Day 10 July 24

Day 10

Last night we blogged before a turtle search on the beach..... and...... SCORE! We found one right away. (Credit to Maia). The experience was amazing and we got to pet the turtle and Isaac even managed to sneak in a thoughtful squat pic. While heading back to the water, among a sea of paparazzi, Carter was able to make the closest connection with the turtle. Besides the turtle, there were tons of funny little crabs running around the beach. Corey was the skillful crab magnet.

Turtle Tracks

This morning a new trend was started... spoonfuls of peanut butter and off-brand fruit loops were incorporated into the traditional Costa Rican cuisine. Freddie, our guide, then lead us off into the woods. The dry forest was very different from the tropics and Freddie told us all he knew about the species we encountered. Pranav, despite an ant sting to the eye, soldiered through the two hour trek. 

 One of the most interesting (and only) creatures that we saw were the venomous snakes that we were warned of. Don't worry, no one was bit. But in a moment of peril, Nathan had a close call. Thank goodness for rubber boots :) !

At the beach, we boogie boarded the waves, cheered on crab fights, took a nice long nap (Griffin), and ate a delicious barbeque dinner which Charley promptly documented (as he has been doing this entire trip!). A few highlights-- In the crazy waves, Mason was the hero of the day saving the unsuspecting and oblivious Emma and Mari moments away from a disastrous impact. Nick also played a part in breaking the falls of many tumbling people headed for the shore, specifically in the video below. 

To pass the time and to get in touch with their inner-fish Emma and Teresa transformed into Ariel and Ursula, with the help of the astounding sculptors, Abby and Mari ( : Alex was almost forgotten as he swam in the waves after everyone else had gotten out also getting in touch with his inner-fish. 

To finish the night, we stargazed on the shore, listening to the waves, and absorbing our last moments of Costa Rica.

Parents-- we thank you for supporting us in this opportunity. It was truly a life changing experience. We can't wait to tell you all about it tomorrow! 

With that being said, we are all craving pizza and would greatly appreciate one last hurrah together. (hint hint ;) )

Por el final, adios Costa Rica!

Teresa ( :, Mari (-:, Emma     B) (Sunglasses because I am sunburned... :(   )

Colonia Libertad Elementary School Community Service

Hi, I am Mari Leland, Wayzata High School Student.  I am working on my Gold Award and have chosen to help the town of Colonia Libertad (the town we stay in for our Science Costa Rica Project).  I spent the science portion of the Seeds of Change program working with the school to assess their needs to improve the education that these students are receiving in this town.  I have attached a link for my website to inform individuals about the needs for this school.  I have included contact information, pictures, information about my project and areas of need (donations).  Please check it out and spread the word.  I would appreciate it and so would the children that live in the area.

Website link:   http://educacioninglescostarica.weebly.com/

Thanks, Mari Leland

Day 9 July 23

¡Hola Familias!

Today we said adios to Finca La Anita, only after many of us cleaned the store out of the freshly made chocolate. Parents, don't expect ANY when we return. It was an incredible place to stay and do science. We all hope to return again one day, possibly for science, mostly for the food. :)

All 17 of us plus the two drivers crammed together into a bus/"hippie van" for an exciting 4 hour drive that included falling luggage, rap battles in the back, and card games up front. Emma refuses to play cards with Teresa and us in the back have come to respect Charley's fly rhmyes.

The ride was interrupted by a couple of stops. First to the grocery stores, where many were excited to find healthy wholesome American cuisine like Pringles, boxes of cereal, and WAY overpriced Oreos. (aka everything Carter bought). Our next stop was to a small souvenir shop. Some parents will be delighted with what we found, and some are going to have to be okay with nothing. Emma was upset to not find a Costa Rica pin, but excited when Teresa and her found "authentic" Costa Rica national soccer, ahem fútbol, jerseys.

We finally arrived at El Horizontes and were able to eat lunch and explore our rooms. This including checking the bed for scorpions and climbing a radio tower for a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. Later, we began a game of World Cup. Teams ranged from Fiji, Ethopia, Guam, and of course Costa Rica (no USA, hmm...). Despite playing in rubber boots, players like Teresa, Maia, Corey, Mason, Nathan, and Mari showed off their fancy footwork, while Abby demonstrated hand work from years of violin as the goalie. We were interrupted by the announcement that the snake situation has suddenly scaled up (haha, but seriously there are apparently a lot of snakes). 

After lunch, some were excited and others less so to learn that our next activity would once again involve ants. We walked along the road to find acacia trees inhabitated by Pseudomyrmex ants. We had a lively discussion about our observations, interrupted by a bird that sounded like a cackling child.

We have also been informed about the second year trip and the future of bioinformatics that we will be able to study should we go.  Parents...if you want us to come home, we need the promise of returning on the second year trip. But for now, we'll be content with the promise of turtle patrol on the beach in a couple of minutes.

See you soon....maybe,

Emma, Teresa, and Abby 

Day 8 July 22

Buenos noches.


Last night as many groups hurriedly finished their experiments, we experienced the festivities of a bullet ant nuptial flight, with the final tally for killed bullet ants climbing to 42.
We presented the results of our experiments to the community today, and the results were fascinating, with many intriguing future directions we which we could explore. My experiment finally got results on the last morning, bringing great relief. 

After presentations concluded, we walked to a farm just down the road to help with weeding and clearing farming plots for a small business. The women who own the land hope to grow herbs and other plants to make soap that will be sold to tourists. The ground was saturated with water, and our forearms got covered with mud. The work was difficult, and it went to show that many of the most demanding vocations pay the least.

From the farm we went down the road further still to Colonia Libertad's soccer fields. We played boys against girls, the USA against Costa Rica, the girls/Costa Rica assisted by three natives who played nimbly in their soccer cleats while we struggled through the mud and rain clumsily in our rubber boots. Costa Rica emerged victorious out of the slop with a 3-2 victory.

For dinner we enjoyed a mouthwatering dessert of tres leches, and a main course of tacos, all of the ingredients homemade. Even the juice was delicious, made from the maro fruit, much like blueberries.
 We prepared to depart Finca la Anita tonight,  cleaning up the space that served as our lab, and packing so that we can leave smoothly after breakfast the next day.
The last event of the day was a night hike along the river running though Finca la Anita, where I saw frogs and insects calmly sitting motionless on twigs and broad leaves. Fish could be seen swimming in the river, and some people even saw a weasel, and a spider bigger than the palm of a human hand.
We move on towards the heat and saltwater of  El Horizonte in the morning, with one last meal at Finca la Anita, which when contemplated makes me feel like an inmate on death row.

Adios.

Day 7 July 21

Because of the special report yesterday, we were unable to write about our trip to the rainforest. After about an hour ride through many rivers and the bumpiest terrain ever, we arrived and took a 45 minute hike through the rainforest. During the hike we stopped at three natural pools, two with waterfalls and one which was heated. During the hike we saw a sloth, caterpillars, and a basilisk (a lizard that can walk on water). Pranav was given a scare when he lost his glasses under a massive waterfall. A few minutes later he found them with part of them missing.

Today was spent finishing our science projects. We began to put together our PowerPoints for a presentation tomorrow. Around four o'clock we stopped for a nice coffee break with coffee cake and cream cheese frosting. It was a fairly dull day until bullet ants decided to have their nuptial flight in our lab. For those of you at home who are unaware, Bullet Ants are credited with the most painful sting of all insects. They are called bullet ants because the sting feels as if you have been shot. Most of us promptly evacuated to our cabins. We are happy to report that no one got hurt . . .Yet.  Below is a picture of a squashed bullet ant abdomen complete with extended stinger dripping with venom.

The night will be concluded with more field work, and finishing touches on our projects. Tomorrow is the big day when we get to report the findings of our experiments.

 

 

 Griffin and Nathan

Day 6 July 20

From the Profes.  Today's blog post is consisting of each student writing a sentence or two about their trip and messages to their families.  The students have been GREAT!!  And we have been enjoying ourselves. We went to Sensoria a primary rainforest area near Colonia Libertad.  We have had a busy day and will post on that activity tomorrow. Please enjoy the following video of Sensoria.

 Guess which one is directed at your family :)

1. Everything is going fine. Its beautiful here and I am having a great time. I miss the cat though and I hope she isn't driving you crazy. I am bringing home lots of chocolate.

2. Dearest Mother, I am dying. 'Tis a hot and painful death. Oh, the woes of memories past, pale in comparison to this pain. My last wish is that I live to see you all again. Your bombastic son.

3. I fink rat rem dogs be less voluptuous here.

4. Dear family, the trip so far has been awesome, and we have been well fed. I have many stories to tell. Can't wait to see you.

5. I miss you guys and can't wait to tell you about all of the amazing experiences. The experiment is going well, and Costa Rica is an incredible place.

6. Well... Today was interesting to say the least. My glasses were blown away by the wind and broke... So that's a big problem, but I'll get through it.

7. Hi guys, I'm doing great! We had an awesome time swimming today. Don't forget to take care of the guppies and tadpoles.

8. This is an amazing trip! My hair has gotten wet. A lot. Shout out to Amber and her straight hair!

9.  Dear family, this has been a pretty fantastic way to spend a birthday. Hope Lizzy and Caroline didn't miss me at camp too much. Tell Mini I miss her and will be home to cuddle soon.

10. Padre and dog; Costa Rica is fun. Please go pick up my state patch. (notice how the last sentence was not a question).

11. Hola famila, yo solo hablo espanol. . . Costa Rica es increíble. Yo estoy haciendo un tiempo bueno. Te amo, y hasta pronto, y te extrano. Recorges mis pepinos ;) por favor... por supuesto.

12. I'm having a great time. Costa Rica is incredible, and I'm even struggling through the absence of gluten. Give Bailey a pat for me.

13. Costa Rica is beautiful and amazing and I love it and the food is too good for life and there are dogs everywhere and I'm not coming home. Sorry. Adios para siempre.

14. This experience has been amazing. Trying my Spanish out on people who actually speak it for a living has been really fun and it has been testing my immersion school skills. Me amo mucho!

15. Hello everyone! There is never a dull, or quiet, moment here in Costa Rica.... saw a basilisk today, and an armadillo yesterday- it was so cute! Hope you all are having an amazing week! See you in a bit-Me ( :

Day 5 July 19th

Day 5 in Costa Rica

A sloth and her child

With our experiments planned and proposed, many of the groups chose to convene early in order to get a head start on fieldwork today. After eating another excellent breakfast at 8, we continued our work and research. 

Around noon, we wrapped up our morning work session to eat lunch early. Immediately afterwards we took a long bus ride to Volcano Miravalles (a place that offers hikes and zipline tours) where we made a trek up a steep incline in the forest in order to reach the first of many zipline platforms. The whole adventure lasted well over an hour, and we were able to view the forest and its surroundings from a high elevation! The tour ended with a long descent from the canopy back to ground level. 

Next, we traveled to a local butterfly garden where we got to see examples of all stages of a butterfly's life. Larvae (caterpillar), pupae (chrysalis), and adults (butterflies) were all present at the garden. We made sure to take lots of pictures when we walked through the garden! Before we left the garden, we were treated to coconut-pinneapple tea and tortillas with a black bean paste by the caretakers of the garden. 

Our final stop of the day brought us to the home of a local family where we were taught to and made tortillas on a wood-fired stove. It's harder than you think! This was only a small part of the meal the family prepared for us, which consisted of chicken, rice and black beans, plantain cakes (not a dessert!) and the tortillas we made. For dessert, we had deep-fried tortillas coated in a sugar sauce! As an addition to the meal, we were offered habañero peppers to try. Alex and I (Nick) both had portions of the pepper and subsequently suffered from the heat. 

We walked back to Finca La Anita from the family's home and arrived a bit late. We had to scramble to get all our work done before going to bed. We've completed another exciting day in Costa Rica!

Signing off for now,

Pranav and Nick

Day 4 July 18

Hola,

 

Today was a full day of science, including fungus culturing, experimental design, and crushed dreams. After a breakfast of rice and beans, we began the day with extracting fungus samples from the colonies that we collected yesterday. Additionally, we completed our science booklets of depressing disease information and biology crosswords. Who knew a tuberculosis epidemic was imminent? We then began brainstorming ideas for our main experiment with the ants. MANY ideas were shot down; one final idea survived. We were also treated to a break of Costa Rican coffee and homemade cinnamon rolls. After dinner, the lights suddenly flicked off, and a delicious chocolate cake for Abby's belated birthday. Our last act of science for the day was presenting our experiments. After a barrage of critiques from our amigos, our experiments became more solidified, in contrast with the melting heat surrounding us.

The blog is significantly shorter today, as it is
 late and we are sick of typing and critiquing each others grammar.

Con mucho amor,
Isaac y Charley

Day 3 July 17

Last night we were woken periodically by the lovely sound of rain pounding on our metal roofs. I, Maia, personally thought that I was dying several times (it was that loud). While I, Abby, personally thought that I would be more in danger since I have top bunk and Maia would have been protected had the rain broken through the roof. I, Maia, believe that had the rain burst through the ceiling it would be pouring so hard that the bunk bed would collapse and I would be smushed (yes it really was that loud).

The rain continued into the morning. While soothing, and frightening to some (*cough cough*), it was disappointing to all when we had to leave our cabins and trudge through the mud.

After breakfast we continued to trudge through the rain and mud, this time in search of ants instead of food. It alternated between drizzling and pouring, and soon we were thoroughly soaked.

We were looking for two different types of leaf-cutter ants, Attas and Acromymex. Acromymex build their single chamber colonies in the sides of steep banks, whereas Attas prefer to build their complex multi-chamber colonies on flat ground.

Once we spotted the mounds signaling the Atta colonies, we began to carefully uncover their tunnels in search of the chambers containing their fungus gardens.

The ants cultivate the fungus by feeding it their leaf cuttings. They then feed off the fungus. Once we found them, we scooped out the ant-filled fungus and put them in plastic containers.

The ants and fungus were transported back to the classroom and we trudged to lunch.

The afternoon was filled with horseback riding up into the border between the rainforest and cloud forest. We drove about twenty minutes to another town where 17 horses were ready for us. We lined up in order of experience and were loaded onto horses. The rain had thankfully stopped, but some mud remained on the trail.We made our way up the mountain, slip sliding through the mud.

Once at the top, we stopped to enjoy the view of the valley, volcanoes, and surrounding mountains (we could even just barely see Lake Nicaragua). We posed for pictures, and then began the long, slippery trek back down. Once we were almost back to the town we got to run on a flat stretch of road. I, Maia, got to gallop twice and it was the bestest, fastest thing ever (sorry Mom). I, Abby, would like to clarify that we all galloped/trotted and would like to reassure Diane that her daughter stayed on her horse through the entire ride.

The science from the morning continued after we returned from riding. We were able to prepare our ants new homes so that our experiments may start tomorrow. Dinner interrupted the science, much to the joy of Maia, and the day finished with discussion about the two ant species that were collected.
Maia would like to add that she is always hungry and very much enjoying the delicious food here. Abby would like to inform Maia that we all know she enjoys the food, she has made it very clear to everyone.

BLOOPERS

 This morning, Carter earned himself the title of Ant Murder. His extremely aggressive digging technique resulted in the destruction of an Acromyrmex fungus garden (much to the horror and sadness of his groupmates, including I, Maia). He then almost destroyed the next Atta colony we found, but luckily with Dr. Pinto's assistance we were able to save the Queen, her workers, and their fungus garden.

Pranav fell not once, but twice while horseback riding. The first fall was while on the actual ride up the mountain , while the second was simply trying to get out of the saddle. Neither of these falls were as spectacular and theatrical as Mason's, who managed to fall and tumble over the front of his horse as it slide down the mountain. Both were not injured, but Mason is encouraged to join Cirque de Soleil as clearly his tumbling skills are on point, while Pranav is encouraged to avoid horses in the future.

I, Maia, would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and FELIZ CUMPLEANOS to Abby, who had her golden birthday today!! Hopefully she will live to see many more (despite the predictions of her mother), though I doubt any will ever be wild and interesting as a day spent digging up ants in the rain and riding a horse up a mountain.

Goodnight, from Maia and Abby. We will be going back to our cabins and passing out very quickly, hopefully not to be woken up by wild torrents of rain.

 War paint courtesy of Maia.

Day 2 July 16th

Day two in Costa Rica!

CAW CAW. . . The tropical birds awoke us with their majestic calls.

Started the day out right! We ate about 4 courses of homemade chocolate, two cups of hot chocolate, and the bitter Cacao Bean. However, the Cacao Fruit that surrounds it when ripe is rather citrusy. We had an amazing tour experience, and learned a lot about where we are staying, with Pablo leading. This included seeing the chocolate making process, learned of the business philosophy, and trekked through a forest of Cacao and Plantain trees. The picture at the top shows us on our way to the village where we stopped at the Pulparia and for homemade ice cream out of a bag! For lunch Ninja Pablo skillfully 'captured' and 'gutted' the Heart of Palm for our salad.

Luckily, the science started this afternoon with Dr. Adrian Pinto. We got our groups and formed awesome squadron names:
The Dream Team  with Teresa, Maia, Carter, and Nathan
Los Gringos with Charley, Isaac, and Emma
The Nerds of the Round Table with Pranav, Alex, Griffin, and Abby
The Ant-ibiotics with Cory, Nick, and Mason

After a small, self directed, experiment about bacteria we headed out into the woods to hunt out the Atta species.  We saw some tree dwellers, and a large leaf-cutter ant nest! Pinto taught us about the way the ants ventilate their nest. Interestingly, they have a tunnel system designed to expel warm air from their waste keeping the nest cool. While digging, Maia and Abby both sacrificed themselves to the solider ants ( :

Meanwhile, Mari was working on her community service project of helping the local school curriculum (K-6) with their English. This included meeting with a peace corp volunteer, Aimee. When asked about the experience Mari said "Life's a party, it is always fun," in other words Mari is enthusiastic in continuing her project.

During down time we occupied ourselves with card games which Teresa dominated, like always.

 . ."It is on!"
To end the day we watched movies about..... Leaf cutter ants!

And now for the bLoOpeRS of the day!

"Look at that Gecko! Look at it scurry!" Teresa

Pranav's favorite number is Avogadro's Number :)

The banana bubbles, and ants. "Can we eat them?"

Mason the Orange Man

Griffin's Australian accent is ACE! ;)

For Mom, love Maia ^^^^^^^

"The Second Amendment... The right to bear arms" Corey with the mortar ( ;

Emma and the 10 billion bugs in her hair.

Emma and Teresa at the mortar...... :)

It has been such a wonderful rainy, and somewhat sunny day wearing our boots.
Can't believe it is only day two! We look forward to more exciting experiences that lay ahead.
Signing off,
Mari, Emma, and Teresa ( :

P.S. Someone has to pick my cucumbers, but leave the carrots and beets alone.... Love Emma to Family.