Costa Rica- Day 3!!

 This morning we woke up bright and early and ate breakfast, then proceeded to meet in the classroom around 8:30! In the classroom, we grabbed supplies (plastic containers, shovels, spoons, cleaning equipment, and of course our rain boots), then headed into the rain forest. As we walked, we observed different ant habitats and studied the colonies as we dug and carefully worked our way into the intricately made homes done by the ants themselves. Turns out- ants aren't just annoying pests that work their way into your bedroom when you have left food out. We ended up in the farm discovering ants and their queen while placing them in the plastic compartments to study.

After lunch today, which was phenomenal, we hopped on this trailer that was pulled by a tractor up the side of the volcano that we ended up hiking. It was a crazy, long hike in which we crossed two rivers and up and down steep, mountain hills which was still muddy from the heavy rain the night before. At the end it was totally worth it because we made it to this amazing waterfall that had many swimming ponds. All of the locals thought we were nuts for swimming because it was "so cold", but we're from Minnesota, and that pond had nothing on superior.

Everyone swam and laughed and had fun but eventually it was time to head back just in time for dinner, which always is amazing. Everything they use here is all local and fresh and the ladies in the kitchen really know what they're doing! After we relaxed a little bit we headed into the classroom for some more science, we made the colonies comfortable in their new homes, looked at the bacteria we had swabbed the day before, and we watched some more videos containing our favorite star, Adrian Pinto. Everything is amazing here, there are so many cool things to see and do, there are so many new experiences that you can feel and it's only the third day! Cannot wait for more!

- By your absolute favorites, Brooklyn and Tristen