Banana Plantations and Bird Island

On one of our reading and research days, David organized a trip for us all to go to the banana plantations. So, we all woke up early and climbed in our favorite boats and took off. We had a very nice boat ride up until we got to a tributary of the Changuinola river. The water got very shallow very quickly and we had to raise our engines to get through. Once inside the tributary we began winding our way through the dense undergrowth. At times this required turning around to rescue the boat behind us or practically beaching ourselves when squeezing through narrow pathways. The trip through the tributary was very beautiful with a multitude of birds and flowers along the banks. Eventually, we made our way out and into the Changuinola. After traveling the river for a bit we made it to the plantations.

We just pulled up along the bank and climbed out!

(our boats were tied to clumps of dirt to keep them from drifting).

There were some horses and dogs outside the plantation, and we named the dogs Dole and Chiquita! We then were allowed to go into the plantations (by climbing under barbed wire, don't worry we had permission) and wander about the banana trees. Little known fact, banana trees can only have one large bunch of banana trees in their life and then they are chopped down and a new one is allowed to grow in its place. Sadly, we did not get any bananas for our trip, but we did get some cool photos.

After we left we decided to take a side trip to Bird Island!

This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! There were so many birds flying to land on the island, and the sound was so beautiful as all the birds sang! The ride there was real fun and well worth being a little late to lunch for. I will let the pictures do the talking for this one!

Overall we had an excellent morning and we were all glad that we woke up for it!

Moon Jellies Attack!

Lesson One: Don't always believe everything you are told.

Lesson Two: Don't ever play "Throw a Moon Jelly."

Sunday started out like every other R&R day in Panama. Breakfast at 7 a.m., reading on the beach, even an afternoon snorkel to practice fish I.D.'s. Well, that innocent snorkel was when "All The Evil" happened. 

From the very first day, we had been told the Moon Jelly that we see EVERYWHERE does not sting humans. They have nematocysts, but according to some genius somewhere, they are "only used to attack prey." The welt that starts on the back of my arm and covers my left shoulder blade says otherwise. I was viciously attacked by a Moon Jelly bigger than my head, and am seriously traumatized from the whole incident. Okay, that is not exactly how it happened, but I was in fact stung by this supposed docile invertebrate. Because we had been told they are benign little guys, a select few (names will not be released) thought it was a fantastic idea to throw them at each other under and out of water. The game ended horribly as you can guess. A bit of advice for future East West students/blog readers: animals the size of your face should be left alone. Good thing we didn't come up with the bright idea to play "Throw a Lionfish!"

Colors

One of the best things about Panama is the colors. From the second you leave the airport in Bocas del Toro, you are bombarded with every shade of every color you can imagine. Houses, businesses, and buildings are pink, purple, yellow, green, orange, blue, and any combination thereof.

The leaves of trees are enormous and all different hues of yellow and green. Birds fly by in flashes of red, black, and electric blue. Flowers are perpetually in bloom surrounded by irridescent insects buzzing about...

And that's just on land.

Underwater there are orange sponges and firecorals draped with brittle stars and jet black urchins.

Purple and blue tipped anemone sway back and forth with the current, and its easy to lose yourself looking in cracks and crevices of coral colonies.
Bottom line, where things at home (especially at this time of year) are dull gray and brown and black, everything in Panama is vibrant and full of life. I love it here.

Cowfish Chase

(thanks to Karissa Sciacca for video footage!)

Underwater Exam

Today we had our first day of studying fishes after finishing up with coral biology. We just finished up with all our exams and to keep up with the excitement of Panama we did some of it underwater! We had our coral ID exam in which we identified corals underwater and recorded them on slates. I think I need to work on my underwater handwriting. It couldn't have been a better day for a dive. The water was super clear and calm which meant a nice smooth boat ride out and back (no sore bottoms that day!) and the last group out actually saw some dolphins. I think that is some sort of good luck. I never thought I would be able to remember all those corals, but after seeing them everyday for two weeks it wasn't that difficult. Stephanie and I lucked out after the dive, and while filling tanks up we saw a monkey!

We wrapped up our first class, coral biology, by doing a lab report and are now ready for our next class, fishes! One of the teachers Claire and TA Heidi got to STRI early so and we were able to meet them ahead of time. The next couple of days we will all be in the lab and field learning all of our Caribbean fish for the next round of exams. Now that I can finally identify most of the corals in the water I will have to learn the fish instead :) Oh well, that is the price you pay for living and learning in Panama.

After living here for 11 days I think we have finally won the war against the bugs! We all have our bug bites, some more than others (poor Piper), but the bites are slowing. We have even come up with new ways to stop the itch such as clear nail polish, white toothpaste (not the blue kind), and deodorant. The recommended treatment is Skin So Soft lotion, unfortunately Bocas stores do not seem to carry it, so we got creative! We are sad to see Steve leave, but he will be back soon for Coiba! In the meantime, we will be chasing after fish with our underwater cameras. Corals were easier; they didn't move!

Conquering Panama

Though it's hard to believe, round two of Three Seas has already started. After three plane flights and several sleepless nights, we finally made it to Bocas del Toro, Panama. It has been three days since we invaded the Smithsonian's Tropical Research Station on Isla Colón, and I think it's safe to say we all already love it here. Aside from a few unwanted mosquito bites, the Bocas lifestyle is a breath of fresh air. Everyone has been so welcoming and the facilities we get to live and work out of are amazing.

Home for the next 9 weeks.

Student dorms and kitchen.

The lab's waterfront property allows for an easy transition between diving, lecture, lab and food (did I mention how great the food was yet??). We've already seen and learned some incredible things: lionfish are bad, sloths are elusive, ears are precious and should be treated with care. 

Boats used for daily dive excursions.

Lauren's friend. 

Eagle ray seen while snorkeling. 

Corals is our first course here in Panama. After two identification dives and a snorkel adventure we are slowly but surely learning the most common species found in Bocas. Today, we began work on our reciprocal transplant experiment. We took two species of coral, Porites astreoides and Montastrea franksi, from two locations, 3 meters and 10 meters, and transplanted samples to the different depths. The samples will be left in the field for six days, after which we will determine any changes in photosynthetic efficiency. We look forward to seeing the results of this lab as well as our all future escapades in Panama!!

Porites furcata or Branched Finger Coral. 

Hard-core science.

A Monika LaPlante original film/movie:

Around Town

Welcome to Panama!

After a long trip, the Three Seas students finally made it to Bocas del Toro, Panama. Click here for a video tour of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute grounds and facilities.