Cacao is WOW!!!!!!!
Hello, welcome to day 2!
After breakfast, we all took a short hike through the
rainforest. Then, we started our chocolate tour with Pablo. Pablo is the owner
of the cacao ranch we are staying on. He taught us about the quality of
different types of chocolate and the cacao beans that they came from. After a
brief history about chocolate, we got to taste some of the chocolate grown and
produced on the ranch. Most of us agreed that the 82% chocolate was the best. He
showed us the different types of cacao trees he was growing and we got to try
the fruity outside skin of the cacao bean. After that, he took us to a palm tree and
sliced it open for a heart of palm salad that he made right in front of us.
During lunch, we met THE Adrian Pinto. He is a world renowned ant researcher and professor at University of Costa Rica. He split us into our research groups. Then
we conducted our very first experiment. We tested different bacteria on different surfaces to determine where we will find the most bacteria. Then we ate dinner. After dinner we had some free time and
then met for videos and a night hike. The videos taught us more about the ants we
were studying and the hike showed us wildlife (we found different types of frogs and spiders). The second group on the hike saw
a gecko and when the guide picked it up, its tail fell off. He told us this
was a defense mechanism. Then we went to bed.
What a fun tour! You can show off all your chocolate knowledge when you get home. Hope that salad was yummy!
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