13 DEC 2018

We started th day early today, eating breakfast at 6:30am and immediately gathering our equipment from the lab and heading out into the field. We had a Ngobe guide with us, Celestino. He is very good at identifying tracks, animals, plants, and has an answer for just about every question we ask. He is very mindful of the different dangers in the forest as well, often warning us to be careful in certain areas on our hikes. 
We placed a total of 9 camera traps and kestrels, two of them we placed on animal trails that Celestino showed us. The rest we had placed on different groups of shampoo ginger, we are hoping to collect data on what varieties of wildlife use the plant. We place most of the cameras in the secondary forest (which is forest that has been selectively logged) and one or two cameras in the primary forest (which has not been logged). 
We hiked a total of 7.5miles, up and down hills and through thick forest. Because we were expecting such a long hike, we requested a packed lunch from the kitchen, which we ate on a trail in the primary forest. 
Fortunately, we did not see too many of the invasive plants in the primary forest, despite a couple clusters here and there. There were many plants in the secondary forest though, and even without counting out the transects, we could tell it was a great deal more than previously recorded by Rodo. 
After our long day in the forest placing traps, we headed back to camp to rest before entering the data wee collected. We had  another delicious dinner, and a cultural exchange right after. 
The cultural exchange was amazing! The Ngobe shared a wealth of their culture with us, explaining the significance of their traditional clothing and sharing some of their stories and benchmark ceremonies. 
A few of the mentees in our group also shared aspects of their culture. One woman shared her family song with us, which was a very great honor to hear. Everyone stood during her song out of respect. Another woman shared with us her people’s Swan Dance. It was a very fun song and dance, and the women were allowed to join, which made it even more special! It wa a very nice way to end the night. 

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