Due to limited internet access, all my blogs from Las Cuevas have been back-logged and will be put into one post.
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Alex Wert's Blog
Please excuse any errors as I am typing on a tablet and not a typical keyboard.
Day 1
5/1/13
We met at the airport at seven in the morning. Dr. Dixon remembered my mom, which was surprising, since she hadn't seen her in about nine years. Although I planned on carrying my dufflebag as a carry-on, I decided to check it and save myself the headache. When we landed in Belize, it was really interesting. The airport was basically what I expected; exit onto the tarmac and walk into customs. I wasn't sure what customs was going to be like, since this was my first time out of the country. I ended up going through the wrong line, according to the worker, but I was just following the signs in the building. Regardless, he stamped my passport and let me through. The next worker that I encountered asked if it was my first time to Belize and I replied that it was my first time out of the country, never-the-less into Belize. She was surprised and gave me a nodding smile as I was ushered to the non-existent bag check. Our group waited outside for everyone to gather 'round before we boarded our transportation to Las Cuevas. When the secondhand school bus pulled up, and our baggage was placed into the back, we were greeted by Mr. Mesh with cool water-bottles. We made a short trip to the nearest supermarket to load up on whatever snacks and drinks we would want while in the forest... The bus ride to Las Cuevas was estimated to be about three hours, but it ended up being more like four and a half hours of mostly dirt roads that were very treacherous By the time it got dark, we were still on the bus. That was when it got frightening for me. ~60mph speeds are just barely acceptable on paved town roads in a secondhand school bus, never-the-less dirt roads in the dark. Finally, we arrived at Las Cuevas, claimed our rooms, and went to watch a welcome presentation to provide us with guidelines and background information on the Chiquibul forest. After dinner, everyone went straight to bed. We were all exhausted.
Day 2
5/2/13
After breakfast at 6am Belize (8am FL), we went into the Chiquibul for broad-leaf activities. We learned how to lay out a transect, determine DBH of a tree with diametric tape placed 1.3m above the base of the tree, to use a clinometer 20m away from base (eyeball top of tree and take percent measurement from clinometer, do the same for the base measurement and then use the formula (top%-base%)*(base distance), converting % to decimals), to measure oblangata and xate plants while assessing leaf quality and quantity, the differences between oblangata and neuro... species of plants, the history of the chicle tree, how to measure light density within an area using a densometer (divide squared into 4 and count each empty or full square, depending on which has the least amount of squares) which shows canopy density. We learned about REDD+++, a very bid environmental issue/policy in play that is trying to compensate for carbon sequestering rates. Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Land Degradation. Lots of tree hugging today. Literally! We all socialized for a while and then had dinner . Afterwards, I got to experience the one-stream cold shower that everyone was raving about. It was awesome. Then we all got to play cards before going to bed. It was a good day!
Day 3
5/3/13
Today, we went to Caracol Mayan ruins. It was so amazing. Three tiers of steps to be on top of the world! I couldn't believe I was standing on what was to be believed the royalty's quarters. To be so high up and to climb so many steps just to get to and from home must have been exhausting. But I guess, as royalty, they would just be able to send people for them and they could stay on top. The tallest tier was so high, there was a 360 degree, panoramic view of the landscape. It was crazy awesome. We learned about mMayan history and got to experience Mr. Mesh speak Mayan. The weather was nice, not sweltering hot, and we got to climb most every ruin. I must have climbed 200-300 steps today. My legs are already hurting! It was an amazing experiences At dinner, I got to experience banana milk, which was awesome. The Mayans have always been extremely interesting to me, even in elementary school. I have done many projects about the culture and history.
-- Lindsay and Lina found a juvenile red-rump tarantula in their room... *shudder*
Day 4
5/4/13
3am Belize and I can't sleep Good thing we have to be up early to go to the bird tower. // So the hike up to the bird tower was super steep and pretty long. My legs hurt so badly from climbing the ruins and this steep climb, along with all the hiking and trekking we've been doing. The bird tower was crazy cool. Two stories high, accessible via two ladders secured by zip ties to small metal pipes. It was scary, but the view was totally worth it. We were up there for about an hour. After breakfast, we went out to set up small mammal Sherman traps made of, what seemed like, aluminum. After we sorted out the transect mess that we all made due to inaccurate navigation and/or measuring, we had to place the peanut-butter-baited traps in areas where we though rodents would trek. Then we had free time until we went out to check them again at 4pm. Nothing was in any of the traps at that time. I can't believe that we only have three days left in Las Cuevas!
Day 5
5/5/13
We started off our day by checking our traps to see in any critters were captured in the night. We had to make sure all open traps were closed so that no animals baked in the hot metal box in the sunlight during the daytime. Nobody found anything. Then we had breakfast and headed off to the pine forest 1/5 hours away. It was beautiful in that pin-habitat sort of way. It was also kind of comforting to be around pines. It felt very familiar. We started to do our assignment of measuring the four closest trees for thirty points on a transect, but nine point is, we heard a buzzing noise and Boris told us to stop because a swarm of Africanized bees were very close. One look to the north, and there was a giant cloud of bees about 50 meters away. We all stood still and silent for a couple of minutes before being instructed to head back to the bus for lunch. We abandoned our transect. After everyone fininshed their lunches, we got to see the man-made Macal lake. It was a beautiful sight. On our way down, Boris asked Alberto to stop at the bridge so that we could l the water and take pictures. After a bit of climbing and exploring, a bunch of us decided to get in. I wasn't going to get in, but I thought "I'll probably never get to do this again., so I left my shirt and shoes on the bridge and joined in the fun! It was cool and refreshing. As we were heading back to Las Cuevvas, Boris stopped the bus again, saying "We are very lucky. Over there, there are a bunch of a scarlet macaws in the tree."we all got out and looked through the binoculars. It was very cool to see the macaws in their natural habitat and not in a pet store. We we got back, I did laundry before we went out to re-set our traps for the night. It was Kara's birthday, so a bonfire was made after dinner. I just went out for a little bit so that I didn't smell like smoke for a long time. It was really nice, though.
Day 6
5/6/13
CAVE DAY!!!!
We woke up and checked on our Sherman traps. Mike and I found one of our traps - our last trap we came to, in fact - with something in it. We were the only ones to find something. Boris helped us identify the rodent by giving us a guide-book and confirming or denying based on out-loud descriptions We ended up agreeing that it was a common house mouse. It was adorable. We released it where the trap was set and then headed back to camp. There was a claim that Boris planted the mouse in our trap so that we could think we caught something. He neither confirms nor denies this claim. It doesn't matter if he did, though. It was just as interesting, either way. After breakfast, it was time to go to the cave!!! IA super-short walk brought us to the opening. Alberto walked behind everyone while Boris lead the way. We were in there for a good two hours. It was amazing. While we were in the cave, we were in a single-file line while Boris lead the way through a small opening that required crawling. I was looking around the cave, using my flashlight that I rigged with my backpack loops to work as a headlamp of sorts. As I looked to the right, my Macgyvered headlamp illuminated a humongous blackish-blueish speder walking on a piece of cord that was bordering the pathway. I took a quick picture (just for you, mom) while the shock was still in effect and then immediately burst into tears. I was surprised and terrified. It was one of my nightmares come true! Everyone was concerned for me, but I told them to just ignore me and carry on. I got over it in a couple of minutes while we continued through the cave. Everyone, including me, was good-natured about it, thankfully. I'm proud of how well I handled it, though. The tears were more of an accumulation of all of the things that I had been powering through up until then. Spiders and spiderwebs in the forest that I walked through, big unknowns when moving things around with my hands, finding ticks on me and removing them - everything that I had forced myself to to just suck it up and keep going. I almost let the tears consume me and cause everything to be let out, including missing everyone at home, exhaustion, stress about the project, frustration with bugs and bug bites, frustration with lack of internet, frustration with interactions between classmates, lack of familiarity around me, lack of personal time, - everything that comes along with a week in the tropical forest for research. After we got to the end of the cave, we turned around and went back to the entrance. After that, Michelle, Abby, and I worked on our project for EVR4910. Comparison of tree species density/distribution in two different terrains; inclined and flat. We measured out a 20m by 50m plot and then started combing through, measuring the DBH and height of each three with a diameter of 10cm or more.. Boris came and helped us identify each tree. It took three and a half hours to get it done, but one plot down, one to go! I repacked my dufflebag with the clean clothes from the laundry, since it was finally dry. Hopefully I'll sleep better in Caye Caulker. No howler monkeys to wake me up! Haha. Well, here's to another amazing day jam-packed with adventure, fun, and education. Cheers.
Day 7
5/7/13
Up at 4am this morning. We went to set up two mist nets to catch some birds for identification. While we were waiting during our 30-minute intervals, we were sitting under a tree where four howler monkeys were moving around and eating breakfast. It was awesome to see the monkeys just going about their business while we sat and watched. We didn't find anything in our mist-nets any of the three times we checked. After breakfast, we went out to finish our tree species density/diversity project with Mr. Mesh. He cut off small pieces of bark from two different trees so that we could smell the wood, which is one method of identification The first was cabbage bark tree, which smelled simply natural and clean. The second was from a white copal, I think. I didn't have my notebook with me to write it down. That one had a sharp earthy smell that was definitely not for everyone. So we finished our plots before lunch time. All that was left to do was to start writing the paper and draw up the data analysis. It's funny to think that I'm lucky when it comes to bug-bite assessment. But I am. I only have about 20 bites on my forearms and hands. Abby has 50-60 bites on her belly and upper legs and arms. She has also found and removed three ticks from her body. I've only removed one. Kara has heat rash everywhere, as well as bug bites. Lindsay is cherry red from sunburn she got in the pine forest. Mike had a huge tick in between his toes. Everyone has found at least one tick on themselves so far, I think. I'm lucky with my congestion, cough, and small spattering of bug bites. I'm thankful that I only have to endure a little bit of discomfort. I think we all learned our personal limits with comfort this week. I didn't reach mine, but others did. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to leave Las Cuevas and escape these bugs. I'm excited for Caye Caulker, I just hope I don't FRY in the sun. We leave in the morning at 8am. It will be sad to leave Las Cuevas with all it's amazing sights to be seen, animals to be watched, and nature to observe. I'll never forget this place. I hope to return in the future, maybe even bring my close ones with me.
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