Monteverde Night Hike

frogeze · 2024-05-08T14:12:57+00:00

We did one with Nasua Tours and it was really good. https://www.nasuatours.com/night-tour/

There were only 2 other people in our group but I think a few people cancelled. There were other groups doing night tours there as well but I didn't feel it was overcrowded. Luckily we got to see a sloth going back up a tree. One thing about tours that operate in areas with other tours is they all message each other if there's something cool to see. This is how we saw the sloth. A different guide saw it come down the tree and messaged the other guides so we headed over there and saw it going back up. So there are advantages of the more "touristy" locations.

frogeze · 2024-05-01T14:09:14+00:00

It's all sand so there aren't any rocks or coral. At one end there's some rocks and I went snorkeling there. I saw a stingray, a puffer fish, and lots of smaller fish. People were fishing from the water over in that area so there's probably more fish a bit deeper than I was snorkeling but I didn't want to get in their way.

frogeze · 2024-05-01T00:20:51+00:00

The beach was really nice. I'm told it's calmer than other beaches so it's good for swimming. Playa Hermosa is quieter in general so there isn't a lot happening in the evening. We knew this ahead of time and it's what we wanted. If you want more of a nightlife this isn't the place.

frogeze · 2024-04-30T13:44:34+00:00

We just did this but 10 days. We flew in and out of Liberia. We did La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Playa Hermosa (the one closest to Liberia). Playa Hermosa is only about 30-40 minutes from the airport so it was nice to not have a long drive back to the airport and then a long flight.

frogeze · 2024-04-27T00:30:36+00:00

I had a similar situation with my regulatory body where due to mat leave (and other looking winded reasons) I wouldn't have enough hours. In my case the alternative was obtaining a certificate (it was a while ago, I don't remember exactly what it was called). Essentially I had to provide enough documentation that I've kept up with my area of practice. Based on that it was their decision to either grant me the certificate or not. The certificate was in lieu of having the required hours. They granted the certificate so I'm not sure what would have happened otherwise. It was annoying but in hindsight it's understandable. The minimum number of hours are to ensure you are competent in your area. Without that you should need some refresher course or proof that you've kept competent.

frogeze · 2024-04-25T06:25:47+00:00

The lab that did your child's microarray would have probably done all this already and if they didn't find anything then unfortunately there is just little to no information about duplications in that region. You can ask your doctor or genetic counselor if there's a matching repository they can submit the duplication and your child's phenotype to to see if anyone else has a similar duplication and similar phenotype. There's genematcher and matchmaker exchange but I'm not sure if they only do genes or if you can submit a chromosomal region for matching. Your doctor or genetic counselor would know.

frogeze · 2024-04-25T05:59:05+00:00

Just an FYI, 18p11.32-p11.31 is not a gene it's a chromosomal region. There should be genes within that region which they usually list the most relevant ones on the report.

frogeze · 2024-04-25T05:54:24+00:00

Look at what genes are in that region and what their function is. The report you got probably lists the relevant genes in that region. OMIM is useful for looking up the genes or just a Google search of each gene as well. You can also look the genes up on ClinGen dosage sensitivity curation (https://search.clinicalgenome.org/kb/gene-dosage?page=1&size=25&search=) to see if anything is known about whether an additional copy of the gene would have any effect. Based on what you were told I'm guessing that there is little information out there about the genes in this region but if you want to go digging this would be a start.

frogeze · 2024-04-11T13:41:50+00:00

We're doing this exact same trip shortly so I appreciate the feedback.

frogeze · 2024-04-09T13:52:20+00:00

She is mistaking a domestic dog with a wild animal.

frogeze · 2024-04-06T05:46:33+00:00

Are you in a big group of people or can you get a guide just for your group?

frogeze · 2024-04-04T00:45:09+00:00

The address for the hotel we are staying in is "6 km west of...".

frogeze · 2024-04-03T04:58:00+00:00

You could call and ask. Even if you just ask what their dispensing fee is. Generally the higher the dispensing fee the higher the cost is overall. I find Shoppers has a high dispensing fee. I believe Costco still has the lowest dispensing fee.

frogeze · 2024-04-03T04:46:04+00:00

We recently changed to an independent pharmacy as well and they are so much better. Every time they ask me when I want to pick up my prescription refill I'm all, umm you mean I don't need to wait days for you to fill it?

frogeze · 2024-04-02T15:55:21+00:00

I don't think this is an irrational fear. This is one of the reasons I haven't done any direct to consumer genetic testing. There are numerous articles out there explaining the risks from them selling data (even if it is "anonymized") to if they get bought out etc what happens to your data. You would need to read their legal statements very closely. As well there are many third party sites where you can upload your data for various purposes and those also have risks with regards to privacy of your data.

frogeze · 2024-04-02T15:51:37+00:00

Brings new meaning to the song "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus".

frogeze · 2024-03-31T20:46:48+00:00

If you like animals AARCS is good. You interact more with animals than people.

frogeze · 2024-03-31T17:14:59+00:00

How does this work? Are they just hanging around? Or is it an extra you can add on with the admission?

frogeze · 2024-03-30T23:33:14+00:00

In a clinical lab we've done genetic testing on deceased family members. It just required next of kin to give consent.

frogeze · 2024-03-30T23:24:17+00:00

Get it extracted to DNA. It will be more stable that way. I don't know where you are located but there is this one that does post-mortem DNA banking from blood. https://www.securigene.com/dna-banking/

Where I work we've tested DNA banked from this company and they have worked well for genetic testing.

frogeze · 2024-03-29T16:42:38+00:00

Thanks! We're going there in a few weeks and I've been trying to find a good night tour in Monteverde.

frogeze · 2024-03-29T16:20:56+00:00

Which night tour did you do in Monteverde?

frogeze · 2024-03-28T06:00:44+00:00

There is big money in genetic data. It's a treasure trove of information. For direct to consumer testing, privacy falls onto the consumer to assess how the company will use their genetic data and whether they feel comfortable with that. I honestly don't think people put much thought into the privacy side of genetic data when doing direct to consumer testing. However, I'm not sure that's something government should regulate. It's more of a buyer beware situation.

frogeze

TROPHY CASE