Day 6 - Rainforest Hike and Science
Day 6 - Rainforest Hike and Science
Hello everyone! It's Taylor and Lauren.
First of all I would like to say hello to my Paulie, Mama, and Daddy. All is well and I am having a lot of fun, just like you said. -TayTay
Breakfast was at 6am this morning so we could leave and go to a National Park (1.5hrs away) for a hike. It was beautiful and muddy, so multiple people slipped. We got to walk across little streams just like our horses did the other day. We now know how our horses felt just minus the weight of an extra human on our back. Along the way we saw some cool things including some vines that suffocate trees as they grow. Taylor was very sad because she thought they were just a pretty other kind of tree but apparently it meant that the tree was dying. Lauren thought it was very interesting. A few people got to see a possibly poisonous coral snake that the guide said could be up to 4.5 ft long but it was safe. We also saw a stick bug at the end and lots of leaf cutter ants along the way.
During the middle of the hike we stopped at a hot spring (pictured below). It was nice and hot like a hot tub. It also smelled VERY strongly of eggs because of the sulfur. There was also some mud that one of our guides, Eddy, gave to everyone because it is apparently exfoliating and the type of stuff you buy for a lot of money otherwise. Taylor put it all over her face and looked really weird (Lauren confirmed). We then walked to a waterfall and it was pretty (also pictured below).
We ate lunch at the national park and then came back to Finca la Anita. When we got back we had a small break and then went straight to science. We are continuing our work on our final experiments. Taylor's group is working to repel leaf cutter ants from the cacao plants at Finca la Anita using citronella. Lauren's group is trying to determine whether the Atta ants or the Acromyrmex ants more efficiently manage Escovopsis. It is very interesting.
Taylor would like to say nini and that she misses all of you very much and to tell the Paulie that I love him and miss him. <3
That's it. Signing off.
Hello everyone! It's Taylor and Lauren.
First of all I would like to say hello to my Paulie, Mama, and Daddy. All is well and I am having a lot of fun, just like you said. -TayTay
Breakfast was at 6am this morning so we could leave and go to a National Park (1.5hrs away) for a hike. It was beautiful and muddy, so multiple people slipped. We got to walk across little streams just like our horses did the other day. We now know how our horses felt just minus the weight of an extra human on our back. Along the way we saw some cool things including some vines that suffocate trees as they grow. Taylor was very sad because she thought they were just a pretty other kind of tree but apparently it meant that the tree was dying. Lauren thought it was very interesting. A few people got to see a possibly poisonous coral snake that the guide said could be up to 4.5 ft long but it was safe. We also saw a stick bug at the end and lots of leaf cutter ants along the way.
During the middle of the hike we stopped at a hot spring (pictured below). It was nice and hot like a hot tub. It also smelled VERY strongly of eggs because of the sulfur. There was also some mud that one of our guides, Eddy, gave to everyone because it is apparently exfoliating and the type of stuff you buy for a lot of money otherwise. Taylor put it all over her face and looked really weird (Lauren confirmed). We then walked to a waterfall and it was pretty (also pictured below).
We ate lunch at the national park and then came back to Finca la Anita. When we got back we had a small break and then went straight to science. We are continuing our work on our final experiments. Taylor's group is working to repel leaf cutter ants from the cacao plants at Finca la Anita using citronella. Lauren's group is trying to determine whether the Atta ants or the Acromyrmex ants more efficiently manage Escovopsis. It is very interesting.
Taylor would like to say nini and that she misses all of you very much and to tell the Paulie that I love him and miss him. <3
That's it. Signing off.
Thanks for sharing a peek into the adventure you had today. It is good to hear that you are enjoying yourselves and having fun with all of the science! It was also fun to hear what a couple of the groups experiments are! Enjoy the rest of the trip! We miss you and look forward to seeing you next week.
ReplyDeleteOhh... my Tay Tay!!! so great to hear from you and to know you are having fun. Paulie is counting the days and of course your return is on the calendar. We miss you TONS, but we are glad you are enjoying your time there. Keep having fun and continue learning a lot. PS: You can leave the experiments there ; ) . LOVE Paulie, Mom and Dad.
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