Jordan Sell, July 22nd

Today was quite an adventurous day to say the least. As usual in the morning we worked in our groups on our experiments both in the lab and in the field. We also were able to work on a side project today with Dr. Pinto with some bacteria that we have been culturing for 4 days. This entailed gram staining bacteria which is a process used to identify the type of bacteria in the sample and is widely used in hospitals to determine the type of antibiotic to be used as treatment for the bacteria. That was really cool because it gave us a chance to see the real life application of some work that we were doing, and it is always more rewarding when you perform the work yourself.
After lunch today we met up with Javier, our rainforest tour guide for the rest of the day, and he definitely knew his way around the forest. He could easily point out various plants and animals all over the forest that I would never have been able to see on my own. In the afternoon he led us on a trek through the forest. It was all downhill and rather muddy, I only fell 1 once though, but the trail led us right to a river that cut through the forest and we reached it at an opening where we could easily get in. There we all had a chance to swim in the river and that was fantastic.

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The water felt great and whether I was swimming against the rapids or letting them carry me down the river, the whole experience was unbelievable and was definitely worth the hour long hike back up through the mud.
Then before dinner, since it gets dark around 6:30 here, Javier took us on a night hike through the forest. That was really cool but to be honest it was a little scary. Going out at night is different since the animals are much more active at night, but knowing that there are thousands of animals of all kinds around you can be a little nerve-wracking and exhilarating at the same time. The guide pointed out a ton of cool creatures in the forest, and I have no idea how he could see all of them but it seemed like everytime he turned his flashlight it landed on another animal that I had never seen before.

I thought that today was fantastic because both swimming in the river and walking through the rainforest at night were unreal experiences that I definitely have never had before and may never have again. I hope the next few days are like today because swimming in that river was awesome because it was super fun but just thinking about where you were and the beauty surrounding you mad it one of the best adventures that I have ever had.