"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
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