Dimitry Safin's Diary
2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
My name is Dmitry, and I have worked for Alcoa’s Russian information systems organization since 2005.
At the end of 2006, I received the first invitation to apply for the Earthwatch fellowship program. After thinking about it for some time, I decided not to apply—I had already gotten my share of traveling abroad during the year. Good news came later, though. My colleague, Alexandra Gluschenkova, was selected to go on an expedition to the Bahamas! I was really glad for her and wished her good luck. We worked in the same office at that time, and I was able to get all the news about her preparations. It was really interesting to know what awaited her and what would be expected from her—and that was everything!
I decided to wait for Alexandra’s arrival home, check if she returned in one piece (alive and healthy, that is), and then apply for the program myself. Of course, everything was all right. In her diary, she shared a lot of stories about her travel, the places that she visited, her involvement in the project, the friends she made while on the expedition, and the culture that she found there. She also had lots of photos that were just awesome—you can imagine. So I was set—I should apply!
After the application form was filled out and sent and while I was waiting for the answer, I spent time checking locations where, if selected, my future expedition probably would take place. I also discussed this with my friends. One of them told me that Costa Rica is a nice place to go. Another—Alexandra Gluschenkova—told me that only “Hunting for Caterpillars” deserves my attention, and everything else would not be much of an achievement to me.
As for me, I was looking forward to participating no matter what location it would be. I only had thought that if my expedition would allow me to see the ocean, it would really be great. I have never seen an ocean in my life, and I really want to.
Several months passed, and one Friday evening I got a call from Shamsa, the Alcoa coordinator. She told me that I was chosen, and my expedition would be…“Hunting for Caterpillars in Costa Rica!” I should thank my friends for choosing that for me in advance.
What is really amazing is that in the original announcement about the 2008 program, there was no such option. There was only “Hunting for Caterpillars in the Andes” and “Costa Rica’s Sustainable Coffee.” So, I’ve got two-in-one unexpectedly.
I was beyond myself at that time. I immediately informed my wife and my son and received warm congratulations from them.
When I found out that the research would take place in one of the world’s richest rain forests in La Selva—where we will work with a lot of birds and animals, including parrots, peccaries, coatis, sloths, monkeys, and jaguars—I understood that I should prepare myself for the biggest adventure of my life!
Monday, March 17, 2008
During the weekend, I browsed through a lot of Internet sites about Costa Rica in general and two locations where our research would take place—La Selva Biological Station and Tirimbina Rainforest Center. Wow! That’s certainly not going to be comfortable hotel stay. But I really like it, since I look at the opportunity to participate in something extraordinary and special in my life. If it’s going to be hard work in a rainforest without much comfort—perfect! It will make our research team stronger and more effective. And I really love to work on an effective team.
Of course, it won’t be a really uncomfortable stay on the forest ground. We will have rooms with bunk beds, bathrooms with showers, and a kitchen. But the best part is that our temporary home will be as close to nature as possible. I already can imagine parrots sitting right on the window of my room, monkeys flying over my head, and butterflies everywhere. It’s going to be fantastic!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
I decided to start collecting expedition details as early as possible, and my expedition coordinator—Alison—is very supportive of this. I already got some expedition details from her, and it really looks very serious right now.
First of all, our expedition would start with a two-hour bus ride followed by 45 minutes of walking with all of our belongings. I now know that taking a lot of things with me is not a good option. I need to make hard decisions about what and what not to take.
I next checked weather conditions and potential hazards:
- It will be very hot—approximately 27° Celsius (87° Fahrenheit)—and very humid (90%-100%).
- It will be either raining heavily or very sunny.
- There will be a lot of different kinds of insects—mosquitoes, chiggers, biting flies, etc. (no surprise here).
- There are poisonous snakes and some irritating plants, so I suppose tall rubber boots will be a must.
Now I know that a rainforest is not a safe place in which to walk around. I should be mentally and physically prepared for hard work in very unusual conditions. Seems like I need to start working out and walking a lot more!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Since my last diary entry, I’ve done a huge amount of work investigating everything related to Costa Rica and the visa process related to my trip.
Now I know that I need two visas—a Costa Rican tourist visa and a U.S. transit visa since I will be flying to Costa Rica through Atlanta, Georgia. It’s going to take a lot of time to get them, since I need to get the Costa Rican one first and only then can I request the transit visa. I hope to get them all in time.
The good news is that after some investigation, I found that there is a small town called Samara on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Its name is the same as my home city here in Russia. I definitely need to visit it after the expedition! It seems like it is nice resort-type place where I will be able to swim in the ocean, taste national Costa Rican food, and relax in the sun following the hard work in the rainforest.
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Hunting for Caterpillars in La Selva
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