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.