Tuesday 18 June 2013

Finishing off plot one and arriving in Santa Rosa de Lagarto

We walked back to the plot and finished the transect. Louis then did another transect identifying any species we missed the first time. He focused on plant shrubs and herbs. Meanwhile the rest of us took some peat cores. We put 0-5cm, 5-10cm, 10-20cm and 20-30cm soil samples in bags. This is because nutrient samples will be carried out on the top soil. Freddie noted the colour, texture and description of the rest of the cores for a record. I took a picture of the cores too so Freddie could use it as a reference later.  Then we left the plot. On the way back I still held Hugo’s hand but for some of the walk I didn’t need to. So I am getting better at balance! We speed ahead as usual. When we got back we had a quick wash in the river and then packed all our things and headed off to the next site by boat. Some of our clothes that were drying on the boat flew off into the river! Hulio then with great precision turned the boat around and we collected the items with a stick. Somehow we managed to retrieve all of the items, including a shirt and some boxers. We arrived in Santa Rosa de Lagarto the next village twenty minutes later. We also topped up on fuel here – result! We stayed in the mayor’s house this time. I made a friend here with the mayor’s daughter and used my limited amount of Spanish to find out her name. As she was young language didn't matter so much and she seemed to enjoy playing hide and seek. This village was more developed than the last. There was a government scheme put in place to give every house a toilet. This was really good because hygienic toilet facilities prevents disease and harmful bacteria causing illnesses. In addition, this village also has electricity. There are massive speakers on the paths which announcements are made through. This said, it is still very basic.

No comments:

Post a Comment