It has officially been raining for the past 3 days practically NON-STOP. I'm not just talking rain like drizzle, I'm talking torrential downpour; rain so loud you can't hear yourself talk; rain so loud it roars. You'd think that after a really heavy period the rain would dissipate, but here it just pulls off a little and then comes back full force for just as long. I have never seen rain like this ever.

It's been a frustrating time. For anyone who knows me, I am not one who enjoys rain or being cooped up inside - especially when I'm in Costa Rica and want to be out and about experiencing everything!!! But for my last days here I have sat inside, all activities canceled, doing little more than last minute Dawley work and wasting time.

But it hasn't been all bad. Yesterday the rain stopped for about a 4 hour period. For a moment the clouds left and revealed blue skies. This lull coincided with our morning birding hours and the bird team experienced our best morning for birding ever. It was non-stop action with birds hitting the net every 3-5 minutes. We caught 26 birds, a new day record (including the days when we did afternoon birding which we were unable to do here in La Selva due to the rain). While the elusive trogon and motmot avoided our nets, it was still the high I needed after the preceding miserable days.

For me work is done. We've just finished our presentations and our last quiz. The rain continues and I am left to shower, pack, and spend the rest of the evening as I please. The group will probably convene later in the evening to play mafia and other games as one final hoorah. We are a very cohesive group and I have been fortunate to be part of yet another fine group of UC elite.

I come home tomorrow which I am very ready for. We are leaving an hour early since the recent influx of rain has caused mudslides and flooding in some areas so we are afraid are primary route may not be accessible. There is a longer route that we can take instead as a back up hence the earlier departure. Keep your fingers crossed that traveling tomorrow runs smoothly! These last rainy days have been dreary enough to make me homesick and ready for the States. I've been living off Nutella which has been a God send and has curbed my other cravings somewhat, but the desperate need for non-cilantro laced food persists. I can't wait to for food. I am such a food-oriented person it's scary. I am wary of hitting the books immediately upon my return but my overall excitement outweighs that fear.

Check facebook for more photos later and other than that it's homeward bound for me tomorrow morning!!!

The past 24 hours have been the worst of the entire trip.

Yesterday morning we were up early as usual for a long day of traveling. The game plan was simple, grab a quick breakfast, drive out of Osa in the hardcore taxi SUVs, meet our bus and luggage (the trip to Osa was pretty rugged and so not all our bags could be brought along. Bags were consolidated while others were left behind.), buy a few snacks to hold us until lunch, get lunch around 2 at the McDonald's in San Jose, and then get to La Selva for dinner time. This, however, is NOT what happened.

One of the taxis broke down on the way to the bus which delayed us. But when we did finally get to our bus with our meager snacks, we found that the bus hadn't picked up our luggage in Las Cruces as was prearranged. We therefore had to drive 3 hours back up the mountains to Las Cruces to recover the forgotten luggage. Robert changed plans and told us that instead of getting to San Jose for lunch, we'd be hitting the city more around dinner time so we'd stop for more snacks after Las Cruces and grab dinner at McDonalds in San Jose. THIS HOWEVER DID NOT HAPPEN. After picking up the luggage Robert changed the plan again. His new and IMPROVED plan was to bypass San Jose since it was 2 hours out of the way and not stop for food or bathroom breaks until we reached La Selva approximately 8 hours later. Needless to say, we were outraged. But the biggest insult came around 6, when we arrived in, you guessed it, San Jose which was apparently not out of the way but rather smack dab in the middle of our route! We literally had to drive straight through it. It's dinner time, we're all starving, agitated, and in desperate need of a bathroom break but do we stop? No. We pass 4 McDonalds while driving through the city and the bus was filled with wails and moans. But did we stop? Were we ever fed? Did our meager snacks meant to last only until 2 ever get replenished? No, no, and NO. We were essentially denied food and water for an entire day for what? We had no plans for the night! Our plan was to arrive a sleep!

I didn't eat so as to avoid getting thirsty (and besides I only had a packet of cookies and some Nutella). I didn't drink anything so that I wouldn't have to pee (no bathroom break for 8 hours). I am now super dehydrated and feeling terribly nauseous. I have never been so upset with Robert. He was irrational and brutal in the face of a minor delay.

To make matters worse, it has not stopped raining here in La Selva which means no birding. And it's not just raining, it's torrential down pour. I have spent the morning feeling dizzy and sick, standing in the rain, setting up nets. I hope it clears up because I would really like to end this trip on a high note. The birding here is supposed to be dynamite and I'd really like to experience that. I would much rather spend my last two days in Costa Rica enjoying myself and catching birds than sitting inside, feeling sick, and watching the rain. The trip just can't end like this.

Also, to put your minds at ease, I am super hydrating today. The dizzyness and nausea should be gone my tomorrow.

I admit, I am feeling rather homesick after the Hell we went through yesterday and being soaked and sick today.

So I'm finally getting the time and cooperation from technology needed to upload pictures. Here are a few choice favorites from my time here in Osa!

Believe it or not it's my last day in Osa! It's been a trying time here. There's been homesickness, injuries, and technology meltdowns. But it really is a gorgeous site with an amazing setting. Allow me to set the scene...

We are standing in a clearing in a tropical rainforest. In the clearing there are small planted trees and a garden. Buildings line the perimeter of of the clearing. The dining hall is at the closest end with no walls and a cone shaped roof. The rest of the buildings only have half walls with large, curtained windows. I think I already told you all about the awesome pink mosquito nets and yesterday we got groovy colorful sheets! There's a large fruit tree that pairs of scarlet macaws visit every evening. The macaw couples frequently visit the clearing, in fact you almost always here their calls and see them flying overhead. Toucans can be seen often and monkeys are frequent visitors. The monkeys climb all over the trees that line surround the clearing. We are woken each morning by the loud moans of the howler monkeys, and we often see spider monkeys, white faced capuchins, and SQUIRREL MONKEYS!! They're so gosh darn cute.

Unfortunately birding is slow here, but afternoons are relaxing with daily trips to the beach. We've found a lovely lagoon away from the rough waves and perfect for relaxing. The beach is deserted so we have all the space, coconuts, hermit crabs, and pretty shells we want (though the most coveted item is a smooth, skipping stone). For most people anyways, I can't skip stones so I typically just make drizzle castles...

Our last site of the trip is La Selva and is the roughest stop of the trip. But it should be great for birding and I could really go for some exciting birding right about now. Internet permitting I'll continue to post! Now on to La Selva!

So I'll be limiting my blog posts FOR SURE from now on but Michelle is letting me do mini posts from time to time. Internet permitting I'll include photos as well!

But here's an update about my decrepit computer. After drying out the hard drive it still didn't work in my computer. BUT it worked fine in someone else's computer meaning that my hard drive is FINE! The humidity damage was all to my computer itself and not to the precious hard drive. So while my computer is officially down for the count, my data is fine so I'm calling this a win.

So here are some snap shots from the past few days! It's pretty chill at Osa. We bird in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon with rigorous hiking and siesta-ing in between. So here are just some quick memories in no particular order from the past two days!

Nevermind the site I typically used is being blocked for some reason and I feel bad for being on this computer for so long - maybe I'll try again some other time... So don't expect many pictures any more I'd say.

Today my computer decided to greet me with a bright blue screen that read "Hardware Malfunction". Therefore, I do not think I will be able to do much more blog posting or emailing. Right now my hard drive is in a bag of magical drying packets because I suspect the extreme humidity and rainstorm last night had something to do with my computer's deteriorating health. With a LOT of luck, my dried out hard drive will be reunited with my dell and posting will continue! This is something of a long-shot though.

So keep checking here for updates but don't panic if you don't see too much activity!

ALSO I'll be home in a week! Hard to believe I'm on my last week here.

Here are some shots of the sunset tonight from the front stoop of my house. It was like a live action painting in the sky.