After a few days of traveling through Honduras on buses and crazy taxis, we've finally made it to the research station on the island of Cayos Cochinos!...after of course taking a gutted drug smuggling boat 45 minutes across the ocean. We arrived while in pouring down rain to a beach of cabins, research station and palms and coconut trees galore. It seems surreal!
It soon cleared up and we quickly unloaded and got right into orientation. We (8 UWEC students, and 8 Cali.Polytec Students) are the only people on the island besides the few staff that live at the station year round. Around noon, we met and ate a traditional lunch after getting all of the gear situated, and soon after were out in the field- hiking up the looming peaks through dense forest covered with ticks, iguanas and boa constrictors!
The snakes were everywhere! We hiked all of the trails of the island to test our GPS equipment and to see Chad's snake capturing in action! We got to help spot the snakes, and he even let me capture and bag a Boa myself! After hours in the field, and carrying back several bags of snakes, we had time to cleanup, relax and swim in the ocean. We found an Octopus, and snorkeled in the coral reefs right near shore.
Dinner was another traditional meal, followed by a meeting about tomorrow morning's work and some last minute planning and helping take blood and sample measurements from the snakes captured today. Its only 8:30pm and we are all ready for bed! Tomorrow begins at 5am, so adios!
1 comment:
i like your pic with the boa... i didn't have to go so far to catch a snake...did it at camp remember ;)
enjoy your stay looks goregous!
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