Day 7--ATBC day 2

On the second day of the conference I really wanted to hear the keynote talk this morning (there are 2 keynote talks given by world-renowned tropical biologists each day: one in the morning and one in the evening). I arrived at the Centro Cultural Universitario at 8am for the 8:30 talk entitled “Ecological theory, political reality and the role of agroecosystems in a new conservation paradigm.” I enjoyed the talk and it is always interesting to see what the big-name biologists look like in person after getting a mental image from reading their papers and books! I spent the morning attending the Ecological Theory symposium (which was very popular and crowded).

I again ate lunch in the conference venue (a good sandwich on a baguette this time!) and for dessert we had popsicles--I ate two: horchata and pistachio. They were really good. After eating, I listened to talks in the Ecology and Conservation of Mammals oral session and enjoyed one talk on white-lipped peccaries. I spent the last half of the afternoon in a symposium on the use of agricultural landscapes in conservation and reforestation.

I met up with a big group of people (La Selva friends and UM friends) for early dinner around 7pm. We walked a short distance to Café Virrey, a café that bordered the main square and cathedral area. Here I ordered one of the more adventurous local foods on my trip: charolitos frescos de Patzcuaro. These are translated as “tiny fried lake fish (from the nearby Patzcuaro lake).” Other people at the table said that these were delicious and that I should try them--they would help me eat them. They were good (salty, battered fishies) but too spiny, bony, and full of exploding eyeballs for my taste. I also had a cream of avocado soup which was better. A couple of us went to a gelateria for dessert afterwards and I had a tasty mascarpone gelato.

This evening’s special event organized by the ATBC was a symphony within the cathedral which was very nice to see and hear. They played some classical songs and even had a special organ-playing guest for one song. This was a nice, low-key way to end the night.

Day 6--ATBC day 1

Today is the first day of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) conference with the first set of talks beginning at 10am (a little later than I expected). I spent the majority of my morning (10-12:20) in the Ecology of Seed Dispersal oral sessions and saw some great talks. The morning talks were mostly about bird-mediated seed dispersal and secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles. Interesting, but I would have enjoyed more mammal talks (what can I say…I’m biased!).

Lunch was pretty crazy, but included (each day) in the conference registration fee. I met up with Ana and we waited for ~half an hour (!) in line for sandwiches, salad, cake, and agua de jamaica.

After lunch, I listened to more talks in the second half of the Ecology of Seed Dispersal oral sessions. These talks were nice and more theoretical than this morning’s (which I liked). I also made sure to catch a talk on how seed dispersing bats in the New and Old Worlds affect forest succession--this talk was part of a bat symposium and was given by one of my committee members.

At 4:30pm, the poster session began in the Colegio San Nicolas de Hidalgo and I looked at all the posters for a little less than an hour. I met up for dinner with a group of friends around 6:30pm and I had more tacos before the special event of the evening (organized by ATBC). At 8:30pm, we went to a concert of Latin American music by a group named “Bola Suriana” in the Conservatorio de las Rosas (this is the same room/auditorium where I will give my talk on the last day of the conference!). I didn’t think I would like the concert but I actually did. The group played a variety of songs from many different genres with my favorites being those modeled on the style of indigenous Mexican music. Around 11pm I walked back to the hostel with Ana and Danielle for some sleep--what a busy but great first conference day!

Day 5--ATBC registration

Today was a relatively leisurely morning and I took my time getting ready and eating a snack before I headed back downtown for more exploration. I walked the four blocks to the main square and admired the huge cathedral and surrounding buildings, gazebo, park, and fountains.

After exploring and wandering, I walked to the (nearby) Colegio de San Nicolas de Hidalgo to register for the ATBC conference. This is one of the 4 buildings where talks will be held during the tropical biology conference. I received my registration kit and walked back to the hostel to check it out and plan which talks I would go to each day. The registration kit included: a pen (mine imploded after only one use!), a rattan folder, burlap-type bag (meh), a name tag, the program, CD of abstracts (> 700 of them!), and, the best thing, a souvenir rattan lizard!

I spent the rest of the afternoon resting and reading (and watching TV!) until my friend and lab-mate Ana arrived. We went back to the Colegio to get her registration taken care of then walked around downtown some more before the opening plenary talk tonight at 7pm. The talk was nice (if a little long) and afterwards there was a performance by a traditional Michoacan dance troupe. My favorite dance was when a guy was dressed like a big white fish and hopped around until he was caught in a net thrown out by the fishermen. The fish costume was really cute and even had a little tongue sticking out.

After the talk/performance (~9:30), Ana and I went out to dinner at Café Catedral. I had some really good chicken tacos (they weren’t spicy--yay!) and we met up with our fellow UM graduate students Tanya, David, Eric, and Nate. There are a lot of people here from my university! After dinner, we want back to the hostel for some sleep. Tomorrow is the first real day of the conference and the beginning of the talks!

Los Simpson

WOW! Today is the day that the Simpsons (or Los Simpson in Spanish) movie hits the theaters! I am very excited and will hopefully get to see it down here. Too bad it will be dubbed in Spanish and I don't like the Mexican voices as much as the gringo ones. Maybe there will be one in English with Spanish subtitles?

Hey, this is a picture of what I would look like in the Simpsons universe!

Day 4--Morelia

I woke up today at 6:30am--I guess I was anxious about my day of travel to Morelia. I ate a breakfast of brioche and hot chocolate with Danielle at El Globo (that hot chocolate is really good!). Soon after, I checked out of the hostel, said goodbye to Danielle, and walked down to the metro. I rode line 1 to Observatorio (super-close) and found my way to the Central de Autobuses de Oriente. I bought my ticket for a silla sola on the 10:30am ETN bus to Morelia. The ticket (one-way) was about $28 US, but totally worth it. This was the best bus ever! Upon boarding the bus, I was given a boxed lunch and drink. Inside, there were only about 24 seats and tons of space for each person. My seat was located on one side in a row of single seats, and the seat could recline almost flat! I also had an inclined foot-rest, pillow, earphones, and cupholder! The ride to Morelia took about 4 hours and during the trip I watched the movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. It was fairly entertaining (at least there was a penguin wearing a Hawaiian shirt in it!).

I arrived in Morelia ~2:45pm and took a taxi from the bus station to Hostal Allende near the city’s Centro Historico. My room here was really nice (well worth the $11 per night price tag!) and contained a comfy bed, TV (with cable), and a private bathroom (with hot water). I would definitely stay here again. My hostel was also really close (4 blocks or so) from the venues for the ATBC and the cathedral.


After settling in, I walked around the colonial streets and eventually found a grocery store where I bought more bread, yoghurt, cheese, and tomatoes for my dinner that night at the hostel. I toured around town for a while and saw the famous pink-stone cathedral and main square. Being pretty tired from all the traveling, I walked back to the hostel, ate dinner, and watched TV (it’s been so long since I have seen TV!). Tomorrow I register for the conference and get to see more of the town when my friends arrive!

Day 3--Zocalo

Again, I woke up at 7am to get ready for my day, but took a leisurely time getting ready so that I could wait out the morning metro rush. I left the hostel around 9 and found the metro a LOT less crowded than it was yesterday. The metro ride to the Zócalo (main city square) was very quick and easy, taking about 10 minutes. Upon exiting the station, I walked a short distance to Templo Mayor, bought a ticket, and began my walking tour of the ruins. The temple complex is very obviously only a shadow now of its former glory. The excavations show the multiple layers of temples overlaying each other. I can’t imagine how this structure (and the city of Tenochtitlán) must have looked during the time of the Aztecs, located in the middle of a huge lake (now all dried up). The outer structures of this site were very impressive, but I think the on-site museum is even nicer.

The Templo Mayor museum is very well done with all exhibits/artifacts dramatically-lit and described by informative, artistic plaques. Most of the treasures unearthed during the Templo Mayor excavations are housed here. I especially liked the eagle-shaped statue used to hold the hearts (etc.) of sacrificial victims and the famous stone showing the murder/dismemberment of the goddess Coyolxuahqui.

After Templo Mayor and the museum, I walked over to the nearby Palacio Nacional. Upon passing through security, I went upstairs to look at the famous Diego Rivera murals. Although I don’t particularly love his artistic style, I was impressed by the amount of effort that was obviously put into these massive murals. I did like the murals depicting Tenochtitlán prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. I didn’t spend very long in the Palacio, but I took the time to admire some of it’s architecture, art, and the central square.

By now it was lunch time and I walked down a side street and ate flautas de pollo (good but spicy) and chocolate caliente (Nesquick!?! Blaaah!) at a restaurant called Vips. After my lunch I wandered into the Starbucks next door for a caramel frappucinno--I'm in a big city now! It has been at least 7 months since I’ve had anything from Starbucks (they don’t exist in Costa Rica).

Once I finished my coffee and had enough of a break, I found an internet café to quickly check my e-mail and spent the next couple of hours wandering around the streets near the Zócalo looking for souvenirs. I eventually made my way back to the Catedral and went inside to look around and relax (and escape the sun) for a little bit. The ceilings and altar carvings were very impressive and pretty.

It was around 3:30 by now and too hot to hang around in the main square for much longer. I took the metro back to the hostel, drank some water, and reorganized before walking over to the Zona Rosa and Mercado de Insurgentes. The Mercado here was less than impressive, consisting of really redundant stores that sold the same boring, overpriced junk to tourists. I did manage to bargain for a cute, brightly-painted wooden owl (alebrije) for Carlos.

Back at the hostel I met up with my friend Danielle and we went out to dinner at a Sanborns where I had chilaquiles (spicy!). After eating dinner we walked to the bakery near out hostel (El Globo) for a hot chocolate and this was by far the best cup yet. Upon returning to the hostel, I took a shower and went to sleep around 11pm (late!). Tomorrow I travel to Morelia~

Day 2--Chapultepec

I woke up this morning at 7am to get ready for my day at the Anthropology Museum and Bosque Chapultepec. I left the hostel around 8:15 and made my way to the nearby Sevilla metro stop. Once inside the metro hallways, I felt like a salmon swimming upstream--there were people everywhere (little did I know that this was rush hour). I mapped out my route, bought some tickets (massively cheap at about 20 cents a pop!) and started my metro adventure.

The DF metro was surprisingly easy to use (even during rush hour) and I didn’t get lost making my transfers to other lines or anything. This was a really great, fast way to maneuver around this huge city. I felt that the metro was a really weird juxtaposition: on the walls are numerous Aztec murals and on the speakers overhead I kept hearing Foreigner and Journey!

I exited the metro at Auditorio and walked a couple of blocks to the National Anthropology Museum. It was only 8:30 so I had to wait outside for a half hour until the museum opened. Upon entrance, the first thing you see is a huge stone pillar/fountain holding up the massive concrete roof. I first visited the area containing artifacts from ancient groups that inhabited northern Mexico (i.e. Anasazi). After that, I visited the 1) introductory galleries, 2) Preclassic era, 3) Teotihuacan, 4) Mexica (Aztec), 5) Toltecs, 6) Oaxaca, 7) Gulf coast, and 8) the Maya. My favorite artifacts were housed in the Teotihucan, Aztec, and (of course) the Maya areas. To see all the Mayan glyphs and stelae that I had only before seen in books was especially neat. After touring the archaeological exhibits on the bottom floor, I stopped at the museum’s café for a lunch of waffles (strawberry!) and hot chocolate. My first authentic Mexican hot chocolate (chocolate metate) and it was really good!



After lunch, I visited the ethnographic exhibits on the museum’s upper floor. These exhibits showed the typical crafts and societies of indigenous peoples living throughout Mexico today. These exhibits were nice, but I didn’t enjoy them as much as I did the ancient exhibits. My favorite exhibits were: the Mayan stelae & Palenque tomb, hummingbird goblet in the Oaxaca gallery, and Moctezuma’s headdress in the Aztec gallery. This museum was great and well worth the trip.

After the museum, I wandered around Bosque Chapultepec for a couple of hours which was pretty fun (even though I didn’t have time for the zoo). After my wanderings, I hopped back on the metro and returned to my hostel. I ate a bit of dinner in the hostel and planned my day tomorrow (downtown!).

Day 1--Arrival in Mexico City

I arrived at the San Jose airport at 5 am after being picked up by a taxi at 4:30 am. Carlos came with me to see me off while I paid my exit fee (no extra charge for overstaying my visa by > 1 month!) and checked in to Mexicana airlines. I still had over an hour to wait so Carlos and I waited together in the main airport lounge area.

At 5:30 am I said goodbye to Carlos and passed through security with no problems and waited at my gate until my flight boarded. The flight was only 3 hours and I arrived in Distrito Federal (DF = Mexico City) around 11. The first thing I noticed when flying in was how HUGE Mexico City is…the second thing I noticed was the smog. There is a ton. The grey sky reminded me a bit of Lima and its ever-present overcast sky, except DF’s greyness isn’t made of clouds.

I took an authorized taxi to Hostal Casa Vieja near the Sevilla metro stop in the Zona Rosa. This was a really nice, small and cozy hostel. The hostel is in a great part of the city, very secure, cheap, and best of all only about 20 steps from the metro! I even had a private room located on the roof with my own bathroom. I would probably stay here again.

(My room at Hostal Casa Vieja in Mexico City)

After a little unpacking, I walked around the Zona Rosa (area with markets and cafes) and some streets near my hostel. I eventually found a supermarket where I bought some bread, tomatoes, cheese (manchego!), and snacks for dinner tonight at the hostel. I returned to Hostal Casa Vieja and took a little nap before more sight-seeing, a bit of reading, dinner, then bed. Tomorrow should be a really fun day—I am going to learn how to use the metro (my first time using one by myself!) and visit the National Anthropology Museum and Bosque Chapultepec.

I'm back!

Hi everyone!

I have just arrived from Mexico and I am now working on organizing everything here at La Selva again. I didn't have time to check anything on the internet during my trip, but I am thinking of making a post-hoc blog of each day of my travels. I kept a notebook journal of each day's activities so I think I will copy those journal entries to the blog along with pictures. Mexico was really a great country--I just wish that I could have stayed longer!

On the road again...

Well, it is almost time for me to travel to Mexico for the 2007 ATBC conference! I am pretty excited for this trip and plan on seeing a lot on my free, non-conference days (mostly spent in Mexico City). Tomorrow morning I am taking the bus to San Jose to purchase some travel things (like a small shampoo, etc.) since I am taking only my backpack and it will be a carry-on. Carlos is coming with me as far as San Jose and we are going to stay at a nice hotel and have a good dinner for a "mini-vacation" since he can't come to Mexico with me. I arrive in Mexico City on the early afternoon of the 11th and plan on doing a little shopping (I need nice, non-field clothes for the conference!) and seeing some museums. I love museums! Another goal of mine is to have delicious mexican-style hot chocolate and churros...yumm-mo.

I am packing the last of my things and hoping that I won't forget anything. I think this will be a great trip and my very first time in Mexico! It will serve as both a fun travel opportunity and a learning experience. Hopefully I will get to meet with a lot of knowledgeable scientists to discuss my work and who knows...maybe I can walk away with a post-doc offer or two--HA, that would be fantastic!

I don't know how often I will have access to a computer so I may not have many blog updates during my trip, but I will try to write a new entry here and there while in Mexico. That should do it for now--Chau!

A day of sloths and scorpions

Yesterday I found a baby sloth (the 3-toed kind: Bradypus variegatus) on the forest floor. When I found him, he was lying face-down and clutching a leaf. At first I thought he was dead, but he was just a little dazed since he fell out of his tree--he must have grabbed a loose leaf and his weight took it down. He was lucky and nothing seemed to be broken, in fact he assumed his "theat posture" with both arms up and claws out. I could have touched him, but that's not a good idea with wild animals (especially ones with very strong pointy claws). Carlos and I managed to transfer him onto a woody vine that would get him back up in the canopy and once he started climbing he zoomed up the tree. Cool!

Oh yea, yesterday I was also stung by a scorpion (the nasty brown and yellow kind). It was hiding in my pants and stung me on the butt! I can't even believe that...first a bee stings me on the butt during our family vacation in Hawaii a few years ago and now this! It hurt pretty bad and I am told that it is worse than the sting of the bullet ant here (so named since its sting feels like you've been shot--allegedly). Oh well, I didn't even have to go to the hospital, but my butt was numb all day!

PS. Carlos killed the scorpion with his shoe after it stung me--what a nice guy!

Esta lluviendo

Ah yes, the rainy season has truly arrived now. There have been thunder storms all through last night and this morning resulting in a huge flood. The rain has not stopped at all and the directors of the station have closed the forest! There are actual signs posted around the lab clearing at all the forest entrances preventing anyone from going inside. To enter the station from our house we have to ride in a little boat since one of the rivers has flooded across the road! It is pretty exciting and not scary at all, just a little weird to see the forest that you are so used to literally transform into a floodland overnight! This is the second flood that I have been in here at La Selva. The last one occurred about one year ago around this same time in July and they closed the forest then too--wacky fun.

Practice, practice...

Last night at 7:30pm I gave my ATBC talk to about 50 (maybe more) researchers and students at the station. I was pretty nervous but everything went really well. At the tropical biology conference I have a 20 minute block of time to present--15 minutes for the talk and about 5 minutes for questions afterwards. I managed to cram all the information into my alotted time peiod and fielded a LOT of questions! Afterwards, the station director had organized a small reception with snacks and I got to talk with a bunch of people about my research. Everyone seemed really interested in what I am doing and I also received a lot of compliments on my talk and apparent lack of nervousness while presenting. HA! I was super-nervous, but I guess I hid it pretty well. This was great practice for the real thing that I have to give on 19 July--the last day of the conference! Argh, I would rather get it over with early, but my symposium is scheduled for the final day.

I leave for Mexico in one week and I am getting really excited. I have gotten some excellent travel suggestions on must-see sights in Mexico City and Morelia from my friends and family. I am probably the most excited to visit the pyramids of Teotihuacan and Templo Mayor in the city. I am meeting my friend/lab-mate Ana in Mexico City and we will travel to Morelia and go see some sites together. I will post more details as my departure time nears. Chau!