Austin / Costa Rica 2017

Day 6 began with the earliest start yet as we loaded into the vans at 6:45 am to go to hike in one of Costa Rica’s many national parks. The ride was long but, as we quickly realized, quite worth it. Even from the car, the beauty of the park was unmatched. Our tour guide was an older man named Freddy, who gave plenty of fascinating information of the park’s history, as well as various birds, butterflies, frogs, and insects we encountered. The hike was long and difficult, and I doubt there was one person who didn’t curse at the muddy hills and treacherous roots that seemed to grab your ankles; yet, even in the midst of all the uncomfortable moments unknown to us first world teenagers, the forest was breathtaking. We hiked mostly through the rainforest until we reached a long clearing that separated it from the dry forest. Freddy explained that this clearing was actually an escape route in case of fires in the dry forest! Soon afterwards, we reached the hot springs which made their ...

Day 5, we ate  breakfast and then took a car to go horseback riding and later time to work on our projects and finishing with a cooking class at a local restaurant in the town. The horseback ride was split into two groups, one who left earlier in the morning and one who left around 11:30. Both groups rode with the man who runs Finca La Anita, Pablo. Pablo was the guide on both and taught beginning riders some tips on their first ride and rode with each tour making the rides very fun. After the horseback ride, both groups ate lunch and then met in the science room at 2pm for our afternoon of science. We met with our groups to discuss more about our ideas for our project and this was our real first day of collecting and taking action in the tasks and ideas we had laid out to the instructors the night before. Along with that, we took a look at our fungus growth and identified which had the kind of evidence we were looking for. This was an experiment that we would be testing throughou...

Day four was the first all-science day of the trip. The day began at 7:30am with the usual rice, beans, eggs, and toast. About an hour later, the excitement began. The tasks for the day included following up on a past experiment, starting a new one, and breaking open our Science Activities book.             After receiving a preview of the day from Dr. Pinto, we counted the bacteria colonies on the plates from the experiment from the day before. Dr. Pinto showed us how to analyze our data with the Vassar Stats website. After that, all the groups rotated through the lab conducting an experiment about the fungi that the ants tend to. Through the different activities, we learned more about leaf cutter ants, and how to approach our personal research. At noon we had lunch, and at 2 we reconvened to continue our all day science.            In the afternoon we began to brainstorm our scientific ideas for our research and at 3:4...

July 28 (day 3) Today was our first day of field science!  We woke up to a wonderful breakfast as usual, but alas, no monkeys were spotted; hopes remain high.   After breakfast, Dr. Pinto explained we would be digging up the Atta colonies for their fungus gardens.  As we went out into the cacao field to find the mounds, it began to rain, so we were forced to wait.  The rain stopped after a few minutes and we continued. My team only found one fungus garden, but there were teams who found up to 3 separate gardens. Then we went back to eat lunch (it was also amazing).  After that, it was finally time for ZIP-LINING!  Because our group is so large, we had to separate into two groups.  I was in the first group, so we set out in the van with our driver, Christian.  The guides there were some of the most funny and knowledgeable guys we've met. We came back and were treated to a delicious ham-dinner.  Then it was back to the classroom.  Dr. Pi...

July 27 (day 2)     We awoke to another delicious meal before going on a short hike to become better acquainted with the rain forest. We took multiple pictures and all of us got a little wet, with a few of us getting drenched. It seems like wetness is a permanent condition here in the rain forest. Who would have guessed a  rain  forest would be so wet? Finca La Anita is also a cacao plantation, and Pablo took us on a super informative tour of the farm. We learned all about the history and different varieties of cacao, and tasted some of the Finca's best product. After lunch we all hiked with Ana to the village, Colonia Libertad, and participated in a community service project by helping clean up a local park. We then met Dr. Pinto and began to dig into the science part of our expedition. So far we have been sorted into groups, and have picked our group names! Tomorrow we expect to collect several specimens of  Atta , and a few samples of  Acromyrmex ...

July 26 (day 1)      Day 1 was almost entirely travel (starting at 3:30 A.M. at Austin/Bergstrom). After a short hop to Houston we were on our way to Liberia international airport in Costa Rica. The first thing we noticed outside the airport were the massive volcanoes in the distance, shrouded in mist and fog. After a Costa Rican almuerzo, or lunch, we drove up into the mountains. Our cabins at Finca La Anita are on the slopes of the Miravalles Volcano. Our hosts, Pablo and Ana, are gracious and caring. In fact everybody in Costa Rica seems incredibly welcoming! We were treated to a delicious dinner before going to bed. Everything looks like a postcard from paradise!