Sensational Springs in Sensoria

Hello!

This day began with a delicious breakfast followed by rigorous field and lab research. Leaves were counted, the scent of Citronella was pungent, and discoveries were made. Like soldier ants springing to protect their colony, the students rushed the dining area for an early lunch of chicken rice, beans, and plantains. They were then herded once again onto the converted army vehicle (with 6-wheel drive) for a bumpy ride to Sensoria.

Bringing back childhood memories for some of us, we forged the rapid river similar to the computer game, Oregon Trail. Finally reaching our desired location, we commenced our hike with the confidence of seasoned veterans. Hiking through the Primary Rainforest, we observed huge, old trees, ranging from 200-300 years old. Arriving at our first pool, we were amazed by the roaring waterfall and
bright blue water caused by a mineral riverbed. After a cool dip, we proceeded to a lukewarm pool before our final stop at the hot spring. There, we relaxed, taking in the beautiful surroundings. Finally forcing ourselves to leave the comfort of our spring, we returned to the main lodge at Sensoria. We enjoyed authentic Costa Rican coffee, juice, and cookies while watching recorded animal activity from the rainforest including Ocelots, Pumas, and the King Himself: the jaguar--all, of course, relatives to Tommy the house cat whom we also encountered.

Embarking on our final ride in the army truck, we caught a quick glimpse a huge Ceiba tree with dozens of Oropendola nests. We returned to Finca La Anita and were welcomed by a fantastic dinner of fish, Yucca patties, roasted vegetables, and a dessert of coconut flan and cacao crust. Scurrying off with full bellies, we collected final data before heading off to bed.

Sincerely,
Grace and Julia D

Mandarin Lemon juice, honey, and fresh ginger. Pablo's cold remedy!

Pablo pours fresh coconut juice.

Zip, Zap, Zoom!.... Zipping Through The Rainforest

Salutations,

Today was quite an eventful day for the entire group!  After eating a delicious breakfast consisting of pancakes with cacao in them, papaya, watermelon, and pineapple, we continued to work on our research projects.  Some groups designed field experiments to do in the rainforest in addition to their lab experiments. Many people started to see exciting results, some being completely unexpected.  All of us also began to create our power-point presentations, which we will be giving on Friday.
For a nice break from science research, we got a presentation from Pablo about how to make ceviche, where he used his machete to cut open a heart of palm that he grew in the farm.  We were lucky to receive this as an appetizer for our lunch.  Our lunch consisted of ginger lemonade, rice and beans, potatoes, and perfectly cooked beef. It was delicioso.

Afterwards, we headed out in a converted army vehicle to go zip lining over the canopy of the rainforest.  Many students were already experienced in zip lining, but several also were first-time zippers. We all suited up in fabulous equipment and helmets. Once on the zip line, it gave us all an incredible rush of adrenaline to be able to seemingly fly through the air.  One section of the zip line had two cords, so pairs of students could go together side by side. It was super exhilarating, and as some of the guides called, "muy romantico".  Many students caught glimpses of white faced monkeys, which was incredibly exciting. The white faced monkeys climbed super close to one group of students waiting for their turn to go down another zip line. Some even got to see one monkey eating a fig.  Andy, our amazing science instructor, taught us about an adaptation that some ants have who live in the canopy of the rainforest. When a person drops these kind of ants, they are able to glide back to their tree even though they do not have wings. Curious as we are, some of us attempted to drop ants off the side of the zip line platforms to see whether they could glide or not. Many of the ants could glide and it was very interesting to see in person. After making friends with the workers there, we headed back to La Anita.

Once we got back, many students then decided to go back to the village and play soccer again with Amy and the same boys as yesterday. This time however, there were even more super skilled players from the village. In fact, the boys from the village out numbered the vis girls that went to play with them. They split up into two teams, both having an equal amount vis girls and the amazing soccer players. After the intense game lasting about an hour and a half, one team finally pulled ahead and won. We all took a picture with the boys before we went back to La Anita. Many people also stopped at the Pulpería, which is a cute store run by a local named Ida. She is very sweet, and many girls bought jewelry and candy. When we arrived back at La Anita for dinner, sweaty and hungry, we were greeted by yet another delicious meal for dinner. We had yuca, zucchini, ceviche salad, and chicken with a sweet fruit and vegetable sauce on top. Then for best part, we got an absolutely mouth watering dessert of bread pudding with hardened carmel on top. After dinner, we all returned to the lab to collect data for our experiments and began our field experiments. Receiving more exciting results from the lab, we all called it a day.

Sincerely,
Christine and Kate :)

Treacherous Tumbles and Tasty Tortillas

Today can be best described by one word: community. The day was filled with a variety of communities ranging from the ant colonies to the Costa Rican boys that joined us in a soccer match.

After a delicious ham and egg breakfast, the future scientists of the world were off to the labs. The day opened with multiple mass murders as the science experiments set off in a bang. Some groups spent their time decapitating ants, others spent time collecting their waste. The first day of experiments was far from ordinary as we struggled to out run the rain while collecting ants. The leaves and ants collected were often subject to a new verb: juicing. We spent our time juicing their abdomens, heads, and waste.

Hours later, the science portion of the day came to an end and the afternoon rolled in with a steaming plate of lasagna. Following our excessive amount of carbs, we headed into the village with a Peace Core volunteer, Amy. Amy has been working to improve the small businesses in the village for several months now. Continuing in her charitable footsteps, we found ourselves picking mountains of weeds in a local women's garden. The garden was home to eight women who depend on the business of tourists as they grow and sell their own vegetables and make jewelry. We really cleared out their stock! Who would have guessed that we could all shop? But before the jewelry came, there were hours filled with mud and creatures. We got down and dirty plucking out weeds only to be interrupted by the presence of a snake. Although the snake was very small, it gave us quite the fright.

As the now severed snake was tossed aside, we found ourselves adventuring to a soccer match. Although the match started off with just us girls (and our questionable soccer talents), the excitement quickly grew as we were joined by four Costa Rican boys who were slightly above our skill level (most likely training for the World Cup in 2018). Some tumbles were had and some memories were made as we found our bodies covered in mud. The motto of the game was clear: pass it to the Costa Ricans. The game ended with a 3-2 win for the blue shirts. The gray and white shirt team walked away with their heads held high because although they had lost, they would still partake in the amazing cooking experience that was to follow.

A mere five minutes from the soccer field rested the house of a lovely lady named Aracelly. After affectionate introductions, we headed inside to start cooking. Thanks to the Spanish of several girls, we were able to communicate as we set out to prepare a meal of chicken, tortillas, coconut rice and beans, cheese, and a salad. Though our tomato roses were not up to par and the our tortillas weren't exactly round, the night was a success. Our hard work was enjoyed as we sat on the beautiful outdoor patio and engulfed our well-earned meal. After hours filled with riddles, laughs, and the cutest puppy the world has ever known, we left her house with not only full bellies, but full hearts. We would have never guessed that a woman with so little could give us so much. You could say that some of the girls found themselves another grandmother.

As we washed the mud off of our clothes, a barrier was also stripped away as we were exposed and immersed in a new culture filled with warmth and generosity.

Sincerely,
Ellie and Kaitlyn

P.S. The sunset was beautiful.

P. S. S. All comments are encouraged! We would love to hear from you! :)

Pulling weeds in the community garden

Working in the lab

 Arriving at Aracelly's home

 We left our boots at the door!

 Everyone helped to prepare the meal

See the Community Soccer Game slideshow here

Hold Your Horses! ... Literally

 This day started and finished at a gallop; we sprinted through our itinerary at a break neck pace only to come to a halting stop at our pillows. From our first day of science inquiry to many people's first day of horseback riding, today was filled with new discoveries and fantastic experiences.

We woke up to a muy delicioso breakfast, which included stuffed omelets with mozzarella, pico de gallo, toast with exotic jam and the famous white pineapple. After that we went right to work. We quickly gathered with our lab groups to finalize our experimental design and start our first official day of experimentation.  Experimental topics are mainly focused on deterring the leaf cutter ants from destroying valuable crops.  To create these deterrents, groups concocted solutions involving ant genocide and mutilation to the far less grotesque concoction of all-natural bug spray.  After these pleasant endeavors had been thoroughly pursued with varied results our next step was to present our ideas and experiential design to the rest of the ready to listen groups. 

After a mentally enthralling morning everyone was ready for lunch. The lunch of the day consisted of a taro chips (which is everyones new tastier and healthier replacement for potato chips), a baked chicken dish, and something involving rice, cheese and hearts of palm, which was unexplainably delicious and somehow reminiscent of homely favorite, 'cheesy potatoes.' Right after lunch everyone piled into a safari van and sang along to childhood favorites like Taylor Swift, High School Musical and Miley Cyrus. A music video may or may not appear in the near future.  Once arriving at the ranch they quickly had us line up in order of riding experience. One of our group (Caelen, obviously) led our party in knowledge, having recently seen much success at Youth Nationals. 

We then set out on our grand adventure, following a trail through terrain ranging from an almost-paved road to grassy mountain pastures to treacherously mud-slicked hills. The horses were generally cooperative and easygoing, and they behaved well according to our specific instructions regarding steep slopes and one loitering bushmaster snake. The end of our excursion culminated in an opportunity to race, at a tremendous speed of a gallop. 

When we returned to our lodgings at La Finca Anita, travelers chose between leisure activities including hammock-encased naps, expeditions in search of Ofelia's ice cream, and shopping trips to the village. Dinner was roast beef with baked veggies and salad, eaten to the thunderous noise of a torrential downpour of biblical proportions.  It's still raining (in preparation for a 40-day flood, probably) now, two hours later.  Dessert was caramelized bananas served with cacao-chip ice cream.

After dinner we listened to short summaries of the scientific projects carried out by some other American college students, who are staying nearby. Their topics of inquiry ranged from turtle and monkey behavior to medicinal plant ecology and were a wonderful preview into possible future endeavors in biology. We also received the sacred notebooks of previous student work, which was similar to our research projects. One group, however, is pursuing an entirely new topic since they are blazing the trail of new scientific discovery.

"How do you stop?!?" is our quote of the day, which was shouted in a panicked moment of uncontrollable full-tilt horseback racing. The quote is a perfect way to tie up our day, which finished as energetically as it started, but now it's time to pull the reins in and go to bed.

Sincerely, 

Frances, Caelen, and Claire

See the Horseback Ride to Cerro Frío Slideshow here

The Mud Chronicles

"White pineapple" is an exceedingly representative symbol of our day. At breakfast we discovered this new organic fruit, which was exotic, unexpected, and uniquely Costa Rican, just like our fast-paced and diverse itinerary. From epic mudslides (literally) to rare white hawks to magical tres leches cake at dinner, the sights and experiences we bore witness to today were fascinating and memorable from start to finish.

The first object on our schedule was a science lecture and an exhaustive quest for ant colonies to abduct. We began with experimentally focused group discussions to finalize the preparations for our research enterprises, which led us to disembark from the lab in search of healthy leaf-cutter ants. A few attempts at capture were unsuccessful, due to the entirely accidental murder of one colony's queen and the discovery of one colony's mass destruction due to an escovopsis bacterial infestation. Other efforts were hindered by roots, low-hanging trees, too much disinfectant alcohol, and marauding pet dogs. Ultimately, we reaped two salvageable colonies and one dead specimen.

To say that our tractor-towed voyage to the hiking site was relaxing would be a bald-faced lie. It was exciting and adrenaline-boosting, due to the presence of falling leaves, one enormous grasshopper, and numerous friendly potholes, accompanied by a few harshly received spiders. Once we exited the trailer, we thought hiking would be a breeze, a feeling we harbored until we faced the treachery of clay-infused trails, which led to some acrobatic, ninja-like balance recoveries. When we reached the dazzling waters at the base of the hill, we felt as though we had discovered an oasis; the rapids sparkled blue and green with reflecting light and the coolness of the fresh rainwater was rejuvenating to our sweaty and mud-smeared skin. The hike back up the hill was less meandering though more strenuous than our initial descent, and it could be characterized by the occurrence of one crashing, sliding, filthy tumble down the trail (dubbed the fall) to the tune of howler monkeys. By the end, we were, to put it simply, very dirty, but we had seen a number of spider monkeys, white hawks, army- and bullet ants, a small variety of toucan, and a few notable trees, including a citronella.

After brief showers and card games, dinner was served and followed by the heavenly tres leches cake that took our collective breath away. We then set out on a "night hike" with the objective of observing nocturnal rainforest life illuminated by headlamps, a few of which having been engineered and creatively mounted minutes before we left. There we witnessed many a strange and exotic creature, such as a glass-bellied frog, an enormous cicada, cockroaches, bats, giant crickets, newly remodeled spiderwebs in the latest style, a praying mantis, and a stick bug. The most thrilling part of the hike, however, was the stunning darkness that followed the last member of our party. Just beyond the roving flashlight beams lurked a foreign darkness unlike any one could find in the light-polluted metro area.

Much to our delight, there was no rain today. Also, extra discoveries included the fact that Tigger from Winnie the Pooh's name derives from the word "tiger," soup is a food regularly consumed by humans, and ants are more aggressive than they seem. In conclusion, we had another wonderful day full of adventures in the wild Costa Rican rainforest.

Sincerely,
Claire Gorman and Ingrid McNeely

Ready to leave on our hike to the river

Muddy boots upon our return

See the entire Slippery Slope Swim Album here

Vis Girls & the Chocolate Factory (and a few ants)

Hello people with dry clothes,
We awoke this morning to the pitter patter of rain on our bungalow roofs.  After eating a delicious breakfast of pinto gallo (rice and beans), huevos revueltos (scrambled eggs), fruta (fruit), and jugo de mango (mango juice), we had the opportunity to do our favorite thing: eat more.  In typical Vis girl fashion, we ate dark chocolate that was produced on this very farm.  It was made just last week and beats any chocolate found back home.  While enjoying this delicious treat, Pablo (our gracious host) taught us about the history of his farm and the crops grown here.  Julia Sullivan's really glad he's switched from Macadamia nuts to cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate.

Armed with bug spray and rain jackets, we took a tour of Pablo's farm and learned how much work it is to maintain.  Along our way, we got a chance to refresh ourselves with a Macarena plant.  Its nickname is nature's hand sanitizer and it provides water and a crisp but delightful scent.  After climbing numerous hills (with many rising seniors falling behind the pack), we arrived at the home of a hospitable family who sold us homemade fresh coconut and chocolate ice cream.  Also, while we were there, Pablo explained the contrast between poverty and misery.  Here, the people do not live rich lives; however, they have pride in what they have worked so hard for, whereas misery is just "breathing on the earth."  For example, it's almost a competition throughout the village to see who has the most abundant flowers.  Upon our return, Pablo gave us a each a piece of a plant and told us to smell it.  While we were each pleasantly surprised by the scent, we were astounded to discover that it is the infamous scent of Chanel No. 5.

For lunch, we inhaled another scrumptious meal consisting of pork, rice, beans, and fresh salad; however, the main hit was the freshly squeezed blackberry juice.  Then...the "sciencing" began.  Beginning with fun introductions, we then transitioned into our lab groups and lecture about the tropical rainforest and epiphytes.  To educate our less educated readers, an epiphyte is a fungus, vine, fern, or other *just in: a moth just entered Katherine's mouth* vegetation that absorbs excess rain water, aides in the diversity of the rainforest, and has a mutualistic relationship with ants.  The names of the four lab groups are as follows: Smarty Ants, Ants Before Pants, Antz that JJIG, and KFC^2 with Antz.  We had another fabulous, well prepared meal before returning to the lab to discuss potential experiment ideas.

Over and Out,
Katherine Weir and Jane Driano
Assisted by:
Julia Sullivan and Lauren Debertin


PS: quote of the day...
Grace: "If my hair actually dries, it'll just get wet again."

 This is the view from our classroom...

The writing crew:

See the entire River Hike Slideshow here

Day one

Nineteen hours of continuous consciousness. Wild bullet ants flying rampant. After a busy morning of airline travel, including a stressful sprint to our connecting flight in Atlanta, we finally arrived in Liberia, Costa Rica. We piled into a van and set out on the two hour ride to Finca Anita Rainforest Ranch, not forgetting to stop for our first authentic Costa Rican lunch of rice and beans, seasoned chicken, plantain, and mamon chino fruit. When we finally arrived at the beautiful rainforest ranch, we had the chance to settle in to our new forest bungalows and enjoy the breathtaking view of the three volcanoes right outside our doors. We then suited up in some snazzy rain boots and embarked on our first hike through the rainforest. Here we experienced a brief preview of the complex biodiversity in which we will be immersed throughout the next nine days, including our first encounter with the leaf cutter ants. And no rainforest hike would be complete without half the clan slipping into the river while trying to take our first group picture. Luckily, we all made it back to the ranch unscathed and ready to enjoy an amazing meal of sea bass, steamed vegetables, and guanabana fruit juice. After our busy day of travel, we are all more than ready to hit the hay to the soothing sounds of the rainforest.

Signing off,
Mary Mullen and Annie Ferraro

Itinerary

The itinerary below is one we just received. Weather conditions and other factors may require some adjustments to the schedule, but this will give you some idea about how things may play out while we are here.

Two students plan to write an account of our day before we retire so I will leave the task to them. I must say that these young women were an absolute pleasure to travel with today!

VISITATION High School –Finca La Anita

July 25th – August 4^th, 2014

Itinerary

Friday 25th	Flight to Liberia, Costa Rica Transfer to Finca La Anita Rainforest Ranch Lunch at Palo Verde, Bagaces Dinner/Welcome to La Anita
Saturday 26nd	Farm Exploration/Tour Community tour Introduction to science project Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (B/L/D) at La Anita
Sunday 27th	Science Research/Lecture Walk to the River Night tour (B/L/D at La Anita
Monday 28th	Science Research/Lecture Horse Back Ride to Cerro Frío (B/L/D) at La Anita
Tuesday 29th	Science Research/Lecture Community Project *Football game Dinner at a home in the community
Wednesday 30th	Science Research/Lecture Canopy Zip line (B/L/D at La Anita)
Thursday 31th	Science Research Project Visit to Sensoria  (B/L/D) at La Anita
Friday 1st	Work on Science Project All day Science Final Science Research Presentations (B/L/D) at La Anita
Saturday 2nd	Breakfast at La Anita Departure to Estación Experimental Horizontes (EEH) Pseudomyrmex Studies Beach / POSSIBLE SCOUTING FOR TURTLES Overnight at EEH L/D at Horizontes
Sunday 3rd	Tour to San Pancho at Estación Horizontes Lunch at Horizontes BBQ at the beach Overnight at EEH B-L-D at Horizontes
Monday 4th	Breakfast Depart to Liberia International Airport Return to USA