March 23 - April 10

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Sorry for the long delay folks! We're all still alive and well, just slacking on the blogging.

We spent a few days in the cute surf town, Santa Theresa, at a really nice hostel. We all tried out surfing and managed to get on our feet, but not a whole lot more. We also rented boogie boards, rode bikes along the beach, relaxed in tidal pools and searched the beach for seashells. After a few days we went a bit further south to Montezuma, another beach town with a little more Hippie vibe. We hiked to some great waterfalls with swimmable pools (Ben jumped, the rest of us just swam) and spent more time on the beach. The boys played soccer with some local kids and the girls got a little shopping out of their systems. Our last week on the Pacific definitely flew by. On Sunday we took a few buses and a ferry to get to San Jose which we appreciated a little more the third time around. The next morning we got the familiar early-morning bus to La Tortuga Feliz.

The project was at full capacity this time around, with nearly 50 volunteers. We had a quick training session and were put on our first patrol shift the first night. The shifts start between 8 and midnight and are four hours long. We walked the whole length of the beach (6 km each way!) looking for nesting turtles. Because their eyes are very sensitive to light we walked in the complete dark, with the occasional use of a red flashlight. Maja got lucky with three turtles her first night but the rest of us didn't see any, just a few tracks where the turtle left without laying (they're actually quite picky). We returned, exhausted, to bed and hoped for better luck tomorrow. After three consecutive nights of walking we still hadn't seen anything and were starting to get worried. After all, we only had a week and the whole reason we were there was to see a turtle. We considered walking again, even on our night off. Instead, they let us hang onto a radio the guides use to report sightings. We sat at the table and waited anxiously. After hours of silence we decided the thing must be broken and got up to take it back to the hatchery. Just then it crackled something in Spanish. We asked at the hatchery and sure enough, a group had found a turtle only about half a kilometer from the project. We ran along the beach and finally saw their red lights. We were still early: the turtle seemed to be figuring out where she wanted her nest and hadn't even started digging! Although it was hard to see at first in the dark, we couldn't believe the size of it. When the guide measured later, her shell alone was 1.5 m long! The digging process was really cool; the turtle uses her back fins one at a time to scoop out sand. The guide expanded the hole so he could reach in for the eggs. When a turtle lays its eggs it goes into a trance-like state, so it's safe to take the eggs, check for injuries and get as close as you like. Our turtle laid 90-some fertile eggs (they lay infertile ones on top as a protective layer). We got to put our hands on her shoulder and feel her whole body push with each egg. They don't make a lot of noise, just the occasional sigh to show how hard they're working. Eventually she finished and began covering up the nest, oblivious that we took all the eggs. Using her giant front flippers, she threw the sand backwards and patted it down with the back flippers. Once it was all covered up she started to make her way back to the ocean, a few pushes at a time, leaving tracks that looked like a tractor had come through. We tried to keep our eyes on her as she got into the shallows, but one giant wave came and she was gone. The whole process is really amazing and I feel so lucky to have been able to see it. Plus by collecting the eggs, we gave the baby turtles a fighting chance to hatch and make it to adulthood.

Aside from the turtle-work, there was plenty more painting, cleaning and building to be done around the project. We also played soccer, volleyball, and more cards. Even with all the work it was still a relaxing week, and it was nice to end our trip the way we started it. Before we knew it it was time to start the boat/taxi/bus trip back to San Jose. We immediately got out of the city and went to La Fortuna, a town at the base of Volcan Arenal, another active volcano. There are a lot of really expensive hot springs there ($60 entrance fee!) So we took a cab a little past one of the resorts and climbed down to the river. The whole river was hot-tub temperature, with little pools or fast running water, whichever you prefer. I'm sure it was way cooler than sitting in those expensive hot springs would have been. We only had a few days so the guys did a little more hiking and the girls did a little more shopping. Finally it was time to hop on the plane back to LA. There was a bit of a close call catching our connecting flight in Miami, but we did make it.

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