Hello everyone, it is Nick and Cody reporting from Costa Rica. Today we took our adventure from the ground floor, to the tops of the trees. We got to take an hour hike straight up a 200 meter hill to a gigantic garlic tree. This tree is used for scientific research with bats and butterflies. After a little bit of instruction and getting ourselves prepared, we started our ascent up the 140 foot tree! After the first 40 feet, everyone's nerves started to calm down. Everyone was super excited to finish climbing the tree and were super fast at doing it. Once we got to the top of the tree, the view was amazing and no words can explain it. The last task that took a lot of courage was being able to throw ourselves off the top platform and hang there waiting to repel down. This challenge was no match for our group that conquered it with ease.
After our adventures in the trees we had an amazing barbecue chicken with a side of rice, mashed potatoes, fried plantains, and assorted vegetables. Our group then had down-time after the exhausting tree climb and hike so the majority of us decided to relax on the coast in the hammocks and chairs until our river hike with Pepe later in the day. We began our river hike in the water keeping our eyes open for anything that we could possibly find. During our river hike, we saw a variety of crabs, some frogs, fish, and even a wasp nest that we had to avoid. We soon came upon what appeared to be little ponds built to attract frogs that were hidden away in the paths of the rain forest. We made it back to Le Leona right before dark and had a small amount of free time with the rest of the group while dinner was being prepared. We were then served a fantastic fish filet with mashed potatoes, a dinner roll and a salad. Each student attending the trip then presented their chapter summary that they read, and gave a brief, thorough explanation. They then presented their scavenger hunt question and asked if anyone was able to solve it or had already experienced it in the wild. After these activities, there was a bit more down time before a group of students went on the optional night hike with Pepe. During our night hike, we saw a very large scorpion, a couple golden orb weavers, and a friendly black cat that decided to follow us around for the remainder of the trip. The cat then followed us back to our lodges and decided to sleep on the porch before finding it's way into the other cabin and sleeping with Christian.