Holly and Tharon's Ostional Experience

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“This has got to be one of the coolest things I have seen,” writes Holly of her sea turtle sojourn on Costa Rica’s pacific coast. “Turtles are coming up from the ocean and literally covering the beach.” It’s true: the weeklong <em style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">arribada – when the mother turtles trudge ashore to lay their eggs – sometimes sees as many as 10,000 <em style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">tortugas. And there’s no better place to witness such a miraculous feat than in the quaint coastal town of Ostional on the Nicoya peninsula.

Costa Rica, though only slightly more than 50,000 km<sup style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">2 in area, boasts some of the most diverse topography in Central America. From the formidable mountains to the tranquil beaches, even the road to Ostional is an adventure. “There were places where we had sheer drops if we got to close to the edge of the road,” Holly says of the trek. “Many twists and turns!” But the experience of arriving in Ostional during <em style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">arribada is well worth the journey. During her first days in Ostional, Holly writes, “Turtles are in front, over top of, beside, or behind one another. This is truly a unique and moving experience.”

Sadly, this incomparable exodus from the sea is not without its problems, and Holly and her husband Tharon are not in Ostional simply for the sights. Rather, they have come to protect the incredibly vulnerable turtle eggs from the many perils of the beach. Street dogs, vultures, and other creatures are always happy to nab the eggs from their sandy beds. Of these wily predators, Holly writes that “even one less dog digging up the nests would be a step in the right direction!” Fortunately, this is where Tropical Adventures Foundation can provide keen turtle lovers with a chance to step in the right direction.

Holly and Tharon lived in dorm-style cabins with other volunteers, enjoyed traditional Costa Rican meals such as <em style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">gallo pinto, and patrolled the beaches daily to preserve the turtle nests from natural predators. Holly describes what volunteers can expect when patrolling: “Once the turtle is finished laying the eggs, she will begin to pull the sand back into the nest to cover it. We then tag both front fins between the first two sections. The turtle will continue the eggs with the sand from along her side. About every minute she will tamp the sand down on the nest with her body. When she is finished, she will move out of the nest and return to the ocean.” Amazingly, the hatchlings will also return in fifteen years to the exact same beach to lay eggs of their own. Their instinct propels them back towards beautiful Ostional year after year. One visit to this magical coast, and you’ll understand why. The turtles definitely have the right idea.

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