PIIP 2024 Alonso

Today we went on a boat adventure to an archipelago around the bay it was really nice and relaxing after all the work we've done so far, we get to spend hours just sitting and swimming around the beach where the eater was so good and warm, we visited two islands/beaches on the second one we went on some time of float adventure where we get to ride around the sea trying not to fall.  After lunch we had like 2 hours until we were supposed to get back, and there was a tree where it was cool and nice so most of us just decided to nap there and it was definitely worth it. On our way back we saw some dolphins just swimming around which definitely made the trip worthwhile.  I got sun burn and a not so nice tan, but it is the Panamanian experience, now we just need to focus on the poster as the presentation is in like 2 days. 

Today we visited a community in the comarca and we get to see they way they live and how their houses look like and some part of their culture like a little dance demonstration as well as a traditional "brindis" typical of their culture. We also presented about the importance of clear water and how to keep it clean I was a bit nervous about the presentation since we prepare everything in less than a day but it actually went really good way better than we expected as the members of the comarca seem to be very engaged and curious as we showed them how their water actually looks like under the microscope  It was an awesome activity it was great to experience this and at least it makes me feel great that I may have done something good for the people of that community 

 Today was our first day out in the field, I had a great time, we hiked for a while to reach the best conservation spot to test our spots, we figure the size of our plot to then take different measurements of wind speed, temperature, humidity, dew point, altitude, and barometric pressure, canopy light percentages  that way we are able to compare different factors that may affect the insects population and distribution. It was fun and interesting learning about the different insects that are on the ground and how they change from plot to plot.  Once we had the data from one of the sites, we added it to a table to have it registered. On the way down the site we saw some monkeys around a tree and that was really nice to look at them from really close.  For dinner today we had chicken burgers, which was something that I was not expecting to eat in Panama, but it was really nice, but I was expecting some traditional food  I'm looking forward to keep researching this program and really s

 Ever since arriving in Panama, I knew it was going to be a different experience from what I'm used to; the heat and humidity were a bit more than what I was expecting but the views and the landscapes is something that makes up for the extreme weather.  My first night in Batipa which is where we're gonna be staying for the remainder of the research, was a whole new experience. before going to bed I took a shower to try and refresh but once I got out I was sweating again so that made little difference. We had mosquito nets around our bed but I still decided to apply bug spray just to be safe, it was really hot at night even with the fans on I got little sleep with all the noise from monkeys and water. Still, I was up and ready to go in the morning. The next morning, The food was really good and it was nice to try something new and typical of Panama, for breakfast, we had "yuca" with sausage, cheese, and a really good Habanero sauce, all of this with a nice cup of "

Today we went out to in the field and hiked to the different areas of the reservation where we'll be doing our research. Overall it was a nice hike, it was around 1 hour long but it wasn't really tiring, it was a bit exhausting maybe because I'm not use to the humidity but the views and the little alligators at the top made it worthwhile, Dinner was really good, the chicken and potatoes were delicious, but before dinner was over it started raining cats and dogs,  and it was so bad that the water got into our little room and Into some of our beds.  Other than that everything is going good and tomorrow we have our first actual field day.