February 21st
Our group from the ICLC went to the Ecolodge in San Luis, Costa Rica. The weather was absolutely gorgeous everyday. The hot sun shined constantly and the cool breeze was so refreshing. We took a hike through the mountains and learned about all different kinds of plants and animals.
The food at the Ecolodge tasted so fresh. I absolutely loved it. Melanie, who gave us an orientation, said that fifty percent of the food was hand picked and fresh from their facilities or from the farms close by. We were supposed to take a hike right after lunch, but our whole group walked too far and then we were an hour late, but because of that we were able to do some extra sight seeing. I saw the cutest little calf who was nursing.
Renae, who was from Holland, was our tour guide on the hike through the mountains. She showed us these leaf cutter ants that were fascinating. She showed us this huge tree that was torn from its roots by the ants because the ants kept building their homes under the tree with sand. The foundation became so weak that the tree couldn’t stand anymore.
She also showed us the strangler tree. It starts out by climbing another tree, in a vine like fashion. It then starts to strangle the other tree until it dies and starts to rot and decay. The strangler tree is left hollow and looks like a stretched out slinky.
