Cuajiniquil: Octopuses and Homestay

This picture makes me so happy :') Dora Ampié and her grandson Alan were the main members of my homestay family. Janany and Elissa were her daughters there too, but they were college students and were out of the house pretty often. This lovely family warmly accepted me into their home, and they were so kind and welcoming. Their charming home and comida típica made me truly feel like an actual tica, despite my broken Spanish speaking. I really enjoyed the experience, and I am very grateful for the chance to be part of their lives. The rest of the community in Cuajinquil were similarly friendly and receptive: every single person we encountered greeted us in passing. Key people I am particularly appreciative of: Minor and Anibal Lara, our boat captains and dive masters; Maria Fernanda (Mafe!), UCEAP resource person that accompanied us on our snorkel sessions; Marciano, owner of the fish receiver facility where I measured octopuses; and Sergio, an employee there that was very accommodating to my project. I can't forget the other students that made the Cuajini Bikini group! Carly, Cristina, Katie and Zoe kept me great company on the boat, and it was really nice to share experiences with them (and talk in English, haha).

In addition to our homestays, we collected data for our independent projects. I studied los pulpos! Octopuses!! I definitely upped my game in underwater pictures, and I have a few videos too! Once I stabilize them, you'll see the sea turtle, spotted eagle ray, and nifty octopuses I swam with! Again, in no particular order, here are the best photos in my collection for your viewing pleasure :)

One day, we went to Playa Junquillal, a beautiful beach that is part of the ACG (Area de Conservación Guanacaste). On the way there, we saw all 4 primate species of Costa Rica!! Howler monkeys, spider monkeys, white-face capuchins and squirrel monkeys! It was so exciting to see them climbing the trees above us, we were so happy that we saw them, all within a 30 minute period none the less! On the right is a long line fishing boat with the characteristic black flags that help make the fishing line more visible.

Here I am hard at work trying to identify the sex of these octopuses! The fishermen caught so many, it was both staggering and impressive. I measured 457 octopuses in total for my project, but individual count is different from total catch by weight. In the two weeks I conducted my study, the octopus fishermen brought in over 600 kg of octopuses from the ocean. I'll report more about the result of my project when I finish the analysis and writing portion. On the right is la Casa Verde, Frank's house, our rendezvous location and internet source, essentially the EAP base in Cuajiniquil.

Up next, awesome octopuses! Not only is it hard to spot a camouflaged octopus in the wild, it's also rare that it will stick around if you come too close, so it is with great pride that I present these pictures to you. Over the 2 weeks, I saw 32 octopuses in total! Thanks to Anibal and his crazy octopus catching skills, I got to hold one in my own hands!! Definitely one of the best moments in my life, I was all smiles for the rest of the day, and if I had taken out the snorkel, I would be grinning ear to ear in the photos. So happy!!

Some other cool critters I saw in the water! On the left is a blenny, which was Katie's study subject. These little guys were so cute, it was always a delight to see them pop out of the holes in the rocks and sway with the current as they looked at you with their big eyes. On the right, a pretty sea star.

I named the fish on the left Fred because he followed me around for 2 hours on one snorkeling session, and he came up so close to me that I was surprised he wasn't afraid of me. Most other puffers and fish swim away if you get too close, but Fred came to me! I think of him as a goodluck charm, since I saw 5 octopuses that session :) On the right, another spiffy puffer.

A pretty nudibranch and a cool scorpionfish.

Surgeonfish and snappers. There were tons of other cool schools of fish that I swam near. Every now and then in the water, I would look up from the sea floor and marvel at the fact I'm out in the ocean swimming with all these amazing fish. It was almost unreal being in the water, since I'm a land dweller and all. I had so much fun doing this project, and despite some times of struggle, it was an amazing two weeks that I'll never forget.