Zip-Lining

First and foremost it is Pablo's, one of the owners of Finca La Anitas, birthday today! It was great to celebrate the occasion with his family. Pablo claimed that he was the convincing age of 24, but later confessed that it was that multiplied by two. He could have had us all fooled!

It is 8:30 pm, and everybody else is getting all tucked into their beds as three dedicated writers type away on a teeny, poorly lit laptop. Everybody is pooped from so much brain power and flying though the canopies of Costa Rica. Half of the students rolled out of bed this morning at the dreadful time of 6:30 am to look for trees that were suitable for testing. After an exceptional breakfast of pancakes with cacao chips, and the daily serving of rice, beans and eggs, everybody broke up into their designated groups to get a jump start on their experiments. We feel as though we are working as hard and efficiently as a colony of ants! Although we are in separate groups, we are helping each other out and problem solving together.

While Team Balto and the DNAs were working out in the field, the mealtime rain surprised us and came a little early. Us three writers took a shower in the downpour. Maybe we should have brought some soap... Rain in the rainforest? Go figure!

After lunch, the three brave writers and company had to face our fear of heights and pitch ourselves off of a platform high above the Costa Rican canopy and into the fields below. Luckily we were harnessed in. Some of the second-year students, such as Kelly and Logan, didn't skip a beat to agree to zip line upside down. Some of us were not as courageous to graduate from holding on to the harness. After spending so much time sloshing around in the mud, it was great to experience it all from above and keep those feet clean.

On a different note, but related to our zip-lining adventures, one of the passengers on the bus had a freak OUT! One thing you must know, the drivers down here are crazy, but have enough control not to kill anyone, or anything. This includes dogs. Tyler did not have faith in our trusty driver and was convinced that the bus would be the murder weapon that would have lead to doggie death. Just as we were all taking a siesta, Tyler decided to wake us all screaming “no. No. NO. NOOO!” It was a rude awakening and the native driver chuckled as he realized that we had a dog-loving drama-king amongst a group of scientists. Words cannot describe Tyler's terror. Or his face.

Though productive, the evening was not quite as eventful. We did some science. We celebrated Pablo's birthday. We thought we had a successful day and more wonderful experiences!

And now we are going to retire to our cabin.

Us, the fabulous three writers are signing off for the night!

With love,

Erica, Sarah, and Lindsey