3/19 arrival at Barro Colorado Island

Yesterday we had our first parting; the last course meal had been the night before. Erika, Katja, Edwin, Anna, Amanda, Derik, and Nate went their separate ways. The rest of us left Hotel City One in San Jose at 10 am for the Tica Bus Station (everyone but Derik was there for the farewells). We got to the station early, happily, and had about an hour to wait before we got on the bus; it rolled out just after 12pm. Our course took up a little less than half of the bus. We were subdued. The driver put on a motorcycle-and-fast-car movie with no plot (“Torque” – never heard of it.) After that there were a couple of Westerns.

It was about 7 hours to the Panama border. I’m not sure what time we got there exactly, but I was asleep and it was pitch dark outside. Everyone in the bus had to get out and go through a line to exit Costa Rica. Then we walked ~500 meters over the border. It was a strange walk… there were no sidewalks, so we were on the edge of the road. There were vehicles parked on the side, a few people standing around. Not much light. As we got close to the border, there was almost a carnival atmosphere, with food and duty-free shops. On the Panama side we had to go to three different places to get tourist cards, special stickers, entry stamps in our passports, and finally to get our bags inspected (the bus had driven ahead of us to across the border and unloaded our checked bags there). I was grateful to be in a big group with a few good Spanish speakers; confusion was minimal and we watched out for each other. Still, I think it took a couple of hours to get across.

Back in the bus, the driver started on a Steven Seagal spree that lasted until we got to Panama City. Some people found it hard to sleep with the sound of gunshots and snapping bones as Mr. Seagal fought his way through innumerable B-movie scenarios, but not me! I curled up in my seat next to Becky, grateful again to be such a small person, and slept most of the night away. We arrived an hour earlier than planned, 4am, after 17 hours on the bus. Another bus from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) was supposed to meet us at 5am, so we asked around until we found the place where private buses generally meet their parties. We piled our bags and loitered until 5:40, when the STRI driver finally figured out where we were. 15 gringos with 2 months worth of luggage shouldn’t be that hard to spot, but maybe he was as tired as we were.

We were expecting, once on the bus, to be driven to a 7:15 ferry to Barro Colorado Island (BCI), STRI’s biological station on the Panama Canal. But it turned out that ferry was already completely booked, so the driver (Edwin) took us to a tourist buffet for breakfast and then dumped us on STRI’s main office back doorstep sometime before 7 am. The office didn’t open until 8 am. No one knew what would happen next; we knew the next ferry wasn’t until 4pm. I saw a new bird (silver-beaked tanager) and then took a nap on the sidewalk. Ellen R. and I snuck in behind an early arrival to the office to use the bathroom. Several people walked by and felt bad for us. Poor gringo bums sleeping on the sidewalk! But nobody knew what to do. It was a low point. I missed Erika and her miraculous problem-solving abilities.

Shortly after 8 someone with sufficient authority arrived and let us in the building. We went up to the third-floor courtyard where we could buy coffee and have chairs to sit on. 30 minutes later a second person came by to apologize for the mix-up and give us STRI brochures. In another 30 minutes or so she had arranged a special ferry for us. We got back in the bus with Edwin and drove to Gamboa, a small town about halfway along the canal. STRI has some facilities there, including labs, greenhouses, and a dock. There was a smallish boat there that took us to BCI, about a 40 minute ride.

By the time we arrived on BCI, the group was the grumpiest I have ever seen them. And that is saying something. Luckily it was clear to the person meeting us (whose name escapes me) could see that right away. She led us to our rooms and I think everyone fell asleep for an hour before lunch, and again for an hour after lunch. There is a seminar schedule for this evening, but luckily that’s it. We should have regained our alertness and good temper by tomorrow, when we have hikes in the morning and talks all afternoon. I know that some years BCI hasn’t planned much for the OTS courses coming to visit. Although it would have been fun to wander around, I’m glad we’re getting a more official introduction. It will be nice to meet people and hear about their work. This is basically a recruitment visit – BCI and STRI want the next generation of tropical biologists to be familiar with their facilities and have a favorable impression so we’ll consider working here in the future. But it’s obviously a great opportunity for us too. Now I’m going back to sleep so I can be in a condition to enjoy being here.