Hello!! Welcome to the new and improved Costa Rica Project. As you may have guessed from our previous post (or lack of them), things didn’t go as planned. Back in February-March we ran into some unexpected complications and wound up sending only two team members, Lisbeth Santana and Abby Korth, to the FCRE site for another site visit over spring break. Because the project timeline and commitments were larger than anticipated, the project schedule didn’t fit some of the team members’ schedules and therefore we lost some members and added a new one. Thank you so much, Kristen, Alanna and Spencer for your help!! And welcome, Brandyn Carlson!!
Yesterday, we all arrived at the San Jose airport in the morning, but unfortunately Jin-hwa missed her flight due to exceptionally long lines checking baggage. This was a little speed bump in our schedule, but it gave the rest of the team an opportunity to go sightseeing in San Jose. First, we went to an authentic Costa Rican restaurant, Sotas, for lunch. Next we went to the local Costa Rican Art Museum in La Aduana and checked out a break dancing contest as well the art exhibit. Check out the video and picture below!
Lisbeth, Abby, Alice and Brandyn in a local park in front of a beautiful, but sick, tree
Checking out the art exhibits
The team with our sightseeing van
It started to rain, and so to pass the time we got an up-close and personal tour of the San Jose neighborhoods, and then went grocery shopping for the week. At 8pm we picked up Jin-hwa at the airport, met up with Geovanny, our driver from the FCRE, and started our 4 hour journey to the Pitzer Costa Rica campus.
Now, Monday June 6th, we are finally here as a team in Baru, Costa Rica, just outside of San Isidro. Jinhwa and Professor Hightower successfully checked the turbine and inverter through Costa Rica customs (we were very concerned about this step!). Lisbeth and Jin-hwa are off picking up all the supplies, Brandyn is diligently assembling our turbine system, and Abby and Alice are off gallivanting in the jungle lugging sandbags up the slippery creek slopes and making plans to start construction.
Lisbeth and Abby outside the dorms
Brandyn assembling the turbine
Professors McFarlane and Hightower hiking up to the dam site
Abby filling sandbags to divert the stream flow to enable the dam construction
The supplies delivery truck just arrived!! Time to get Muddy (hehe, get it?!).
We’ll keep you posted!
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