there so early - so what were two machete-less ladies going to do in a run-in - spit on the canoe and blind them with our torches?
So anyhow, being the cowards we are, we were sitting in this ditch hiding from an arsonist we didn't know were there and a canoe fire we hadn't actually seen. Just as Mum was losing patience with me, we saw this dark shadow appear out of nowhere clomping along in galoshes. Next thing you know we were both laying flat in the ditch shushing eachother.
We sat in this ditch for another five minutes letting our heart rates normalize, then all of a sudden it occured to us how ridiculous we were being. I mean seriously - I was embarrassed for myself (still am, honestly). So we relaxed a little, sat up in our ditch and started chatting while we waited for the others. We started remembering all the snakes that live in the area and began to consider emerging from our ditch. Then, all of a sudden the fire goes out and people start materializing out of the dark toward us.
And, once again, we're laying flat down in the ditch - silent as can be - as the people pass by.
"Do you think they saw us?"
"No way - who would think to look in a freaking ditch?!"
"I dunno - maybe they heard us?"
"Wouldn't matter - can't see us anyway."
"Shhhhh....did you hear that?!"
"Hear what?!"
"It sounded like a snake!"
And as quick as we were down - we were up.
So, now that we were standing up anyway, and it seemed that all the arsonists had left, we channeled our inner Horatio Caines and went to investigate. We walked down the runway to the boats - and sure enough, there had been a fire almost exactly where we thought. Except, instead of being actually in/on the canoes - it was on the grass above them, and there were teenagers making out in the bushes.
So essentially, we traveled all the way to Costa Rica to find out that kids will be kids, and while teenagers may do some crazy things - it's probably not necessary to spend half an hour in a ditch over it.
And, after a good laugh, we promised never to speak of it again...
I love to look at things in a context that goes something like..."where was I a month ago?" and, wherever I was, "would I ever have guessed I'd be here, and in this current situation?"
For example, after getting back from India two years ago, I couldn't help but think, "One month ago today, I was in a temple in India, surrounded by my Tibetan friends, looking at the Dalai Lama...today, I am in a demountable classroom in Homewood, surrounded by my 3-year old "friends", looking at a boy's ass while he is trying to poop in the urinal." Oh how the mighty have fallen.
It's amazing how your life can seem so different from one month to the next, and the bizarre situations you might find yourself in.
Even when I left for Costa Rica, I honestly never imagined that I would be laying next to my mom/mum (I'm having an identity crisis) in a ditch on the side of an airport runway - hiding, of course, from the poacher arsonists that were lighting our canoes on fire. I guess I should have known.
It all started with a turtle nest...
After many days of finding no eggs, nests, or turtles on the beach, our team had found a nest on the beach and relocated it to safety in the hatchery. It was the first nest to be relocated, and quite an exciting beginning to the turtle-saving season at the Corcovado Turtle Project. However, the next night, poachers broke into the hatchery, found the nest, and took the eggs. Likely, they would sell them for people to eat - or, if they were particularly randy poachers, keep them to eat themselves (turtle eggs are thought by some to be aphrodisiacs).
Of course, as we set out the following night (to patrol for turtles - and by default, poachers) I was a bit on edge. Afterall, my head lamp was not likely to be a match for any of the machetes carried around by the locals. I should add that generally, the poachers - at least at our beach - are not typically a problem as far as being any danger is concerned (well, except if you're a baby turtle, I suppose), but nonetheless I try to steer clear of people who have both machetes and different opinions than me.
So, Mum and I set out at dark to meet the rest of the team down at the beach, equipped with our black clothing and head torches. Now when I say dark - I mean DARK. Like, no moon, no lights, no nothing. On a cloudy night by the beach, you can't even see your hand in front of your face. So, we left our little pink house, and walked the mile (?) to the airport runway. We picked up speed as we passed the airport/house with the dog that chases people, but made it to the runway sans rabies. Now, in order to get the the beach, you need to cross a runway. Yes, a real runway. Like the kind that planes land on daily. So, we looked both ways and started walking down the runway.
We were really early to meet the team, and as we got closer to the end, we saw something off in the distance. Naturally, we kept walking toward it - and we realized it was smoke. We got closer and closer until we realized that the smoke, and also flames, were coming from exactly where our canoes were parked (do you park a canoe?). Now I should explain that this was not a forest-fire looking smoke (as if I'd know), but rather, looked to me like an intentionally set fire coming from right about the proximity of our canoes. And honestly, tensions were high after the whole hatchery/stolen nest debacle, and who knows what people are capable of?
So, at this point, Mom and I looked at each other and then I did the next logical thing - ran to the side of the runway and sat in the ditch. Not wanting to be left alone in the middle of the runway to die (either by arson, machete, or being hit by a landing plane), Mom followed me into the ditch, where I promptly told her to be very quiet. She obeyed willingly for about a minute - and then turned to me: "Um, why are we sitting in a ditch?" Since I clearly didn't have a good answer for this, I just started at her blankly.
As I'm writing this in retrospect, I feel like the noble thing would have been to go to the canoes and attempt to put out the fire. But really, they were sitting in water already - what more could I have done, and the bottom line is - who knew who was down there?! We were really early for patrol, so I knew it wasn't the rest of the team, and that no one would have expected us to be there so early - so what were two machete-less ladies going to do in a run-in - spit on the canoe and blind them with our torches?
So anyhow, being the cowards we are, we were sitting in this ditch hiding from an arsonist we didn't know were there and a canoe fire we hadn't actually seen. Just as Mum was losing patience with me, we saw this dark shadow appear out of nowhere clomping along in galoshes. Next thing you know we were both laying flat in the ditch shushing eachother.
We sat in this ditch for another five minutes letting our heart rates normalize, then all of a sudden it occured to us how ridiculous we were being. I mean seriously - I was embarrassed for myself (still am, honestly). So we relaxed a little, sat up in our ditch and started chatting while we waited for the others. We started remembering all the snakes that live in the area and began to consider emerging from our ditch. Then, all of a sudden the fire goes out and people start materializing out of the dark toward us.
And, once again, we're laying flat down in the ditch - silent as can be - as the people pass by.
"Do you think they saw us?"
"No way - who would think to look in a freaking ditch?!"
"I dunno - maybe they heard us?"
"Wouldn't matter - can't see us anyway."
"Shhhhh....did you hear that?!"
"Hear what?!"
"It sounded like a snake!"
And as quick as we were down - we were up.
So, now that we were standing up anyway, and it seemed that all the arsonists had left, we channeled our inner Horatio Caines and went to investigate. We walked down the runway to the boats - and sure enough, there had been a fire almost exactly where we thought. Except, instead of being actually in/on the canoes - it was on the grass above them, and there were teenagers making out in the bushes.
So essentially, we traveled all the way to Costa Rica to find out that kids will be kids, and while teenagers may do some crazy things - it's probably not necessary to spend half an hour in a ditch over it.
And, after a good laugh, we promised never to speak of it again...
