Day 4 - Fungus Growing and Horse Riding Rangers

We were a bunch of late risers this morning, with some hardly making it in time for breakfast. It was another beautiful morning, starting with some wonderful, fresh brewed coffee. After breakfast we journeyed back into the lab to observe our flourishing ant gardens. Much as expected, the ants were hard at work cleaning and pruning their fungus garden, as well as tending to their queen.

The time hard come to clone the fungi. Each of the four teams was given a task of culturing fungi in order to determine where in the garden Escovopsis (an invading fungus) is located. After developing a hypothesis and an experiment, teams were sent into the lab to collect their samples.

After lunch, we ventured into the rainforest on horseback. Upon first entering the forest, we came across Eucalyptus tree, exotic to this area, but botched with brilliant orange, green and purple patches. We ascended the volcano Santa Maria and stopped frequently to look out over the village. At our highest stop, we were able the see Lake Nicaragua, the largest inland lake in the world. There were insufficient horses for all of the students, so a second ride to the top was made with the remaining students.

After an hour of relaxation, it is time for dinner. We await more activities tonight, including collecting leaves to feed to our colonies, and counting our bacteria plates from two nights ago. Much rest will be needed tonight for those joining Leventhal on a picture taking adventure early tomorrow morning.

Shelby out...