It finally happened: the Niños gang finally went to the UCR cadaver lab, and what an experience it was… He threw us into the deep end on the first day by immediately showing us half of a skull and torso (don’t ask how it was only half and not the whole). But by the second day I was feeling pretty good about being in the lab and seeing the organs up close. Apple and I even got to hold brains and hearts! I think my biggest takeaway is to have a vegetarian day whenever I visit the cadaver lab. Unfortunately for my Niños project, I am running into some complications with getting in contact with neurologists since they are extremely busy (understandably). As a result, it’s very difficult to come up with accurate design needs and brainstorm designs without having direct feedback from doctors. Currently I’m going off of the research I’ve found and the video tutorials available online, but it’s a bit frustrating because I don’t have a good sense of direction for my project.
On the brighter side, I’ve just had a nice and relaxing girl’s weekend with Alex and Apple! We went to Jacó, which is a beach town on the west coast of Costa Rica. Unfortunately on our drive down, we completely underestimated the power of Costa Rican traffic and arrived 2 hours later than expected. First we went to an aerial tram to watch some beautiful scenery and walked around a butterfly garden. I was expecting a guided tour for the tram, but we actually spotted a sloth in the trees on our own! Our hotel was right across the street from a black-sand beach, so we decided to read books, sketch, and watch the sunset from there.
A shy little sloth on our tram ride.
Sunset at the black sand beach.
The next day was the highlight of the weekend — we went on a half-day tour to Isla de Tortuga, or Turtle Island. Unfortunately we had to wake up extremely early to meet our tour group (~4AM). The island was only accessible by motorboat, and while we were speeding towards our destination we saw a basking crocodile and a pod of bottlenose dolphins! I decided to snorkel with Apple and Alex and it was incredible to see the tropical fish around me; they were so close that they were basically swimming into me. The beach on la Isla de Tortuga was the best we’ve ever been to; beautiful sunshine, low humidity, no pesky bugs, and beach chairs with umbrellas. One of the best parts of the tour was that food was included, so I got to enjoy a grilled yellowfin tuna casado, fresh fruit, and coffee with cookies. We were very fortunate to have such lovely weather for the day because it was starting to sprinkle a bit when we left at 2PM, and by the time we arrived at our hotel it was properly pouring. By now, we’re pretty much used to this type of Tico weather :]
Tuna casado!
The incredible view from Turtle Island.
Our last day was probably the most relaxing travel day of our entire summer since we didn’t have any time constraints—we slept in late and enjoyed a nice hotel breakfast. Afterwards we went for a leisurely stroll on the beach before heading off to el Miro: an unfinished hotel turned into a beautiful scenic spot. Somehow Google neglected to mention that the hotel was at the top of a steep hike, so we got in an unexpected Sunday cardio, but the view was definitely worth it. I also didn’t expect the structures to be covered in amazing graffiti, and it was a really nice end to a busy weekend.
Post-breakfast walk on the beach!
El Miro: the skeleton of a hotel.