Cur-MUD-geons in the rain

March 12^th was a laid-back day for both teams. Oliver, Kennet, and I went to do a quick morning installation while the other team would focus on scouting some locations for the more difficult areas in the southern portion of the peninsula. We installed the receiver in a recently tilled field, meaning the holes practically dug themselves! We were done in under an hour and headed back to the hotel to wait for word on the potential second site of the day. At around 2 pm the other team (Alexa, Samer, and Gabriel) returned with permission for a coastal site just a short walk from the beach in the town of Arío, which would be installed the following day. To make use of the remaining daylight, Gabriel, Kennet, Oliver, and Samer headed out to scout for another site in the mountains near the town of Rio Frio, and hopefully have enough time left to complete the installation before dark. Luck was in the air that day, as they did exactly that! Overall, a straightforward and productive afternoon. The following day would not promise the same.

We would be switching hotels again, leaving behind our hotel in Còbano and returning to the hotel El Regalo in Nicoya. We would also have to pick up the sites on Caballo and Cedros Islands. This is where things get complicated, it would be Monday, and school on Caballo began at 7 am (recall that the site was located in a schoolyard). This meant we would have to arrive on the island at 6:30 am to pick up the station and beat the crowd. With the hour-and-a-half drive and the 30-minute boat ride this meant that the crew of our teams’ early risers (Oliver, Kennet, and I) would need to leave around 4:30 am just to be safe.

Progress after March 12^th:

At the crack of dawn on March 13^th, that’s exactly what we did. We headed out on time and after managing only one wrong turn we made it to the dock! The timing was in our favor this time around since it was high tide which meant we didn’t have to trudge through the muddy riverbed again. The boat driver met us at the dock, and we shoved off for a surprisingly cool sunrise boat trip.

Picture of the boat ride

The boat ride was pleasant, and the recovery was as well, the walk to the boat for this recovery is short, giving us a gentle start to the day. On the boat ride back, the sons of the driver joined us again! This time I had brought my watercolor set to paint the sky, I extended an invite to the boys and they both joined me. This was the most relaxing start to a day in the field thus far.

Upon arriving back at the dock we loaded up and hurried to the next recovery making it to the ferry for Cedros Island by 8:20 am.

 We were making good time and got word of another successful recovery done by the team of late risers (Alexa, Samer, and Gabriel) when they picked up a mainland site on the eastern end of the peninsula. After this, the island recovery team (Oliver, Kennet, and I) tackled the strenuous recovery on Cedros in around 45 minutes, putting us back at the port around 10 am. Once all the recoveries for the day were completed, each team began to scout for more sites within the areas of their respective recoveries. However, the island recovery team’s scouting quickly proved to be a dead end. The area we intended to deploy was a steep valley with lots of powerlines and large water pumps ( both are major sources of noise for MT data). We decided this area may have to be left as a gap in our grid and we moved on to deploy in a town called Vigia, which was conveniently on the way to the hotel in Nicoya. By this time, it was around 2 pm, meaning the team of early risers was bordering on a 10-hour workday. This also meant we were all exhausted and cranky. Just as we arrived at the deployment site we received a progress—or  I guess I should say lack of progress—report from the other team.

There was a massive thunderstorm that was pouring rain where they were planning to deploy in Arío, and their truck got stuck in the mud as they were trying to navigate their way to the site. This was horrible but also a little funny considering that just a few nights prior I had mentioned how strange it had been that we had not gotten a field vehicle stuck yet, as this is a textbook fieldwork issue. At that time, Samer assured us that this would not happen since we were there during the “dry” season.

We decide to plow through our current deployment and head to the hotel in case they need backup. This was easier said than done as the digging at our site was nothing short of awful! We managed it, mostly thanks to Oliver, and began our drive to the hotel. As for the other team, after three hours of working nonstop to trying to get unstuck, nothing seemed to be working and the rain wasn’t letting up.

On arrival, we received an update from our incapacitated counterparts. They had managed to get out of the mud… only to immediately get stuck in the mud again on the other side of the road. This was not ideal because now the truck was near a steep drop-off with no guardrail. The situation had become dangerous, and daylight was burning fast. It was 4:30 pm, and sunset was less than 90 minutes away. We offered to attempt a rescue mission to pick up our three-stranded team members, but the drive was nearly 2.5 hours each way and Samer was worried we would end up with both trucks stuck in mud since the rain had not let up.

As a last resort, Samer decided to try digging a trench beneath the mud, and this exhausting approach finally paid off. After the 2.5-hour drive to the hotel, the exhausted and muddy crew made it back safely. We were all relieved and went straight to bed. This was an exhausting day for both teams, and we desperately needed a good night’s rest.

Progress after March 13^th: