PARABÉNS MÃE!

PARABÉNS MÃEZINHA!

Obrigada pela mãe maravilhosa que é!

Today is my mother's birthday, and I want to thank her for her love and support.

Actually, I want to thank all my family for their support and constant presence in my life; I follow my dreams because you respect me and give me strength to do so.

MUITOS BEIJINHOS!

KEKOLDI HAWKWATCH TEAM 2005

Here is a photo of THE team in September... Upper row: Marcos (Portugal), Rudy (Kekoldi), Lucas (Kekoldi), Licita, Pablo (Costa Rica). Lower row: Dimeiston (Yorkin), Sebastian (Kekoldi), Julie (US).

October is already here, and we have 2 more volunteers, next week 3 more!
The project webpage is almost ready, and this weekend we'll have 50 university students at the tower... I'll put some pictures on here later.
Also, we'll have the Hammock workshop on wednesday... learning how to build your own hammock... mmmm! Can come handy!

Have a nice weekend! Enjoy the sun and the rain! Go out, breath some fresh air and be with friends!

THE ENCHANTMENT OF THE COCOA TREES - KEKOLDI

The trail seems enchanted in this picture, doesn't it?
This is an abandoned cocoa plantation in the indigenous reserve of Kékoldi. They say, when white people came here, they wanted to have these huge cocoa plantations...
But the indigenous people say that God ("Sibú" in Bribri) helped them and put a desease (fungus) in the cocoa fruits...

Now, when you wonder through the plantations it is like you are walking through a ghost world... or at least I like to imagine it is... I imagine ancient people walking through these plantations, picking up the cocoa, preparing the chocolate, to make their sacret drink...

Chocolate rules the world... Can you think of many people (tell me if you can count 5 at least) who don't like chocolate?
They drink it pure here, with no sugar added. It is similar to drinking coffee... no sugar, just mashed, roasted beans.

Hopefully in October we'll have a workshop on how to make chocolate... REAL chocolate! Pura vida everyone have a nice weekend!

KEKOLDI - THE LAND OF RAPTORS

I can’t believe almost 2 whole months have passed since I arrived in Costa Rica! My 3rd season at the hawkwatch! Talamanca is still green and life is simple, just the way it is supposed to be.

The migration season is definitely on! We counted more than 200 thousand birds until now. Most of them were Mississippi Kites, Swallow-tailed Kites and Broad-winged Hawks. Some of them perched right next to the tower and we took the most wonderful pictures, which I can assure you are very rare on migration grounds…! Some birds would perch for hours and eat dragonflies, call to each other and then move on south.

I always wonder where they will end up… I wish I could follow them.

BLUE HOUSE IN A GREEN COUNTRY

A little blue house, filled with new faces, different life experiences... The sun burns, the air is thick. But at home life is quiet and calm. Just right for working, for reading a book, to prepare some "hierba mate"... and sit on a hammock.

I've been cooking a lot (it seems no one cooks anymore these days) and I do yoga whenever I have a little time, usually at sunset, but just before the mosquitoes start biting!























Work is constant and growing, but if you do it with passion nothing really bothers you and there's no stress around here.

Wish you all could be here... Porto, Aveiro, Montpellier, Hawk Mountain, Dinosaur, I remember every one of you. Sorry if I only write in english for now...

Prometo escrever em português um destes dias! Et en français! Y en español también!

WONDERLAND IN DINOSAUR, COLORADO

It seems I just left Dinosaur yesterday...

I miss the desert, the wildflowers, the cactuses, the canyons, the rivers, the Peregrine Falcons, my wild friends.

Being at Dino taught me so many things about life, about conservation, about people (Don't you see I have people skills?????). I had so much fun, every day, every moment...

I will treasure this experience forever, as I move on to my next destinations, wherever they might be.

I will write about Dinosaur in the next couple of days and try to gather texts I wrote while I was there, things I want to share with everyone.

Viva Dinosaur!