Day 3

Today my roommates and I decided to wake up early to do a little workout before breakfast. We ran down to the gate and back twice. I felt so faint after that and sat in a cold shower. Recuperated and did some abs and pushups. Breakfast was an hour late this morning - islands time! Then we were off to el Yunque National Forest. When we arrived, one of the rangers gave a presentation about the flora and fauna in Puerto Rico - some endemic to the island and some have been introduced. Victor told us about the species that have gone extinct and about ones their highly endangered. There were only 13 Puerto Rican parrots in the 70s and now after a lot of research, 370 thrive in el Yunque, most in captivity. Apparently, they have a nesting site near our field station, but our impossible to spot. They are very sensitive to noise and any human presence. Puerto Rico's rainforest, unlike the Amazon, lacks monkeys and big cats. Large animals lack the capabilities to transport through water to the island. However, smaller mammals do exist like rats and bats. The only sloth species endemic to the island has gone extinct.

After the presentation, we ate lunch on the bus as we traveled to another area of the park. We were led on a short hike by another Forest Service Ranger - Edwin. We learned about the stratification in the forest based on elevation. The Luquille forest is divided into 4 life-zone: tabonuco, palo colorado, sierra palm, and dwarf forest at the top. Edwin told us that Puertoricans have Spanish, African, and indigenous descent, which is why there isn't a typical-looking puertorican which I thought was interesting. After the short hike, we went on a longer hike to a waterfall where we all swam. It was beautiful and quite refreshing. Back on the bus, stopped at a Puertorican restaurant for some snacks and refreshments. Dinner, shower, meeting, reading, and studying. What a day! Now we have to start thinking about our individual group projects. I'm thinking something about pollinator activity. It would be cool if I could work at night and see the bats.

At night here, the coquis, a type of tree frog, make a lot of noise. The males call for mates as well as to defend their territory. I like the noise, it helps me sleep.

Still can't believe the humidity!

 Baby bananas we had for lunch! 

 The water fall pool area was pretty crowded. We all got directly under the strong waterfall!

 The beach that we went to yesterday. We had a tour of the mangrove forest in the estuary where the spring water mixes with the warm ocean.

A walking stick insect on the leaf!