strangler fig

So i got back to Santa Rosa on Friday. The trip was quick and uneventful. I left monteverde at 6am and made it back to Liberia by 11. The driver wasn't scheduled to pick me up until 1, so I had some time to kill. I went to a nearby McDonalds because it was really freakin hot and that was the only place I could see that looked like it had air conditioning and wouldn't care if i sat there for a bit. I bought a 2 cheeseburgers combo and it was pretty much exactly the same as what you would expect in canada -covered in grease and totally delicious. I don't eat mc-d's very often, but when I do it sure is good. After lunch i sat around and read my book for a while, then walked to the grocery store for some supplies. Ronnie came to pick me up from the grocery store at 1 and then back to the park I went. The rest of the day was spent napping, doing laundry, and slacking off.

I was supposed be on holiday until Sunday, so I planned to come back one day early just so I could have some time to chill out before going back to work. Well, that didn't pan out. Since I was back on Friday night, the PHD student decided it was a good idea for us to work on Saturday instead. At first I was kind of bummed out about losing a day of holiday, but as it turns out we are starting to stagger our days off. What that means is on any given day, 2 of us will be in the field and one of us will have a day off. That will make it easier for us to keep track of where the monkeys go because somebody will always be out with them in the forest. I end up starting work a day early, but I get my day off earlier too. So that's good.

Back to work I went. Saturday was a phenology day. Phenology involves me using the gps to find about 150 specific trees that are scattered throughout the monkey's home range. when i find them, i record the status of the leaves, fruits, and flowers. We have to do this once every month. Phenology days are mellow but it was hot and many of the trees were hard to find. Next month it will be easier.

Today (sunday) is my day off. I slept super late (9:30am hehe) and now i am doing more laundry and cleaning data on my computer. I also get to make dinner today - im going to make a stir fry with chicken and veggies i think.

The only other thing I have to say is - I think the strangler fig is the most badass tree in the jungle. Not only are they giant sized and awesome looking - but the way they grow is really cool too. The seedlings usually start to grow in a crevice of a tree, the seed having been dropped by a bird. The fig grows its vines downward to the ground and its leaves upward towards the light. Over time, the vines will fuse together and eventually kill the host tree - leaving a crazy tree with a hollow trunk that looks like it has melted.

That's it!
<3 <3 <3
Dayna