Intern Handover Report
Caño Palma Biological Station
July2012 – January 2013
Complied by
HAS Interns and COTERC
Travel Details
Booking Tickets and Travel Insurance
The two cheapest airlines to fly from Amsterdam to San Jose with were KLM/Copa Airlines and Iberia.KLM flies from Schiphol to Panama City. From Panama City you take a flight to San Jose with Copa Airlines. The other option is take a flight with Iberia from Schiphol to Madrid, and then again with Iberia from Madrid to San Jose. The price of a retour flight will be between 1250 and 1550 Euros, depending on your traveling dates. Make sure you book your ticket online at the KLM or Iberia website, since travel agencies always charge you more when booking a flight for you. Also make sure you have travel insurance before leaving the Netherlands.
Food and Accommodations
Food and accommodation is provided by the field station. Interns pay US$175 per week to cover living expenses and three meals a day. This price is set by the COTERC Board and the station manager and may vary depending on cost of living etc.
Money Matters
There is an ATM that works with ABN Amro cardsthree hours outside of Tortuguero in Cariari. BancoNacional is the only bank which works with ABN Amro bankcards. An intern tried his Rabobank card at BancoNacional in Panama, which did not work. However Visa and Mastercards are accepted in all the bigger shopsin Costa Rica – but not in San Francisco and in only a few places in Tortuguero, the two closest towns. Also, make sure your pin number for your bank card is 4 digits (5+ digits and letters don’t work in Costa Rica).
Costa Ricans will basically always accept American Dollars and the exchange rate is usually around
$US1 = 500 Colones. You will find better exchange rates at local banks (bring your passport or a copy they will require it as an ID). Although the conversion rate is tempting, it is not advised to exchange any money on the streets as you may potentially receive counterfeit money in return. Banks in San Jose are often the best and safest option for money exchange. Local businesses generally won’t accept anything larger than a $20 bill, and the money must be in perfect condition. Any bill that has a small nick or tear will not be accepted by businesses or banks. Also at Schiphol Airport you are able to receive Dollars from an ATM at the bank.
Contact Information
Tel for field station: 506 -2709-8052
Email:
What to Bring
1. Dark clothes for turtle night walks – long pants (dry fit pants are the best option), long sleeve tops, and a poncho and/or raincoat.
2. For mammal walks and other walks through the rainforest- long pants, thick and loose long sleeve shirts (to help deter mosquitoes),rain wear gear or ponchos.
3. For night surveys (except turtle surveys): A good HIGH power beam handheld flashlight.You will most likely not be scheduled on night surveys besides the caiman survey and turtle surveys. However we ended up out at night quite often due to snake walks and coming back from the village of San Francisco after it got dark.
4. (Optional) Bandanas or wide-brim hats.
5. Comfortable walking shoes – crocs have been the preferred option. Any sort of waterproof hiking sandal is useful. Do not bring any canvas/cloth or leather footwear for surveys, as the material does not dry in the humidity and will quickly mold. We also highly advise you to not bring any hiking boots with you, because you will most likely never wear them and they will get mold all over them. Flip flops or other easy shoes for around base are also very useful.
6. Rubber boots are recommended, the station has lots of pairs but may not have any in your size.
7. Square-cornered mosquito net. The station has a few mosquito nets, however it is recommended you bring your own just in case. Bringing a light blanket is also recommended as the station only provides sheets, and it can get quite cold at night when it’s raining.
8. (Optional)Bring your own bed sheets and pillow covers. You may wish to bring your own pillow. (there are very few pillows at the station, a folded bed sheet is a good alternative to a pillow as it is easy to wash and can easily be hung to dry).
9. Light cotton clothing.
10. Headlamp with red lamp (low glow if possible – for turtle walks-) and a hand held flashlight. It’s also a good idea to bring rechargeable batteries and a rechargeable unit.
11. Large durable water bottle.
12. Medication pills e.g. Tylenol, vitamins, Imodium, anti-histamines, or anything else you feel you may need. A personal first aid kit with band-aids, etc. is also useful as the station only has emergency supplies
13. Entertainment – music, books, movies etc.
14. Sunscreen, mosquito repellent, foot powder, lots of socks, headphones with microphone and webcam (if you want to skype).
15. Laptop and other electronic devices you think you will need during your stay. We highly recommended bringing your laptop, because the station computers are not always entirely stable. However the station does not take responsibility for any damage done to your laptops. If you put your laptop in the dry-box every night it is not likely for them to die from the humidity. Also any other electric devices should be stored in the dry-box when not used so they don’t die from humidity.
Rule of Thumb: You generally want at least three sets of field clothes to rotate through in the rain season and general t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, shorts, long pants that you will wear every day at the station. Leave any fancy clothes you really don’t want to get dirty at home.
Getting There
Recommendations on accommodations in San Jose can be found in guidebooks on Costa Rica or Central America. The Hotel Aranjuez is usually used by the Environmental Studies Field Course in Costa Rica. This is a mid-price hotel. Contact information is:
Reservation from the Netherlands: 1-877-898-8663; local No.: 506-2-256-1825
Address: 19th Street, between Ave 11 and 13, Barrio Aranjuez, San Jose
Other Hotels are:
CACTS Hotel Tel: 506-2-221-2928, 506-2-221-6546, the station has had a long relationship with this hotel and they are very helpful
Galileo Hostel Tel: 506-2-248-2094, 506-2-221-8831
Gaudy’s Backpacker Hostel Tel: 506-2-258-2937(
–Gaudy’s has its own taxi service to and from the airport which can be arranged in advance via email. It usually costs $24US.
On arriving at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, you can get to the city either by bus or cab. Cabs can be accessed outside the arrival area. There are various cab companies found there, but if you’re not sure which ones are legitimate, the valid cabs that are working for the airport are orange, or red with a yellow triangle. The red taxis will generally run their meter, the orange cabs will charge a flat,government mandated rate. Buses can be caught in front of the airport and passengers are dropped in a downtown station. You can either pay in $US or Colones. There is a Cambio (“change” in Spanish) kiosk in the arrival area but you will get better currency exchange at a bank. To travel to the field station you will need to have local currency.Always ask a cab driver how much it will cost before you enter the vehicle to prevent them from charging too much.
To get to the field station a bus can be caught at the Caribeños Bus Station (near Ave 13). The route is San Jose to Cariari to La Pavona to Cano Palma. There are direct and indirect buses to Cariari. The direct bus (1350 colon) leaves San Jose from 6:30, 9:00, 10:30, and any bus later than 11:00 will risk making you late for the Pavona connection.The indirect route is through Guapiles (1700 colon) with a connecting bus to Cariari (360 colon). The buses to Guapiles leave every hour. Tickets can be bought up stairs in the plaza. It is a two hour trip from San Jose to Cariari; going through Guapiles extends the trip by an hour. If the direct route to Cariari (1350 colones), let the driver know beforehand that you are going to Cano Palma. If you miss this bus you will have to stay in Cariari for the night. The first bus out is at 6:00 am the following morning.Good hotels in Cariari are Hotel El Tropical (506 2767 7186) and Hotel Central, this will cost you $15-20 a night.Thereare two bus stations in Cariari, they are both on the same main road, about 500mts apart. One is across from the BCR (Bank of Costa Rica) and it’s busses go to Guapiles/San Jose. The other bus station is behind a police station (“fuerzapublica”) and the buses there go to La Pavona. The line for the Pavona bus is near the ticket booth. Buy tickets for the bus (1100 colon) and for the boat (1600 colon). The last bus to Pavona is 3:00pm. When you board the boat at Pavona indicate to go to San Francisco. The boat arrives and stops by the general store. Make sure that you have confirmed your arrival with the station and called to let them know of any changes. As long as they know you’re coming, there will be someone there to meet you. If for any reason there isn’t someone there within ½ an hour of your arrival (the boat arrival time can be unpredictable, so it’s hard to time the meetings exactly), ask to use the telephone at the store and call the station.
N.B: STRESS to the boat drivers where you are going, and always make sure that cabs have working meters (marias) before getting in!
The Field Station
The Caño Palma Biological Station[1] is part of the Barra Colorado Wildlife Refuge and is located 5 miles from the Tortuguero National Park and Tortuguero village. The field station came into being with the purchase of the land by Marilyn Cole, a former York University Masters student, and OzzyTeichner from a Nicaraguan campesino. The name of the station is derived from the canal of similar name that runs adjacent to the property. The canal separates the station from the Caribbean Sea by some 200 – 300 meters. The station is accessed via the canal as there are no roads into the area. Further historical material can be found on the COTERC website, Resources at
¹COTERC is the administrative arm of the CPBS. It was established in 1991 as a non-profit charity organisation based in Pickering, Ontario. The organisation is governed by a board consisting of biologists, accountants, educators, environmentalists, zoo professionals and media professionals. The board is committed and working actively to protect tropical rainforest.
Life at the Field Station
Facilities at the field station are simple. The interns sleep in assigned rooms and may be placed in the main dormitory. You should bring earplugs if you are a light sleeper. There are flush toilets that are located behind the rancho museum and by the dorms. The kitchen and office are located in the same building, a short walk from the dorms.
Internet and Phone
Interns have access to the computers and the internet during the course of their stay, but are generally asked to use the internet on weekends and evenings only. The system is high-speed wireless. For the phone service local calls are permitted but should be kept after 7pm to avoid tying up COTERC’s business line. For international calls phone cards can be bought in Tortuguero. The cards can also be used on the phone in San Francisco. You can also utilize skype for calling. A text message from your own phone provider to the Netherlands will cost you between €0,50 and €2,00
Kitchen
Food in the kitchen is communal. You can purchase and stock your own food to have snacks to supplement the meals provided. It is very informal but when there are a smaller number of people on base the station manager will assign cooking duties for dinner, with breakfast and lunch being on each person’s accord. A cook generally comes to the station to help with lunch and dinner when there are more than 10 people staying at the station. The water at the field station comes from a sunken well and is filtered using a UV lamp. Other camp duties, such as cleaning, are usually rotated between everyone who lives on base, with everyone participating in some duties each day. The cleaning and cooking teams are posted by the station manager. The leftovers are placed into plastic containers and kept in the refrigerator for use when you get hungry at any time. Composting and recycling are also done at the station.
Washing and showers
All water on base is cold – in this climate, this is usually preferable to showering in hot water. When showering, to save water, everyone is asked to wet themselves, turn off the water, soap up (soap must be biodegradable and needs to be brought down with you) and then rinse off. After your shower you have to sweep the showers to ensure that sand does not go down the drain and to keep the shower clean for the use by other people. There is also a washing machine at the field station but no dryer. There are both open and covered lines to dry your clothes on. When using the washing machine it is very important that you remove the sand from your clothing before placing it in the washing machine. There is high iron content in the water and this stains everything orange. It is best to bring old field clothes to work in.
Visa run
Travelling to renew your VISA
One option is going to Nicaragua via San Jose, which takes two days of travel (one to San Jose, one to Nicaragua). Take the regular route to San Jose where you will have to locate the Tica Bus terminal. Here are the directions from Paseo Colon (major street in San Jose): San José. Costa Rica. Paseo Colón. 200 meters North & 100 meters west from Torre Mercedes, Paseo Colón, across front FunerariadelMagisterioNacional (within walking distance of Gaudy’s Backpackers Hostel). This bus will cost you around 20 dollars each way and takes you across the Nicaraguan border. You HAVE to go buy your tickets in person a day before you plan to travel, make sure you go with your passport. They will provide all the documents for you and make sure you have all your passports or certificates in order. While crossing the border you will have to go through immigration for both CR and NIC but it is a fairly simple and easy process. Once back on the bus after immigration the main stops in Nicaragua are Rivas, Managua and Leon. You can take a separate bus from Managua to Granada, which is really nice to stay and is most recommended due to its old style architecture and relative safeness. Leon is really nice as well and both cater to tourists’ needs. There are many things to do once in Nicaragua so enjoy!
We highly recommend going to Laguna de Apoyo and staying at the Monkey Hut, it’s a long journey to get there but definitely worth the extra effort (Taxi from Managua will cost approx. $50US total, split between 2-3 people makes it more affordable). The Monkey Hut is situated on a beautiful geothermally- heated crater lake and there are lots of free activities provided through the hostel (windsurfing, kayaking etc). The food is also very cheap (<$5 per meal) and the dorms are very clean and secure.
Getting to Bocas del Toro (Panama) costs about $33US (one-way) if you take public transportation. The trip can be done in a day if one catches the first boat out of San Francisco. The first boat arrives at approximately 5:30 am but it is best to be there by 5:00 a.m. Take this boat to La Pavona (costs about 1600colones) where the bus can then be caught to Cariari (1000 colones). At the Cariari bus terminal (there are 2 close by so be careful) take the bus heading to Guapiles (approx. 45 min; cost about 430colones). In Guapilies walk to the kiosk left side of the terminal and buy ticket to Limon. Bus ride from Guapilies to Limon takes approximately 2 hours (1780 colones). When dropped off in Limon you may need to walk 2-3 blocks east of first terminal (ask people for directions for where to catch a bus to Limon). (Walk quickly or take a taxi if cheap since missing a bus could result in major delay.) At this bus station get ticket for bus heading to Sixaola (cost is about 2760colones). When you arrive in Sixaola (Costa Rican border) stop at the immigration office to have passport date stamped then walk across bridge to Panama immigration office and border (in Changuinola, Panama). Here you should also have your passport stamped and a fee of approx $3 US will be charged. (You may be asked to present your return tickets at the border. There is a kiosk at the border where you can buy tickets for a direct bus going from Changuinola to San Jose. The ticket costs $14 and can be used any day after purchase; the bus driver will stop in Guapiles if you ask him to - keep in mind that you will be dropped off at a different bus station in Guapiles and you will have to walk for about 10 minutes or take a taxi to get the the bus terminal where you can catch a bus to Cariari). After this you can take a taxi to a hostel nearby but even more recommended is visiting the Bocas del Toro islands of Pamana. To get to the Bocas del Toro islands take a taxi (about $15) to the town of Almirantes and catch the boat taxi 25 (ferry boat) to Bocas del Toro (only $4). It is important to note that Panama is an hour ahead of Costa Rica and so while the border in CR closes at 5pm the one in Panama closes at 6pm. Depending on when the last ferry boat leaves Almirantes to the islands, you may need to stay over in Changuinola for the night. If so, take taxi to a hotel in Changuinola then continue via taxi to Almirantes the following morning (there are no hostels in Changuinola but there are a number of hotels. A good hotel in Changuinola is called SemiRami and it is located walking distance from the bus station ($30 per room, Tel:5077586006).