My destination!
Up this morning at about 2.. then 4.. then 5.. then the trains started again so got up before the rush to shower (which I only just beat!). Then killed 3 or so hours until we departed. Everyone else seemed super keen for the bus, which was fine because it meant that I was in the 4x4 which meant no taxi rides and a shorter trip (and getting to know the head admin girls).
I'm sitting at my desk now, all set up and comfy after pancakes for breakfast, a guide of the field base, a lovely swim at the resort nearby and now helping out to cook some dinner (between writing this). I've taken a few photos, but I will upload them along with some of the fieldbase itself (and its environs) once I take them in the nice light of tomorrow morning!
Now it's all about planning with the communications officer (who writes the magazine and blog) of what photos I need to be taking at the various project sites (all of which I will visit) in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica. I will most likely be driving (to get me there to take the photos and to do food drop offs etc for the trekking groups), which means 4wd training and lots of time to see the country on roughly my own schedule!
Rough tasks I have for the next couple of weeks are to take a lot of photos, plan my shots for the project sites, plan some group shots (3 sets), sort out how I will create slideshows (I need to make about 7 in total, also need to decide on music <3) and have a good look through the previous magazines to see what has worked and what hasn't.
Also, today I saw: Hummingbirds, weird toucan like birds with smaller bills, lots of unidentifiable birds and some circling vultures.
I should be around for the next couple of weeks at least, and then for the roughly 20 days after that be mostly away, then back for another 3 days, then away for another 20, then 3, then 20. I might be back at other random times if I'm passing by (eg north to south), but I will let everyone know once I have the final schedule of where I need to be.
Looking to be pretty awesome though - it's a great group of people so far (the Project Managers arrive next week, then the week after that the actual venturers arrive) and I'm looking forward to it all a lot now!
More tomorrow, assuming I don't get bogged under (including photos of the most bizarre bug I've ever seen or possibly heard of)
