This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Our team spent the day working with Dole working on one of the company's sustainable banana farms. While we have been plagued with rain and equipment problems, the Central American weather cooperated today and, after an hour of tech throw down, we acquired a satellite and went live for our daily broadcast. We were late - but we made it happen.
The good news is the mule Dole uses to move the bananas from the fields to the processing plant did not kick or bite anyone on the film crew. I did tell our young hosts that Le mull here in country are a unique breed that is carnivorous and that feast exclusively on middle school kids. They did not believe me.
A highlight of the day was getting the helicopter in the air. We got footage of our hosts deep in the jungle from a bird's viewpoint. Amazing.
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Forgive me that this update is short. After 12 hours in the brutal equatorial heat, lugging equipment, being nagged by our medic to "Drink more!", I'm as tired as I've ever been. But strangely, I feel great.
Tomorrow is another day of shooting but it will seem like a vacation. We'll be exploring the south eastern region of Costa Rica working with Rios Tropicales. We will shoot a series of adventure segments for use in the lesson programs we are producing - ranging from white water rafting to repelling down a breathtaking waterfall.
What a great time to be a 12 year old host of Exploration Nation.
Join us live by satellite at 2pm Central from April 7 - 15th at http://www.ExplorationNation.com. Tweet questions to our team @ExplorationN8N.
Previously in this series:
Exploration Nation: Expedition Central America
Exploration Nation: Expedition Central America – Day One – April 4th