I made it! After leaving the house this morning at 4 a.m. I finally arrived at the research station around 5 p.m. There are 5 resident scientists that live here and 8 volunteers, two teachers, and a journalist. I met all the other volunteers in San Juan and a van drove us an hour south into the forest.
The research station is so cool. We are on top of a mountain ridge, so there are steep slopes in every direction. There are several little structures with retractable tarps for walls and a tin roof. My tent is in one of these structures. There is also a building (with real walls) that is the office, library, and kitchen. There is electricity in the office and a satellite dish outside to provide internet access.
The reality of being here in Puerto Rico sunk in when my plane landed in San Juan and I noticed large lizards scrambling in the grass next to the runway. I haven't learned yet what they were, but I hope to soon. There are also tons of lizards, snails, and frogs here in the rainforest. I hope to do a "gabcast" with them singing soon. The frog below is about the size of a nickel!
Thanks for all your comments and questions. More to come tomorrow when we go out in the forest and learn what/how the scientists are studying in this amazing place.
You guys are all in my thoughts.
Mr. L
10 comments:
hi mr lafond
haven fun????
mr stevens did some jello stuff today
pretty cool
~max
Hi! I think the picture of San Juan from the plane is really cool! I hope you have fun!
That sounds soooo cool! I've never been to the caribbean, the frog is sooo cute!
Mr. Lafond, what kind of snail is in the second picture you posted yesterday?
Meredith
Happy that you arrived safely. Sounds like a great place to spend the next few days working and observing.
Bob L
That's cool Mr. Lafond. What are you planning to do in the rainforest?
Hey Mr. Lafond
I love the pictures you got! The little pink frog is sooooo cute! I just wanted to ask what kind it was? Thanks! :-)
Hi, Mr Lafond! What is the name of that from in your picture? I hope you have fun in Puerto Rico. Also, is the experiment using real rainforest, or is everything planted from scratch?
~Sophia G
Hi folks,
There weren't as any frogs out last night because it was rather dry. There were plenty of snails though. I'm not sure exactly what kind they are, but they seem to pop out of nowhere when night time comes.
Jessica, Most of the frogs we are seeing are called coquis (ko-key). There are other kinds around too.
Jefferey and Sophia, The forest is a combination of natural growth and planted trees. Much of this area used to be old plantations or small farms. It is hard to tell, however, since plants grow really fast here.
Today, we'll be measuring some of the mahogany trees they've planted here. Eventually, they want to be able to sell the wood from the mahogany. Instead of planting mahogany trees like a farm crop, like corn for example, the mahogany are planted in lines amongst the original forest. It is actually hard to tell they were planted.
I hope to post pictures of us measuring the trees today.
see you soon, Mr.Lafond
Those are some awesome pictures. That is one heck of a cool snail.
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