And The Thesis Continues...

Well, as positive as I was about my last post being my last post (6 months ago), it turns out there was not enough data for my Master's thesis, and so this blog must continue since my adventures are continuing. So much has happened since I left last February, but I will try to sum it up briefly. However, six months of information not so brief. How did I end up back in Playa Grande without finishing my Master's you ask? Well let me tell you...

I came back to Grande the end of March, hoping for a Miracle. I came back to bring my samples to San Jose as a last ditch effort to salvage my data and have some fungus and bacteria identified. I came back, grabbed my samples, between all of my attempts to identify bacteria on my own then left with Elizabeth and Peter (Elizabeth is the lawyer who basically runs the Leatherback Trust and Peter is her husband who comes to PG with her and watches my DVDs of The Big Bang Theory...AWESOME!). Our first stop on the San Jose trip was to Peter's mother's house...better known as my dream house. Inside of 20ft cement walls was a giant rambler surrounded by Mango trees and the most gorgeous tropical flowers! It was so peaceful; it was like the rest of the city didn't exist. Nevermind the fact that we were less than half a mile away from the brand new national stadium. The inaugural game was against China (the country who gave Costa Rica the stadium) just two days before when I was in Grande. The dedication ceremony was a little like watching the Olympic opening ceremonies. When it was all said and done, the game was tied 3-3.

Me picking a mango at Peter's mom's house

A view of the national stadium it's opening week.


After Peter's mother's house we dropped the samples off at Laboritorio San Jose, and then went to The Leatherback Trust office. No one on my field team had ever been there, so I felt pretty special. We certainly heard a lot about the place so I had to take pics to show I was there.



Mural at TLT office

After that, Elizabeth and Peter drove me around the city. My favorite part of the tour was a super classy restaurant that used to be a monastery and turned the wine cellar into a happening bar. It was far up on a hill and had views of the entire city. Apparently the hosts dress up as friars and bring you to your table. They left the chapel intact for weddings and concerts. It was awesome, and if I was not a broke college student I would have love to have eaten there. They fed me, brought me to my hostel, and the next morning I got into a cab for the airport.


Chapel at La Monestere


The view from the restaurant over San Jose (the stadium is the large fuzzy arch in the middle, towards the back)


When I got home I spent several months looking for a job. I finally settled in on tutoring high school chemistry and puppy/dog sitting until I was hired at the aquarium. Yes, I did get to feed the sharks! And yes, it is as cool as it sounds. After being at my job one month I found out that I was going to have to come back to Costa Rica because there was not enough bacteria and fungus in my samples for a thesis. When bacteria is frozen their concentrations decrease dramatically. This, coupled with ice crystals that lyse viable bacteria with each refreezing episode, made it surprising that any bacteria or fungus was found. All that was discovered was that there were no bacteria in my cloacal fluid samples, hinting that there may be antimicrobial properties deposited with the eggs. So this has become the new hypothesis of my study....Oh the scientific method at work!

After a month of lab training in Ft. Wayne, I finally made it back to Costa Rica! I didn't realize how much I missed it here until I got back. It's been fun getting to hang around with old friends and getting to know everyone. My friend, Julianne, who goes to school with me at IPFW is now taking over the project (Tera's old position). It's been great showing her the ropes, at a much slower pace. The rest of the team does not arrive until mid October, so we have been just doing morning walks, cleaning the lab, and a beach cleanup with the national park, leatherback trust, and guides from both Mata Palo and Tamarindo. Actually, I should say we were doing these things until I got really sick! After a night of being violently ill and sleeping on the bathroom floor, the local doctor sent me an hour away to get blood work done (there are no labs nearby). My blood count was low, so Friday the doctor came to me for another blood sample suspecting I might have Dengue Fever or have caught some terrible virus from the rodents in the lab. So now I am waiting for those results until I can work again. Now, I just need my supplies and a permit to work and I am set!

...And because I know everyone loves the turtle counts, I am happy to report that we have seen 3 new leatherback body pits, 8 olive ridley body pits or tracks, and this morning they ran across a black turtle that was still trying to dig a nest when the sun was starting to rise! It is likely that there have been more nests, but we are not night patrolling and high tide is in the vegetation for most of the beach, wiping away the evidence of nesting. Also, severe rain, winds, and daily thunderstorms make olive ridley tracks difficult to see. Still, not bad for a week of out-of-season turtles.