2022 Trinity Mercy Costa Rica Trip

6/14/22-Joey Geddie's Blog Entry                          Oropendula bird nests!!                      Can't beat a tropical waterfall pool to cool off for the day!  6/14/22-Joey Geddie's Blog Entry     After going into anaphylactic shock on Sunday, this morning was the first time I didn't feel like voiding my insides via esophagus, so off to a great start!   After having a great breakfast the consisted of the usual food with the notable introduction of sausages, the whole group went strait to the tractor where we boarded a trailer that took us to our adventure spot of the day.  We dismounted from the tractor, met our guide Joseph from Zambia, and started off our short hike to the waterfall.  While the hike was short, difficult is a great way to describe it.  Lots of mud, near 90 degree verticality, and little...

 On day two of the trip, we did horseback riding, which was easily the most stressful part. Mounting the horses was more difficult than expected, and some of the horses did not want to do what we wanted them too. On day four, we went to a place in the village that grows and exports butterflies. They also sell very nice jewelry and clothing, and other items made of recycled materials. On day five, we got a chocolate tour of the farm. We got to see how the chocolate is made, the history of chocolate and cacao, and got to try some of the items that Finca la Anita produces. We tried five different things, 100% cacao nibs, 28% chocolate, or as Pablo called it, chocolate flavored candy. We also tried pieces of 72%, 82%, and 92%. Not many people appeared to be fans of the 92%. On the topic of the ant research, most groups seem to be successful so far with their projects. One group is trying to find a way to protect the cacao plants, one group is seeing what leaf leafcutters favor, one is ...

Blue morpho butterfly pupae about to form chrysalis  Owl moths feeding on fermenting banana   

 The day started with breakfast, today's was eggs and ham. After breakfast, we went to the classroom. There, Dr. Pinto and Allen explained how to dig up an ant colony. After the explanation we started on a hike to a place with a lot of colonies for us to dig up. We first saw a palm plant that had been ravaged by leafcutter ants, leaves the size of my chest were just gone, taken away by the ants. We then continued our hike, coming upon a small Atta colony. This colony was too small to excavate so we counited on. As we passed more colonies, Dr. Pinto explained the larger colonies make their own highways to improve the effectiveness of the cutters. We finally reached the field, and we split up in our groups. my group was unlucky and instead of finding a leafcutter colony, we found a fire ant colony. I was the one digging, but the ants seemed to avoid me. Joey got the worst of it, they got into his jacket. After that bad experience, we moved on and found a real leafcutter colony. It wa...

Reflections from the night walk     The night walk we undertook yesterday was unlike anything I have ever seen, the amount of insects and biodiversity was simply astonishing. One of the highlights for me, was seeing a bullet ant devour a male atta ant (pictured below). We also saw a species of tree that had a symbiosis with a certain species of ant. The tree would provide shelter, while the ants protected the tree. So far I am amazed with this country and its wildlife, and I can't wait for what is to come.

Baby honeycreeper we recovered!   THIS is what a cicada is all about here!   Eucalyptus trees--the pic doesn't do the colors justice! The founding marker for Colonia Liberty, our folks in town