Week 2 update, cont.

Ok, I'm back....now where was I? Oh yes, mi familia! So, after a great lunch of red beans and rice, meatballs, and salad, Ricky took me on a tour of Colon. The most fascinating part of the tour was when he took me to the neighborhood where my grandparents lived, and showed me the actual houses they lived in! (pictures below). It was great!

M-W, July 11-13th
We spent 3 days in the rainforest at Barro Colorado island! Each day was an adventure. On Monday, we spent 3 hours hiking in the forest, with Lucy and Lily, looking for capuchins (a type of monkey). Unfortunately, we didn't see any in all the time we spent at BCI, but that day we saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and a host of other small animals, insects, and spiders (echhh!) Tuesday was root day; we traveled into the forest with Nina and Kelly to gather root samples from a specific tree....another 3 hour hike!  Wednesday was supposed to be spider monkey day with Shaheen, but due to a change in the ferry boat schedule, we decided to not head out with him. Instead, we went on a hike with 2 teachers from Milwaukee....and as it turns out, these teachers were part of a group of four that we were going to meet on Thursday! These teachers are here under a grant similiar to ours.
So much went on during these three days...it's hard, a week after the fact, to describe all of it! There are lots of pictures, though....and here's the best parts:
Sweating for 3 hours a day and feeling like I just can't take one more step, 3 square meals a day in the cafeteria, sleeping the afternoon away, hanging out on the balcony lounge in the hammock waiting for dinner, seeing all the exotic animals in their natural habitats, eating homemade peanut butter cookies that the interns made, and seeing a baby howler monkey up close (although it was very sick...one of the researchers found it while he was collecting his data).

Check out all the pictures I have posted below....I've been in front of this computer too long...need a break...but I'll be back soon to tell you about the field trip last Friday....and about my weekend! :-)