Day 5: Sam's Thoughts
Day 5: Wednesday May 31st, 2017
It was around 6:30 in the morning when I arose from a deep slumber to the sounds of birds singing and crickets humming in the forest behind me. It was time for another adventurous day in the Costa Rican rain forest! I then packed my day bag and set off to meet my fellow Los Tigres nobles teammates in the lab to run our positive control trials. After setting up our trial and recording the data from last night's negative control trial I headed down to feast on another exquisite Finca la Anita meal that was ripe with fresh ingredients. Soon after breakfast and some loll banter on the subject of basketball and soccer with Mac and Alexander, it was time to pack into the travel bus with the worlds best tour driver, Eddie! It was then that we took a pleasant drive on the rugged dirt roads to a location where we would continue our travels via horseback ride! Pablo then showed those of us with a lack of experience the proper methods in which to ride a horse. He stressed that one should always get on their horse from the left side, and to never jerk the reins unless you want to get thrown off. We then took a horse ride up the side of a mountain until we reached a clearing where we were exposed to the most breathtaking view of not only the trip, but in my entire life. The view was of the valley in which Fina la anita lies and the surrounding hills. We could even see lake Nicaragua in the distance! The view was quite encapsulating. Next we traded our hours back in for another ride with Eddie to take us to a small grass trail in which we hopped onto the back of a tractor and headed farther back into the rain forest. Soon the dense foliage of the rain forest allowed the tractor to move no farther so we hopped out on foot to walk in the small rain forest trails. I was then immersed in the sounds and aesthetically soothing picturesque scenes of the rain forest. As we walked through the rain forest we walked along a pacifically flowing river that eventually lead us to a rumbling water fall. It was there that we stayed and swam in the cool water of the crystal clear waters of the river and enjoyed the quaint cove of that the waterfall created. I cannot stress to you enough how the placid scenes I witnessed along that creek today were so moving that I felt like I was paralyzed by it's beauty. It was so graceful that I felt as if I were looking into the eyes of God himself.
After this dazzling experience, we headed back to eat lunch and get back to work in the lab and the in the field. During the work time my group went off and performed field trials by recording atta leaf cutter ants reaction to different types of leaves based upon their properties of being harmful/beneficial for the leaf cutter ant fungus garden. We had to revise our procedure thoroughly because of mistakes and discoveries in the field. These revisions proved to be tedious and frustrating at times. Despite this frustration, we had some interesting observations in the field and finalized our procedure and some of our data. At the end of the day we settled in and talked while eating yet another delicious meal. I then asked some questions regarding the final presentation to Abraham and Senor Pinto. I must add that they are always very approachable and not only helpful, but just overall interesting to chat with. Overall this was a successful day filled with science, fun talks, extravagant food, and moving nature scenes. I cant wait to see what I will experience next.
Pura Vida!
Sam Batcheldor
It was around 6:30 in the morning when I arose from a deep slumber to the sounds of birds singing and crickets humming in the forest behind me. It was time for another adventurous day in the Costa Rican rain forest! I then packed my day bag and set off to meet my fellow Los Tigres nobles teammates in the lab to run our positive control trials. After setting up our trial and recording the data from last night's negative control trial I headed down to feast on another exquisite Finca la Anita meal that was ripe with fresh ingredients. Soon after breakfast and some loll banter on the subject of basketball and soccer with Mac and Alexander, it was time to pack into the travel bus with the worlds best tour driver, Eddie! It was then that we took a pleasant drive on the rugged dirt roads to a location where we would continue our travels via horseback ride! Pablo then showed those of us with a lack of experience the proper methods in which to ride a horse. He stressed that one should always get on their horse from the left side, and to never jerk the reins unless you want to get thrown off. We then took a horse ride up the side of a mountain until we reached a clearing where we were exposed to the most breathtaking view of not only the trip, but in my entire life. The view was of the valley in which Fina la anita lies and the surrounding hills. We could even see lake Nicaragua in the distance! The view was quite encapsulating. Next we traded our hours back in for another ride with Eddie to take us to a small grass trail in which we hopped onto the back of a tractor and headed farther back into the rain forest. Soon the dense foliage of the rain forest allowed the tractor to move no farther so we hopped out on foot to walk in the small rain forest trails. I was then immersed in the sounds and aesthetically soothing picturesque scenes of the rain forest. As we walked through the rain forest we walked along a pacifically flowing river that eventually lead us to a rumbling water fall. It was there that we stayed and swam in the cool water of the crystal clear waters of the river and enjoyed the quaint cove of that the waterfall created. I cannot stress to you enough how the placid scenes I witnessed along that creek today were so moving that I felt like I was paralyzed by it's beauty. It was so graceful that I felt as if I were looking into the eyes of God himself.
Pura Vida!
Sam Batcheldor
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