Day 6 – Hot springs and Waterfall - Kaleb and Elijah

Mr. Hammer jumping in the waterfall.

Hello, our names are Kaleb and Elijah. Today we went on a trail near volcanic grounds. After the treacherous walk, we made it to the hot springs. They were pretty relaxing besides the semi-intense sulfur smell. After that we headed to a little pool in front of a waterfall. About half of us swam because the rest were too tired. After we got back to the house near the beginning of the trail, we had lunch that consisted of wrapped hot ham and cheese, chips, and little Costa Rican cookies. We got back on the bus for another hour and thirty-minute drive back to Finca La Anita. Once we got back C.O.N.G. did tests with different leaves and how the ants responded, after all that we had dinner and are continuing our experiments.

Kaleb

Having Fun in Hot Springs

Smells like sulfur.

Today, we woke up early to head to Ricon volcano, the hike was 3 kilometers to the hot springs. During the hike we saw a mountain crab (those exist?) and a few exotic birds. The hot spring was as hot as a hot tub, but smelled of rotten eggs. Although the smell was somewhat bad and very strong, the water was very relaxing. After the hot springs, we decided to stop at a waterfall on the way back to the bus. Although I was hesitant on entering at first, the water was very refreshing and enjoyable. Jumping in definitely made the hike easier. Before we got on the bus, we ate sandwich's and chips. It was quite simple, but since we all were very hungry, everyone agreed that it was one of the best lunches. When we got back to La Anita, we resumed our projects. My group, the "3 AM beans" continued our work on finding which Atta fungus gardens, relative to development, produced the most Escovopsis. After we sampled the gardens, we went to dinner. For dinner, we had pork, and for dessert, we had a coconut ball that was served on top of a leaf. Some people thought the leaf was part of the dessert. It was not. After Dinner, we continued our experiments, and I wrote this blog.

Elijah

Petri Dish's with samples of the fungus garden

hanging out

more plates... growing microorganisms