University of Delaware Costa Rica 2014

Study abroad adventures by junior wildlife explorers.

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Home again

Apologies, the wifi was not strong in La Selva. We are back stateside after an awesome month in Costa Rica, but we still have plenty of pictures and videos to share. Stay tuned. -Sierra

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We have safely arrived at La Selva Biological Research Station! We'll be hiking for the first part of the morning, then working on our final presentations. This month has definitely flown by, but don't worry: we still have plenty of adventures to share. Stayed tuned. The wifi is strong with this one.

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Greetings from Savegre!

We've been having a ton of fun on the mountains of Costa Rica. Our current elevation is approximately 9,000 feet! Yesterday we visited the top of Cerro de la Muerte (the "Mountain of Death") which was over 11,000 feet in elevation and the 3rd highest peak in Costa Rica. The 7-mile hike up was braved by a majority of the group (but not me!) followed by an 8-mile hike back down. The elevation and its influence on habitat types and bird species ranges is really cool!

In chronological order, pictured from the top:

Jackie with a local cow on the walk back from counting birds!

Abby, Whitney, and Sierra at the top of Cerro de la Muerte

YouDee enjoying the peak of the mountain

Abby at a viewpoint on the mountain

Sarah on the trail to the waterfall at Savegre with some horseback riders in the background

Zack and Sandra (with Alex in the background) on the trail

Luis and Marc adventuring in the river at Savegre

Tomorrow we leave for Selva Beninito! There will be no electricity there, but we will all be sure to take plenty of pictures to blog with once we get an internet connection.

- Abby

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More photos from Tiskita Jungle Lodge and our adventures in the freshwater pool. Featuring Henry 

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Some pictures from Tiskita Jungle Lodge. We went for a ride on a small fishing boat and got super close to three humpback whales!

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I can't wait to slap a Kraft singles on my face and eat it ALL.

Joe

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The only good thing about these pants is that they don't show butt sweat.

Abby

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Putting up a trail camera!

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We're enjoying the winter in Uvita! Today we snorkeled around an island offshore.

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We went whale watching and it blew my mind. I'm also still a little sleepy from the sea sickness medicine.

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Abby and I were really excited about pizza today.

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Pictures from today in the Cloud Forest! Joe with a telescope looking at birds, Jaqui with the waterfall, Dr. Shriver holding a friendly moth, and Zach on the suspension bridge. It was a great adventure! More to come soon.

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Pictures from the trip so far! It's been one awesome week. In order from the top: group shot after the 10 mile hike to Nancite beach in Guanacaste National Park; Sarah with her long-lost luggage, rest stop on hike to Nancite next to a natural spring, Sierra with a bromeliad at Monteverde, and Luis stretching on the porch outside the dorm in UGA's campus at Monteverde.

Adios 'til next time! Abby

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In case you wanted some beautiful vistas of Costa Rica!

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Greetings from Monteverde! Yesterday, we visited some local and sustainable coffee farms (pictured at top) and learned about all of the stages of the coffee bean. Today, we hiked through the Cloud Forest and saw a lot of awesome animals. Sierra and Kim are posing in front of the waterfall at the end of the trail. Later in the today, we walked to the suspension bridge and saw a fantastic view of the forest, scenery, and an unsuspecting porcupine.

Pura vida! Abby

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Cloud forest spam.

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A wonderful afternoon in the cloud forest of Monteverde. A hummingbird at the Hummingbird Cafe and a Resplendent Quetzal.