Perfect ending to a great trip to Costa Rica. - Jake Claypool

Final day at the beach... Go Rocks!

The group's day began with a quick, slightly obscure, breakfast. We then we dived straight into a hike around the Horizontes research center, where we observed various species and their symbiotic relationships. Two species that lived in this state of symbiosis were the Acacia tree and the Pseudomerymex ants. The Pseudomyrmex ants lived within the sharp, protective thorns which were provided by the Acacia tree. In return, the ants provided a natural herbicide which prevented other plans from choking out the Acacia.
After we returned from the hike we cleaned off our boots, returned our boots for the last time, and assisted the research center with their forest restoration process. My group, which consisted of myself, John Vanetti, Madison Miller, and Chloe Martin, were given four trees to plant, which we proceeded to name. These names were rather silly, so I made the executive decision to erase them from my memory. After the planting, we had around two hours of free time, so our group went up the tower which overlooked the whole area, and relaxed. The lunch was better, but it included an odd purple "stuff", which threw some people off.
Once we ate, we went to a meeting on Bioinformatics and how it was involved in the second year research trip to Costa Rica. The trip seems very interesting and looked much more hands-on and  directly involved with the genetic make-up of microbes in the area. At the end of the trip, the students spend their last few days researching and restoring the sea turtle population.
After this meeting we all stuffed into the buses, and rode down to the beach to spend the last part of our final day. It was exceptionally beneficial to everyone involved, as we all needed a refreshing reward for all the hard work we had done in days prior. The Pacific water was the perfect temperature, and produced massive waves which unsympathetically pummeled us. Despite the force of these waves, everyone enjoyed themselves. We played music, swam around, laid out in the sun, and walked along the beach. Ryan Groza, John Vanetti, and I went on a brief walk down the beach, where the waves were even larger and more powerful. At one point when we decided to turn back towards the group, John decided to throw himself into a massive incoming wave, which immediately subdued him and spat him back out on the shore, slightly disheveled.
As the sun began to set and wrap up the day, everyone rushed to grab an immense level of pictures with their new friends they had met on the trip. Once the photo shoot had concluded, we picked up all of our sandy shirts and towels and got on the buses. Once on the buses, we played nostalgic songs from when we were little, until we had arrived at the camp for one last time. Everyone got showers to get the sand off, then moved to pack up our bags for the early trek back in the morning.

Planting trees to assist the center in their forest restoration project.

Proudly holding our newly adopted sapling.

Overhanging fear for our collective demise. promptly provided by the pacific ocean.

Final group picture after a refreshing day at the beach.