Day 3

Day 3: 

It was harder waking up today after a long day of research yesterday. Breakfast was another delicious juice, fresh fruit, coffee, eggs with ham, and rice and beans. 




Afterwards, we visited the lab to begin our field research with the ants. After a brief discussion and instructions, we trekked into the jungle to see a huge nest, with big foraging trails and massive soldier ants. Pinto talked to us about different parts of the nest. 

Then it was our turn. We went with our groups to go and dig up a (smaller) nest of our own. Equipped with a field pack and a shovel, each group searched for the prized fungus that sat beneath the seemingly endless mounds of dirt. Eventually most of us were able to retrieve the fungus gardens however only a few of us were able to locate the queen. Once we were all drenched in sweat from the extra hot day, we made the uphill hike back to the research facility. 




Lunch was awaiting us after a short drive to the dining hall. It included one of my favorite juices which was lemonade with basil and mint, as well as spaghetti and garlic bread. Then after a short break, it started to rain, so our plans to visit the Mariposario (butterfly facility) were postponed to tomorrow morning. Instead, we returned to the lab for another session of learning. We got to reassemble the colonies we had excavated earlier in the day in a temperature controlled container. We then backtracked to one of our previous experiments concerning bacterial colonies where we got our first taste of statistics (so fun). 





After that we watched and discussed a couple videos concerning the leaf cutter ants and their impressive nest building skills. 

After a lot of brain work we finally headed back for dinner where we enjoyed crispy tostones with rice and pork. For dessert we enjoyed some very sweet caramelized bananas with cacao nibs on top. The night now falls upon us and the giant toads run rampant. 




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