Pictures

Many people have asked to see my pictures from Costa Rica.  I took well over 1000 pictures but I have edited them down to a little over 500.  Here's the link to my pictures as well as a few pictures that were shared with me from friends.

Enjoy.

Costa Rica Pictures

Pure Vida Pass

Friday morning I had my fingers crossed that I would get a Pure Vida Pass. It's a special standby ticket for volunteers on Nature Air's flight from Drake Bay to San Jose. Thursday afternoon there were six open seats so although nervous, I was banking on getting one because I had decided against the longer route of taking a taxi to a boat to another taxi to a bus. I would have had to leave at 6:45am and the plane was at 10. The same route that I had taken to get to Drake Bay. If worse came to worse, I could leave on a 2pm boat. I didn't have to worry about an alternate route because I made the flight, as did Liam, another volunteer. It made a potential 7-8 hour trip, a fast 40 minutes in the air followed by two local bus rides. The flight was easy and beautiful but it was bittersweet. It meant saying goodbye to some incredible people that I met along the way. My wonderful host family 

And some great friends from around the world: London, Australia, Wales, Spain, Finland, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Costa Rica and the U.S.  

My time in Drake Bay is hard to describe. My first night of culture shock turned into a place that turned into home. Cold showers felt good, being over fed by a sweet grandma was better than not eating, late nights walking the beach, rain during part of the day, hardwork, waking up to the sounds of dogs and roosters, having fun, sleeping under a bug net, mud, wet feet and always sweating became second nature. 

The coordinators, volunteers and locals are a tight knit community who are working together to save the sea turtle population and improve Progreso one day at a time. Life is simple and good. 

Hasta Luego

*I started this entry on my way back to the states and finished after I got home.

It's never fun to say goodbye so instead I will say "see you later." I can't believe that it has been a month since I arrived in Costa Rica and I can't believe I am on my way home. A month of meeting new people, making new friends, learning a new language, experiencing a different culture, living in the city and living in the jungle, exploring new places, trying new foods, stepping out of my comfort zone (on more than one occasion), challenging myself, listening to and observing my surroundings, traveling by bus, walking (to/from the bus, around town, to the beach, on the beach), playing with children, giving hugs, helping protect the turtle population, cleaning up the beach and working hard at "camp", appreciating nature, living each day to the fullest and loving life is over. (Not that I intend to stop living each day to the fullest or to stop loving life - that I hope will continue for a long time).

My trip to Costa Rica was an incredible experience and it is like nothing I have ever done before. I learned a lot about a beautiful country and its people and I learned a lot about myself. I embarked on a journey completely on my own - feeling scared and excited and not knowing what to expect. I'm not always up for doing things on my own and definitely prefer to do things with someone else. It was so good for me to take this journey by myself. It forced me to be independent and do what I wanted to do. I was in charge of my own destiny and it was up to me to make the most of my situation and take advantage of everything that came my way. I was determined to see and do as much as possible. It was important to give 110% to my volunteer project but I wanted to make sure I didn't waste time or opportunities for me either. 

My first two weeks were filled with smiles and hugs as I devoted my mornings to spending time with the children of La Carpio. A portion of my afternoons were dedicated to learning as much Spanish as possible. Week 1 I had a daily private lesson with Ana - she was a fantastic teacher. Week 2 I was in a group lesson with Amanda and Sellus - Rolo was our teacher - he was equally as good but in a different way. My down time was filled with walking, exploring and making friends. While I was in San Jose I also took advantage of being able to travel. The first weekend was filled with two one day tours. I took a day trip tour to Manuel Antonio National Park where I not only saw animals, plants, a waterfall and a gorgeous beach but where I had the opportunity to spend the day with some really neat people from around the world. The following day was a day trip to the Doka coffee plantation, Poas volcano and La Paz waterfalls with my friends Jess and Simone - I confirmed I still don't like coffee. The second weekend I traveled with Jess and Simone to La Fortuna and Monteverde. We went hiking, zip lining and ate some delicious food. It was kind of like a choose your own adventure book - we didn't pre plan anything - just figured it out as we went along. 

My second two weeks were filled with lots of walking and hardwork. My time in Drake Bay was a completely new experience. Living in Progreso, a town with the population of around 150 was amazing. It was such a simple life style. I enjoyed working with turtles and also doing things to improve the community. I will miss waking up to the sound of roosters cock-a-doodle-dooing as well as dogs barking and the aroma of breakfast. I worked hard in Drake Bay - I enjoyed the projects we did because I felt like we accomplished things - cleaning up the beach, digging the bio garden and more. Patrolling the beach was exhausting and fantastic. Seeing the turtle and helping relocate the turtle eggs was incredible. Releasing babies into the ocean was fantastic. Drake Bay is a special place and I am thankful for my experience there. 

I am back home and as my mom says, "There's no place like home." She's right. It's nice to be home and awesome to reconnect with family and friends although I already miss my new friends. That being said I am so grateful for my experience. I am so lucky to have been able to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. My month in Costa Rica reminded me of how lucky I am and on Thursday (Thanksgiving) I will have so much more to be thankful for. 

Tico Time

The turtle projects run a little differently than the projects in San Jose. While in San Jose I had my weekends off but with the turtles you get one day off and it could be anytime. Thursday was my day off. Maddy and I planned to go to Aguitas  the closest town to Progreso to get lunch. We were both ready for a break from rice and beans. We planned to catch a ride with Logan and Bennett in a cab. They were headed to lunch and an afternoon of kayaking. We asked for the cab to come around 10am. We sat and waited and waited and waited some more. Franklin was waiting on a flight and didn't show up until 11:30. Things in Costa Rica run on Tico Time. I am way to programmed and scheduled to run on Tico Time. I wanted to be back for cooking class at 1 so of course it was stressing me out before we even left. But I tried to just let it go. We were off on an adventure and what will be will be. We made it to town and went to the Drake Bay Cafe. It took forever to get our food but it was delicious and a reminder that everything runs on Tico Time - it's ok. It's worth the wait.  Here's a few pics...

I had a banana chocolate milkshake, water and an awesome sandwich. And my view from the counter 

Tico Time is a good reminder that you have to stop and smell the roses. Life isn't a race and you need to live in the moment and enjoy it. 

Although a little late, we made it back to cook. We made arroz la leche (rice pudding) and banana pancakes. It was all delicious. 

Thursday was also my last full day in Drake Bay so I decided to go for a long walk. I didn't have a destination when I started but I ended up walking almost to the end of north beach and back. Along the way I walked down the runway

And past some animals 

The beach was beautiful and I am glad I went for one last visit. 

Oh what a night...

Tonight was amazing... I had patrol tonight at 8pm with Chico on south beach. We walked with the north beach crew and Sara and I had a wonderful conversation. She is one of the program coordinators and one of my favorite people here. We went separate ways after crossing the bridge to north beach. Sara stayed to patrol with Pega and Roberto. Chico and I canoed across to south beach. We started our night laughing because I got out of the boat and sunk almost half way to my knees in the mud. It looked like I had on boots. I was able to wash it off before we headed on our way.

The beach was kind of eerie tonight. It was foggy and warm and there was lightening in the distance. Some flashes were bright and seemed close but I think they were pretty far away. We stopped at the hatchery. Liam was there tonight and babies hatched earlier this evening. I carried the bucket of 81 tortugitas (babies) to the beach and we released them. Basically I just turned the bucket on its side and let them wander out. It was awesome. Some of them crawled across my feet. They were so light but there flippers tickled as they walked over the top of my feet. It didn't take long for them to make their way to the sea. It helped that the tide was rising and a wave came and carried the stragglers away. It's crazy to think that there is the potential that only one will survive. Only 1 out of 1000 babies make it to adulthood. It's a crazy stat. Here are a few pics... Aren't they cute?

We didn't spend too much time in the hatchery because the tide was coming in and we wanted to make it to the far end of south beach. Chico and I walked relatively quickly but not too fast. We walked and talked in Spanish. He doesn't speak English and I speak very little Spanish although I learn more everyday.  I learned about his family, he has 8 sisters and he is the only boy. He works at a hotel in town. He is 34 and our birthdays are both in February. I told him about my family and tried to explain that I was in between jobs. We talked about turtles. We were almost to the end of south beach when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone standing about 2 feet away. I'm not going to lie.. It scared me. Chico was not phased by the man at all. He had a conversation with him but they both spoke Spanish and they spoke way too fast for me to understand. Afterwards I asked Chico who he was. He is a local and lives just off the beach. Chico said he was a bad man. He mentioned something about lots of eggs so I asked if he was a poacher and he said yes. He was harmless and when we walked back by he was gone. Chico and I made it to the end of the beach with no turtle spottings. We rested for a few minutes and then started the trek back. We didn't talk as much on the way home. I kept getting distracted by high tide and flashes of lightening. We made a quick stop at the hatchery to retrieve my shoes and say good night to Liam and we were on our way to the boat. We canoed back across and hiked back to the runway. We looked for Pega and then tried to call him when we didn't see them but got no answer. We kept walking back. The closer we got to camp, the more beautiful the sky became as the clouds disappeared and the stars began to shine. 

Although there were no turtle spottings I told Chico this was one is the best nights I have had in Costa Rica. 

Why?

It all seemed to come together. My whole trip kind of all wrapped up in one. It was a night of connecting and spending time with friends, good conversations, adventure, turtles, appreciating nature, and being happy. I was proud of myself for being able to carry on a conversation in Spanish. I felt accomplished. It's really hard to put into words but tonight was so much more than going on patrol. It is a night I hope I never forget. 

Vivero

This afternoon I am responsible for the Vivero, the hatchery. We guard the hatchery 24 hours a day. There is a morning shift, an afternoon shift and then an overnight shift. I am here from noon until 6pm. My host mom packed me lunch. I got to ride a bike out to the end of the runway, walked across to north beach and Max canoed me across to south beach. Michael gave me the important yellow books that can never be left alone and he headed back towards camp. The yellow books have information on every nest and where they are located. Max was waiting to take him across and he was excited to know that there was a bike to ride back. Michael had been here since 5am. Riding a bike is much faster than walking all the way back to camp. 

While I am at the hatchery, I am protecting it from poachers but I am also here in case a nest hatches and we have baby turtles. There are 4 nests that have incubated long enough (45-50 days) but no signs of babies yet. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. It's only 3:30 and I am here until 6. 

Here's a few pics of the hatchery and our little shelter. Also a few pics of a beautiful macaw that I saw while sitting here. 

The rest of my day was great. A group of other volunteers cleaning up the beach stopped to say hi. But otherwise it was very uneventful. No babies but my shift ended with a beautiful sunset. 

Tortuga!

Last night I had the late patrol from midnight to 4am. I was tired before we left because everyone went to town for dinner. I got back in time to take about a 30 min cat nap. That's okay because my night was incredible. We started out on south beach and made a stop at the vivero (the hatchery) to see if any nests had hatched - they hadn't. We did not stay long and began our walk down the beach. We had been walking for a little while when we came across turtle tracks headed up towards the vegetation and away from the water. Then we found a tortuga (turtle) sitting in a bed she had made. We tagged and measured her before she returned to the water. I didn't want to disturb her and take a picture with a flash. Here is my attempt using a red light on my headlamp. 

You can sort of see her head in the bottom left corner and her left front flipper and part of her shell. Sea turtles cannot pull their head or flippers inside their shell. After she left her bed, we searched for a nest using the method that poachers use. We stuck a stick in the ground in various locations seeing where it goes in the deepest. We don't know what happened but we found no best with eggs. We saw other footprints so one thought is that poachers took her eggs as she layed them. She also may not have layed a nest. 

Our night continued and as we walked we found two more sets of tracks and consequently two more nests. One nest was an Green Turtle (known as a black turtle on the pacific coast) with no eggs. The other was an Olive Ridley nest with over 100 eggs. It was awesome. We put them in a bag and took them to the hatchery where we dug a nest and carefully placed them. In around 50 days,the eggs will mature and hatch. It was pretty awesome to know that I helped a nest get to a safe place. Only one in a thousand turtle babies will survive and make it to adulthood. It's crazy. We left the hatchery around 3:30. We had a little time to go to north beach. We crossed the mouth of the lagoon  - it was up to my waist. Good thing north beach is short. We walked to the end and back in a little over 30 minutes and headed for home. I was hungry and exhausted but crawled into bed. I woke up to gorgeous blue skies and although I technically had the morning off I went to do beach cleanup with everyone and enjoy the sun. Here are a few pics...

A plane coming in for landing. 

This is the bridge we have to cross to get to north beach. 

It's pretty cool but a little scary especially in the dark or when it is windy. 

One Fish, Two Fish

This morning I went snorkeling with Madey and Michael. There was a bit of a mix-up and we got dropped off in the wrong place but it worked out. Just a little delayed. On the way to Cano Island we saw a humpback whale and her calf. 

Next stop was to get our permit. There is nothing on this island except for a ranger station.

There is no commercial fishing or personal fishing allowed around the island only swimming, snorkeling and diving. It was time to hit the water. We saw families of fish. They were beautiful. We also saw a tortuga (a turtle) swimming. My first turtle. 

Today was absolutely gorgeous. 

Cano Island as we approached. 

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Monkey sightings yesterday and today. Yesterday we spent the morning working on the path to north beach so we went on an excursion to town in the afternoon. It's about a ten minute ride but you have to cross the river to get there. While we were there we visited the Drake Bay Cafe for banana milkshakes. All of the staff and other volunteers rave about them. I had a chocolate banana milkshake and it was awesome! On our walk back towards the center of town we saw monkeys running on the wires. It's not a great picture. But this is one of the monkeys we saw. 

This afternoon we were busy digging the new bio garden when we looked up to see monkeys in the trees. I saw monkeys on my visit to Manuel Antonio national park but I expected to see them there. It's pretty amazing when you just look up and see monkeys. They were high in the tree so my phone didn't take a great picture but I wanted to share it anyway. It's a mom and it's baby. 

It's pretty awesome. Living in the jungle is incredible!

Baby Turtles!

It was dark, the waves were crashing against the sand and we were quietly walking down the north beach looking for turtles when our team leader received a phone call around 8:30. In Spanish he told us that a nest hatched and we were going to go to south beach to help release the babies in the ocean. We walked to the far end of north beach and then returned to where we had started our night. The beach we walked was only 1km long. We rode by canoe across to south beach and walked to the hatchery. There we found a bucket of 20 turtle babies - anxiously awaiting freedom. Michael was guarding the hatchery overnight and he had already released at 60 babies from the same nest but saved 20 for us. We carried the bucket to the beach and tipped it on its side and off went the baby turtles to the ocean. Most of them went straight to the water. There were only a few that were confused. They head towards light so one of the team leaders shined their flashlight guiding the last turtle to freedom. They were a nest of Olive Ridley turtles. We learned this morning that it takes 15-20 years for a turtle to become an adult and as an adult they will return to the beach they were born to nest their own eggs. So Cool! 

After helping the baby turtles we went back to north beach. No more excitement for the night. We didn't see anything else. Just enjoyed the peace and quiet of being on the beach at night. 

Cock-a-doodle-do

IGood Morning! I went to bed really early last night and consequently woke up really early too. The first time I awoke was at one something in the morning to the call of a rooster. He has been busy talking all morning. It's not quite 6am but I have been up for at least an hour. I slept great! I love my bed. We are very lucky to have mosquito nets (although mine has a few holes) and a wonderful fan. I actually got cold last night. I can already smell breakfast and I can hear my host family talking on the other side of the wood wall that separates our room from the main room of the house. It is the everything room - kitchen, dining room, tv room - we have a small tv, laundry drying room. Off that room is another bedroom for the family. 

This is our room and the picture below is my bed. 

The sun is up and I see it through our flower curtains. One outside wall of our room is cement and the other is wood on the bottom and some sort of wire or mesh on the top. Curtains cover the material so I can't see it well. 

I'm ready for the day. I'm excited to see what lies ahead and I am ready to do something. I have a feeling we will go to see the beach and the hatchery this morning and potentially get more intro to the turtles themselves. I hope we don't have as much down time. That was hard for me yesterday and gave me the opportunity to worry and get a little homesick. I know it comes with the change and it will all work out just fine. Fast forward 12 hours. It's now 6:15 at night. We have had a full day and it is not over yet. This morning our orientation continued as we learned about sea turtles and the different kinds as well as the methodology behind what we will be doing the next week as a half. It took most of the morning but we still had a chance to walk to the river. It is the same river we crossed in the pickup truck to get here yesterday. Here are a few pictures that I took. 

If you look carefully you can see the horses on the shore. 

After lunch we went to the beach. It takes 30 minutes to walk there - past houses, down the runway and across the lagoon. The water was too low to take the boat so we had to walk through the mud and then wade through the water. It was dirty but awesome! We reached south beach and walked a little further to the hatchery. We were there to exhumate 2 nests that had hatched earlier in the week. We had to count the empty shells and also count and investigate those that didn't make it as everything gets recorded. It was really cool and really gross at the same time. The hatchery is guarded at all times so that egg poachers cannot steal the eggs. We left Elias at the hatchery and we headed back to stop at the mouth of the river for a swim. It felt awesome. Here are some pictures of the beach. 

I will try to take more and I'll take some of the hatchery too. 

We already had dinner and just relaxing for the moment. I have beach patrol tonight from midnight until 4am so I have to be at camp by 11:30pm to meet up with my team. I think I'll try and post this at camp where I have wifi and then head back home to try to take a little nap before my night patrol shift. Back at camp my shift changed - I am headed home to grab my head lamp and a poncho and we are off to the beach. 

Here are a few more pictures of Pregreso, the village/town we live in and also my house. 

My house... 

Another house...

Laundry drying in the jungle...