Here are some pictures highlighting Kiuic moments that were never mentioned due to internet constraints. There were plenty more, but here are some good ones to wet your appetites (plus I haven't had a post with pictures in forever and that's no fun - no fun at all)

The first bird we caught - a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl! When he hit our net we had no idea what he was, so we all just yelled, "ELLEN!" Then we thought it was a bird so we yelled, "BIRD!" someone then decided it was a bat and yelled, "BAT!" and finally we got a hold of the net, saw the little bugger and all yelled, "PYGMY OWL!" When everyone came, no one really knew what to expect since we had yelled out so many identifications!


Me holding a very tiny, very adorable Central American Yellow Bat. You can't really see him because I'm cradling him in my massive man hands. But I was so enthralled by his cute and tiny nature (as my enraptured, greasy face indicates).


Here he is again so you can see him in all his tiny splendor. I'm still holding him, so if you look at the size of my fingers, you can get a grasp of his size. He was such a sweetie pie.


Here's the White-eyed Vireo we caught on the last day. He was one of the first birds we untangled and bagged by ourselves and I am proud to say I played a role in the entire procedure. Rachel's holding this guy because we had all gotten a chance at that point, so it was time to share the glory. We made a great team.


Sunrise on our last morning in Kiuic. We woke up at 5:45 and took a hike up to the watch tower. We stayed up in the tower for a good half hour, watching the sun rise and identifying early-rising birds. It was the perfect end to my 2-week adventure in Kiuic.

NOTE: Since I didn't really have much internet in Kiuic, I couldn't post much at all. But I did do some pretty fun stuff in Kiuic, like bird netting! So here's a post I wrote up in the hotel in Coba after leaving the biocultural reserve. So I hope you enjoy my back-tracking.

Yesterday (February 26th) I left Kiuic after 2 testing weeks. I know I haven’t been posting much, but I think I thoroughly covered the reasons why in previous posts so no need to reiterate that. But it wasn’t even the lack of internet and electricity that was most taxing, nor the cold showers or hammock sleeping, it was the struggle with weather and my own perceptions of this trip.

I’m not sure if I ever made this clear to anyone, but the main reason I applied for this program was not because it was a tropical location, with amazing historical and cultural structures or because of the native language, I chose to study abroad in the Yucatan for the Biology aspect. It sounded like an amazing biological experience with snorkeling (one of my favorite vacation pastimes), birding, and batting (the latter of the two I had never had to pleasure of experiencing). The last week of Kiuic was supposed to be the week of intense birding and batting – our legitimate start to the Biology semester, but the weather did not deliver. The week was overcast and even rained, keeping all the birds in their nests, which as I soon discovered, makes it very difficult to catch them using a stationary, floor bound net. I did get to hold bats at night, but I was never instructed on how to really identify them or anything, so that portion of the adventure was pretty much covered by the Dawley’s and my more experienced peers. Overall what I had been looking forward to most out of the trip was something of a flop. I admit, up to Thursday I was downtrodden. So that morning, in one final desperate attempt, we raised our net again and waited for birds while pretending to study for the midterm (what would be a 5 hour test later that day). We were rewarded for our efforts and I finally got a chance to hold a bird! But, I had never held a bird before and I guess my grip wasn’t tight enough, because that beautiful hooded warbler escaped after only a few seconds and our prize was lost. I was mortified and distraught. How is it, that the one thing I had been looking forward to most would be so disappointing? And how, HOW, when given one chance to do the very thing I had been waiting 6 weeks to do, did I fail so quickly? And in front of my friends and the Dawleys (oh the look on Robert’s face when that bird got away). It was the lowest point of my trip; I took the failure very hard.

But, this trip isn’t only about Biology for me; it’s also a chance to really grow. So rather just sit and mope for the rest of day, focusing on my horrible mistake and missing possibly my only shot at holding and identifying a tropical bird, I took a little walk into the forest to flush all the negativity out of my system and then returned to my post watching the net swearing to redeem myself should the chance arrive. I got my chance as again our net snagged another bird, a white-eyed vireo. Not only did I assist in freeing the bird from the net, but after bagging it, I took it up to the Dawleys, took it out of the bag, and held it in front of them without that little bugger escaping my grip. I then verbally I announced to them that yes, I could in fact hold a bird and that this white-eyed vireo represents my redemption. I then forced Robert to take a picture documenting my success and helped pass the bird around to other eager students (who had also never been given a chance to hold a bird due to the inclement weather). Our net went on to catch an olivacous woodcreeper which I again helped untangle and held. So after a bumpy start, I pulled myself out of a shame spiral, and then did what I came to Mexico to do – play with birds who had been tricked into flying into a net. I can’t explain how amazing it felt. It just reaffirms my plans to pursue a career as a biologist.

My first week in Kiuic has been exciting and eventful but sadly I have not been able to document anything! If you recall, I mentioned the restricted internet connection and solar power in my last entry. It is a much more complicated situation then I let on. First, we have to consider the internet itself which can only support 5 people at a time. For this reason, we established the rule that all internet jubilee must be conducted within the classroom where the numbers of happy users can me regulated. Sadly, some people find their individual rooms better suited for cruising the internet and think that our very limited broadband is sufficient enough to conduct video skype chats. This means that the few times I have tried to use the internet I have been kicked off due to an abundance of illegal users.

But most of the time, the biggest problem is quite simply battery life. Since we run on solar power, we can only charge our laptops during the day and every day this week, we have left camp at 7:30 and returned around 5 when the sun is starting to get tired and considering letting the moon take over. It’s quite a predicament since we use our daylight to visit off site Maya ruins. Plus, it’s been a very cloudy, cold week so even the day hasn’t been providing much power for our humble Biocultural Reserve. In this way, I have been severely deprived of electronics. It’s not necessarily a bad thing – I’m actually enjoying my detachment from the computer and our days are filled with more productive activity anyways. But I have needy parents and friends who occasionally like to hear from me so to some extent I am still bound to the internet.

So this has been my dilemma this past week; my battle with solar power. Now everyone can sleep peacefully knowing that Regan Dohm is alive and well.

As I mentioned before, every day this week we went to a different Mayan site. In order we visited: Kiuic, Uxmal, K’oox, Kabah, Sayil, Labna, Loltun, Mani, Oxkutzab. It was such a busy tiring week. On top of that, we had 3 frigid nights of frequently disturbed sleep. A combination of lack of sleep and a highly regimented, busy schedule lead to a group of very tired and cranky Biology majors. The day we had a quiz, a Maya final in 2 days, and a Biology mid-term in a week and spent the day looking at three Terminal Classic Puuc style sites, we nearly spilled the blood of the Dawleys in the forested recluse of Sayil’s sacbe in a panic. The Mayan gods, seeing us tormented and ravenous, blessed us with extra blankets and a restful night of sleep and we were all appeased.

My Maya archeology final exam is in an hour...

Oh but did I mention that our hard work is being lavishly rewarded this weekend? We’re heading out to Celestun tomorrow morning and staying in a beach side hotel with hot showers for the weekend. On top of that, we get all of Saturday afternoon off to enjoy the sun and the sand! If I can get internet at the hotel, I’ll write another entry and post some pictures! You all have probably been missing the pictures, huh? I mean, who wants to hear me ramble on anyways? You’d much rather look at pretty photos then listen to me I’m sure. All in due time my friends. Soon you will all be satisfied!

I'd also like to add that upon further review my last entry was filled with stupid spelling errors and words that don't exist. I have quickly edited the major ones I saw, but I apologize for my blunders.

Yesterday the UC group left Merida and traveled to Kiuic a Biocultural Reserve in the Puuc region of Yucatan. Puuc is Mayan for hills and so needless to say this is the hilly region of the Yucatan. I'm staying in a large, two-room cabin: one main sleeping and living space and a tiny bathroom. The living room is criss-crossed with hammocks which will work as our beds for the next 10 days. They're actually surprisingly comfortable unless you fall out of them, curl up in them, flip over, or basically try to self-consciously move. It's really not so bad, if you find the right position they can be quite cozy. One night in, however, I can say I have only happened upon this position accidentally only to lose it shorty thereafter. It is elusive, but I will continue to hunt for it.

Four other girls are living with me as well and since it was Valentines Day, once we were all placed in a small room together and given free time, the relationship stories came out. It was a very enjoyable experience, because even though Chris isn't around to share this primarily trivial holiday with me, I still got to reminisce and then bask in romantic or adorable love stories.

At night we went out to observe two researchers collecting moths. The had an enormous, blinding light pointed at a white sheet where insects of all sorts accumulated. It was basically Corey Straub's paradise. But what was even more incredible was the walk back to our hut. In the oppressive black of the forest, the beam of my headlamp was my only guide. As it skimmed over the forest floor, dozens of little blue balls light up and shimmer like precious stones or stars. Upon investigation I discovered these lights to be the eyes of many spiders. It has to be one of the coolest things I have experienced in a forest.

I should also mention that Kiuic runs on solar power and only 4 or 5 people are allowed to use the internet at one time. Therefore since I do not have a Species Project to work on or anything particularly pressing, I may not get much internet time for this leg of the journey. I guess we'll all just have to endure!