Highlights of Day 12
The day started with a wonderful Costa Rican breakfast, consisting primarily of…wait for it…rice and beans. With the previous day’s rainstorms still fresh in everyone’s memory, the sunny blue skies were a very welcome sight. As the group crossed the green suspension bridge to the lab clearing, we noticed that the river had swelled by several meters since the day before due to the high amounts of rain. The murky, muddy water rushed around the trunks of trees that were sitting comfortably on the bank the day before.
The morning was spent in the lab, as we diligently worked on our projects. Identification and analysis was going swimmingly and we all began to plan for our independent projects to come in the afternoon. Music filled the lab and smiles filled our faces as we are finally falling into the Costa Rican ecology groove. The plant group left with Professor Cardelus to complete their final Gentry transect. Before we knew it, it was lunchtime and we all headed back to the dining hall to yet again attempt to converse with the people of the world (success!).
We devoured a chicken curry medley with rice and beans and veggies 🙂 We all remembered the night before when Megan punched over Davi’s entire cup of juice out of excitement for how good the juice looked and had a hearty chuckle. We all headed back to the lab to continue working on our projects for the next few hours. Megan finally received the long awaited text from her twin saying her class had reached La Selva and Megan sprinted to the comedor to say her hellos. The twin reunion was filled with hugs and laughter.
Before dinner, Professor Cardelús gave a wonderful and fascinating talk about her canopy research to the class and many other interested parties. After a dinner of beef stew accompanied by the obligatory rice and beans, it was back to the lab for more sample identification and data analysis. Everyone headed to bed excited to start our independent projects in full force in the morning.
Transect 4 
Plant ID with Orlando 
Looking for Heliconia (THANKS JARED!) 
Rhinoceros beetle at river station 
UV insect sheet 
Hard at work! 
High river levels following rain
Vibe of the day: Scramblin’
Quote of the day: “Do you think the iguanas are happy?” – Cassie to Lindsay
Rose & Thorn:
Rose- Sheet with UV light with bugs
Thorn- Having to adjust individual projects due to unexpected conditions!
Scientist Spotlight: Jared Collins (Jdog) – Soccer enthusiast and stream ecology connoisseur
Favorite Childhood memory in nature?
Honestly, probably just sleeping in a tent in the backyard, just for funsies.
What have you most enjoyed about this trip so far?
I really enjoyed the hike to the continental divide at Monteverde. It was really cool to see the drastic changes in climate, temperature, and wind within a small site. It was really interesting to see how that affected the ecology.
Dream job?
Probably environmental development or management. I think it would be a good balance between science and public service and has been growing in importance throughout the past 20 years or so. It will continue to grow and become more important. I think it’s a career path with a lot of opportunities.
