My research blog post

While in Costa Rica there was a day that we were going to fish with King. Ultimately the water was too rough and we were unable to go. However, when I stopped to think about it I realized that that we were going to go out without fishing licenses. Later I asked Ludrick and he informed me that in Costa Rica fishing licences were not required. I started to think that this would be a good topic for research. Using Google Scholar I started looking into if research had been done on this subject. Perhaps I wasn't searching correctly or using the right key words (because I am certain people have researched this), but I couldn't find any articles related to the topic of fishing license vs no fishing license on anything less than commercial. I want to know if  the everyday sport fisherman or fishing by the locals has any affect on the fish populations in a country where you were not required to have a license. Since I couldn't find anything on the topic I started to think of ways I could research this. I don't have much research experience but if I were to research this topic I would find another country that had similar fish species but that required licenses. Another country in South America or another country with the same latitude would likely have similar species. In finding a country that requires fishing licenses I could compare fish populations to that of Costa Rica. I would chose 4-5 fish species that Costa Rica and the other country had in common. Using multiple species would help eliminate the chance that the results are coincidence and help better establish any trends. By using local fisherman I could find the "honey holes" (as us fishermen call it) of each species in both countries and study the numbers and sizes found. Modern equipment, like GPS and fish finders, would certainly also be necessary. I think it would also be important to note average sizes of the catches in each species as this would help determine average ages of the fish being studied. By knowing the average ages we could determine if regulations help or hurt how many sexually mature fish are staying in the habitat to successfully breed. By studying all of these elements we could determine and compare the numbers of the two countries and see which country has a better population of each species. It would be interesting to see if the requirement of fishing license ultimately helps or hurts the populations. I think mostly this would be nice to research because I would get to fish for research. What fisherman (or fisher-woman) wouldn't like to have a job where they get to fish all day?

Pura Vida!

To sum it all up this was a life changing experience. I can never say enough about my incredible journey. My goal was to challenge myself to do things I never dreamed of doing. 3 years and 50 pounds ago I would have never imagined myself in Costa Rica taking surfing lessons, hiking, zip lining, looking down from a conopy walkway high up in a forest and not being afraid, looking at a volcano from my hostel balcony, standing on a beach where that volcano had erupted, jumping into pools fed by waterfalls, eating termites and drinking from flowers, tasting food made by someone I could barely talk to,and in general traveling around a country in which I only know a hand full of people. I realized that every decision I have ever made has led me to this point in my life and all the bad times and heartache were worth it. The first thing we learned about Costa Rica was that the unofficial national saying is "Pura Vida". You say it when you say come in or when you leave or whenever you feel like it. It means "pure life" and we were taught just what that is all about. Its about adventure and discovery and challenging yourself. Its about accomplishing more than you dreamed you could do. Its about getting outside of you comfort zone and daring to try new things. Even if you fail at least you can say you tried. Pura Vida means loving the environment and loving people. Saying "hola" and smiling to complete strangers as you pass by. Its about treating everyday as a new adventure and waking up ready to conquer the day. Pura Vida is apart of me now and has forever changed me. Costa Rica has become an incredible part of my story and Pura Vida will forever be in my soul. I will live my life as if everyday is a new adventure and never take anything for granted.

I will never forget Costa Rica and Pura Vida!!!

The day we didn't want to come

Saturday morning we were awoken at 3:30 to get ready to leave for the airport. There wasn't as much talk on the bus like usual. Mainly because it was 4 am but also because we knew it was time to leave. We arrived at the airport and once paying our exit tax said goodbye to Christian and Ludrick. I was proud of myself for not crying. These two men had become like family in the very short time we spent together and I realized again how much travel can bond complete strangers and make life long memories. We made it through every security point and were finally on the plane to Houston. Once in Houston we realized we had to say goodbye to Brittney.

Again I teared up because this girl had become a best friend in a very short amount of time and I wasnt ready to say goodbye. We said our sad goodbyes and headed to our gate. We knew we were home when we spotted the Whataburger and the Panda Express on the way. We ate a quick lunch and were back on the tiny plane to OKC. When we arrived our goodbyes were not as heartbreaking as I had imagined they would be but I still fought back tears when I said my goodbyes before baggage claim. I never imagined that I would become as close to the other travelers as I did. What started out as simply traveling together turned into friendship and an adventure that none of us will ever forget.

San Jose

Once arriving in San Jose on our last day we checked back in to the place where it all started.

I could feel that our collective mood and energy was a bit low. I don't think any of us were ready to leave and it was starting to set in that we were going soon. We dropped off our stuff and headed downtown to purchase souvenirs. We soon realized that none of us thought of San Jose as our favorite. The main square was so crowded you could have mistaken in for Times Square if there weren't a million people selling Costa Rican football paraphernalia. We stopped and ordered our coffee grounds. Since they sell the beans but will grind and package it for you, we left the poor coffee people with our orders to grind. We headed a little farther downtown and saw the national bank and a few other important buildings. A few of us spotted a McDonalds, an ice cream shop and a bakery and went across the street to try any last minute foods we had missed. I got a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone which is nothing new but I wanted to say I ate one in another country. We headed back picked up our coffee and hit up the local souvenir place. It was set up much like craft shows usually are. One roof held many booths with one main walkway down the middle that had no doors at either end. Pretty much every booth had the same kinds of things. Coasters, boxes, key chains, shot glasses, coffee mugs, etc. Some had just t-shirts and tank tops. It was there I started a collection. I bought my first mini flag. Every county I go to I will collect a small flag to hang on a wall wherever I am living. If I have it my was there will be a room just for travel stuff. Backpacking gear, pictures, flags and souvenirs from each country I visit. Once all our souvenirs were bought we headed back to the hostel for one last family meal.

The best waterfall

Our last day to be out and about in Costa Rica some of us hiked to another waterfall. The hike was a bit of a challenge because it wasn't a hard hike down to the waterfall it was just very steep. This waterfall was probably my favorite because you could actually swim in the same location as the waterfall. You could even slide down it if you wanted to hike to the top.

We soon discovered how cold it was but we all jumped in anyway! It was an amazing experience and it was there I realized just how much I had accomplished over the last 2 weeks. It was an amazing finish to an amazing 2 weeks and reality started to sink in that it was coming to end. 

I hope I don't fry!!!

The next morning we packed up, had breakfast and headed to Uvita. We checked into our hostel and headed to the beach at Uvita national park. Its nickname is Whale Tail because when the tide is low part of the beach looks like a whales tail. We were told ahead of time to make sure to wear plenty of sunscreen because there was ZERO shade on this beach. It was then I felt like I was walking right into a second degree burn and I started to nervously layer on the SPF 50. Once we arrived I realized there was no exaggeration in the "no shade" statement. It was a gorgeous beach that looked as if it went on for miles. Dark sand soaked up the sun and made for a warm walk. On the way to our spot we were informed that we had to shuffle once we were in the water to avoid stingray stings. I kinda got excited at the thought of being that close to a stingray but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we didn't see any. The water was very warm and we had to wade out a little farther to be in the cooler water but it was very nice. Once we were almost ready to go Ludrick and Christian informed us they had drawn a picture in the sand for us to take pictures by. We took our photos then headed back.

A hike and a surprise

Our second day in Manuel Antonio started with a hike through their National Park. Our guide Leon was very knowledgeable and through he whole hike if we saw a bird he would whistle the different calls of that specific bird. He also taught us that, like cow, sloths chew cud. We also leaned that out of everything on this earth termites produce the most methane! Its amazing that one of the smaller creatures on this planet can have such an impact over the larger ones. On this tour we also saw a few bats sleeping, white face Capuchins being thieves, some really cool plants, and various insects.  The video below is of a plant called the sensitive plant (mimosa pudica). When you touch it it folds up. It is also called the sleepy plant or the touch- me-not. I'm actually thinking of purchasing some seeds online to grow in my apartment.

After our hike Christian had a surprise for us on the beach. When we arrived there was a private beach party arranged for us including food and music. We had sausage, beefsteak, chicken kabobs, bread, and tortillas. There was also an amazing fresh strawberry drink.We ate and swam and danced and had an amazing time!