It has begun…

People lost in the jungle, rescuers searching in 95F heat and 99% humidity, hours pouring over maps.

We are well into the thick of things here, getting students out practicing and honing their wilderness and medical skills.  Today, they had a mini-race through the village of Mastatal and the surrounding environs, using their maps and compasses to locate four injured or otherwise needy people. Once at their patients, students had to complete an assigned assessment task, recording their findings, and move on to another person in distress.  And did we mention that it is hot?!

In addition, we spent time today learning more knots (trucker's hitch and taught-line) and reviewed knots already learned (bowline and and stopper).

Students are currently back in the classroom learning to use UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinate systems for navigation.   Unlike lines of latitude and longitude, UTM lines are very user-friendly but something that many people don't know how to use.

Day Three

Happy Birthday to Tyler Paradise!!

Students are in the field today taking bearings with their compasses and learning to read maps.  Interestingly, there is pretty much zero declination here in Costa Rica, making it a nice place to learn about using a compass.  

They started the day with their first written exam and, after a few hours working with their compasses, are going to have the rest of the day to learn human anatomy and physiology and the basics of patient assessment.

Internet coverage has been, as expected, spotty.  We will do our best to post every day but some days we are either out in the field too much or unable to get a connection from the classroom.

First Day!!

Everyone arrived last night and is settling in to studying after their first full day of class.

Today, we hiked to the closest waterfall for an introduction to the local flora and fauna and followed that with a much needed swim.  After returning to the Ranch, we dove into an introduction to EMS and oriented ourselves to the Costa Rican geography.   

The local internet "cafe" closed this last week.  Students will be working off of one computer in town that has internet access, so be patient.  Everyone is healthy, happy and busy!

Tomorrow we begin learning knots, essentials of survival, and patient assessment.  We will have more pictures as well.

Semester in Wilderness Medicine 2013 About To Begin!

Students arrive at Rancho Mastatal in Costa Rica on Sunday, January 27th!  We are very excited to get everyone together and start the program.

Please send this blog address to any family, friends, college advisors, or anyone else interested in your progress.  We will do our best to have daily updates with photos and a review of the day's events.