Costa Rica Trip Day 2

To kick off the first full day of the trip in Finca La Anita, we had an amazing breakfast at 7:30 that included scrambled eggs, rice with beans, and a choice between pineapple or watermelon. After the amazing food prepared by our gracious hosts, we had a demonstration of how to make cacao from the tree to the final product. Pablo, our spectacular main host of the trip, showed us how to make real, genuine chocolate. There were many samples of different kinds of chocolate. Apparently, all real chocolate is dark chocolate and not made with milk. Then, we took an optional hike through the rainforest. There was much scenery to take in for every individual that took part in this single hike out of the many that are awaiting our presence.

Chocolate and Various Spices

Rhinoceros Beetle

After lunch, we met the Professor at the University of Costa Rica that is instructing our research, Adrian Pinto. We got into groups and made hypotheses about microbes and what objects allow them to grow abundantly on themselves. We did experiments on our chosen areas to collect bacteria and test which area contained the most amount of bacteria to understand and observe the rainforest around us. After the tedious, but academic experiment, we had a scrumptious supper that contained chicken with a choice of sauce, rice, black beans, and potatoes with vegetables. A desert was prepared for us that was called banana flambee with a topping of neopolitan ice cream. After the filling and satisfying meal, we headed out to watch short films on our main research concept on leafcutter ants and an academic video on bullet ants as well. These videos gave us a brief insight and understanding of how leafcutter and bullet ants behave in the wild. After the brief, but important films, we head off to bed to start day 3 of our journey and adventure.

View from Cabins

View of Volcanoes and Mountains