Wed 7/25 trip to the coast

                We had an early start with breakfast at 7:00 am!!! Right after breakfast we said farewell to Finca La Anita and started our trip to the research station along the coast. Our first stop was the canopy tour (zip lining) and there was both excitement and fear among the group. We all got harnessed up and the rain started pouring. We started up the mountain until we reached the first zip line. As people started getting used to the idea some were brave enough to go upside down.  As we were hiking between zip lines we saw a rabbit squirrel (don’t know the scientific name) and were hopeful to see monkeys because our guide was whistling for them, but no luck. The last zip line was the longest of them all; we flew over rainforest and a field of cows all the way to where we started.  Even though it was kind of painful and a little wet, not many people can say they went zip lining through the rainforest.

                Our next stop was a wooden sculpture shop hand-made by a famous local guy. We only had ten minutes there to browse and buy souvenirs. We got back on the bus for an hour then stopped at a local supermarket where there happened to be a fiesta.  We stocked up on candy and pop to remind ourselves that we are Americans.  We arrived at the research station and got settled after lunch. We headed to the classroom to learn about another type of ant. We observed the ants in their habitat to learn about the mutualistic relationship they have with the tree they live in. We played cards and Frisbee during the free time we had until dinner.

 After dinner, we got in the bus for what we thought was going to be a 20 minute ride to the beach, but the ride ended up being 45 minutes due to the speed we were going (~ 10mph). At the beach we walked a couple lengths of the beach before we found the tracks of an Eastern Pacific Rimmed Black turtle. Some of us stayed to watch the turtle while the rest of the group continued on. We found the tracks of another turtle, but unfortunately, not the turtle.  We went back to the first turtle and saw that it was getting ready to lay its eggs. We watched it as it dug its hole and went into labor. We watched for a while until the bus left at 10pm. Four others stayed to watch the turtle finish its egg laying process. We went to sleep right away anticipating our cow milking in the morning. Adios!

Authors: Katie Page, Jamie Larson, Christina Truwit