On Saturday evening we went to the “Fiestas de Sabana Larga,” Click on Fiestas to see photos. This a four day event. There was abundant food, dancing, and mingling with locals. We went on the first day that they had rodeo events. The bull riding was similar to US rodeos, but there were aspects you would not find in a US rodeo. One of these is where locals collectively “dare” smaller bulls by running through the ring. Those putting themselves in most apparent danger get positive feedback from the crowd. Our students did not participate! All the students enjoyed one aspect of the Fiesta or another and many danced. 
Towards the end of the evening a number of students had a good time going into floating spheres. Click on Spheres to see more photos. On Saturday we went to Poas Volcano. This is in a national park. It was cool and misty when we arrived and too cloudy to see the crater. After a taking an excursion on a side trail, however, we returned and we could see the bottom of the caldera and it was impressive. The forests we have seen (Santa Rosa, Volcán Rincón de la Vieja, Rio Grande Watershed, and Poas) serve to remind students that forest ecosystems of the tropics are not all lowland rainforests. There are clear reasons why they are different and in Panama we will start to articulate in more detail the factors that influence ecosystem structure and species diversity. Click on Poas to see photos of our visit to the Volcano.
Volcán Poas, 2011 CSW offcampus course, Feb. 20
We arrived back in Atenas, and students had the rest of the day free. We have Spanish classes this morning, and we will try to wrap up the data gathering phase social science initiatives on recycling this afternoon. We plan to go the large mall “MultiPlaza” this evening to take a little break, and students can pick up sundries they need them.