Will you continue torturing your mother? and other glaring PSAs...

This past weekend Ben, Kristen, Brendan (another uVolunteer person) and I went to Zoo Ave, a zoo near Alajuela that contains mostly birds (ave is the Spanish word for bird) but an enjoyable variety of other animals as well. An ongoing theme throughout the park that thoroughly amused all of us was the propaganda of guilt, prevalent throughout the entire zoo. Upon entrance to the zoo, for example, we were invited into a mini theater where we watched a 15 minute movie whose information regarding the positive work the zoo conducts towards the preservation of Costa Rica’s wild animal population/diversity was extremely overshadowed by images of destruction and heartlessness to which we were undoubtedly contributing. A short cartoon segment at the beginning of the film depicted the tragic scene of a poacher (whose dark clothing, slightly twisted moustache, and hooked nose screamed evil) wrenching baby birds (by way of breaking off the branch on which they lived with violent blows of his evil truncheon) from the wings of their loving, heartbroken mommy bird (who begins to weep with tragically large tear ducts) and selling them to greedy heartless consumerists like you who put the baby birds in cold, small cages where they will forevermore lead sad, solitary lives. Welcome to Zoo Ave!

Nevertheless, we did greatly appreciate the natural beauty and diversity of yet one more piece of Costa Rica that adds to this country’s infinite photogenic-ness. Aside from the incredible birds – including toucans, parrots, and all the other birds one would hope to see in Central America, and then some – there were cats, monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, and more. We couldn’t help but encounter a constant stream of guilt inducing posters and signs throughout the zoo (including a sign whose caption inspired the title of this blog post – see posted picture in the gallery), but thankfully that didn’t seriously detract from the overall experience. Once again I sincerely doubt the pictures we’re uploading really do justice to the real thing. The colors of many of the birds were amazingly vibrant, and yet some of the reptiles gave them a run for their money in that category. As with all zoos, some of the animals were not exactly in plain sight, but we I would say we saw more than enough to call it a successful day. When you’re in a country that’s globally recognized for their diversity of wildlife, this kind of day trip is always a sure shot.

Once again, traveling became an adventure when we decided to go home. After eating at a nearby restaurant, I asked Ben & Kristen how we get back to San Ramón from Alajuela, whereupon they realized they weren’t exactly sure. Hence, I was elected to ask the staff at the restaurant, which turned into a conversation between six different people, all with slightly different opinions on the best route, the cost of getting back, and the schedule of various buses they were considering. Finally they arrived at a group decision, which we more or less successfully followed, and we got back to San Ramón safe and sound mid-afternoon. The next day we managed to catch our parents and grandparents in Sioux Falls with a Skype call in the afternoon, and it was nice to see all of them again.

Tomorrow I will be heading to Panamá for an almost week-long trip with the rest of the students in my program, plus many from the USAC program in San Ramón as well. I’ll try to take plenty of pictures and bring back lots of stories from that part of the world. Until then, take care of yourselves.