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 :)
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