Approaching Refugio Bartola I felt extremely excited, but also extremely exhausted. It was a very long day of traveling and multiple obstacles for the group while traveling. A bag was lost by the airline, but eventually retrieved, a backpack was mistakenly stolen, but eventually retrieved, and all of our research equipment was detained by customs, but also eventually retrieved. Many obstacles, but all eventually resolved. Arriving was a relief and a breath of fresh, humid air. It was not as humid as I was expecting and the Rancho here at Refugio Bartola was also much nicer than expected. These are two very good surprises that definitely work in my favor. The first thing I noticed when pulling up on the boat that we took down the Rio San Juan was the amount of green trees and the abundance of nature waiting to be explored. This was definitely all a drastic contrast from life in the city. It was a drastic contrast, but a very nice one. As soon as we arrived, the excitement kicked in and I was ready to begin my new adventures in the rainforest of Nicaragua and what hopefully will be a life changing experience. Of course we were all hungry when we arrived, so the first thing we did after unloading our luggage was enjoy a delicious dinner. This definitely made me excited for every meal left to come. After interacting with my classmates over dinner and enjoying a very cold shower, I went to bed ready to tackle the next day and attempt to get as much out of it as possible.