Blogs from Parismina, Limón, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

Our day started before midnight today when I got up at 11:30pm on Tues. We had gone to bed at around 7 pm because we were taking the 12 am - 4 am walking shift to watch for turtles. I had heard from an old man in the street that that shift was the popular time to lay eggs according to the turtles. We walked over to the "Leatherback Shack" which is the Turtle Patrol Office. We were paired up with a guide and after walking only 20 minutes or so south on the beach we came across a turtle digging a hole for her eggs. We put gloves on to handle the eggs and after she had made a big enough hole I caught the eggs as she dropped them into the nest, 2 or ... read more

It sounds wonderful doesn't it - helping to protect a critically endangered sea turtle on a Caribbean beach? We thought so too and were excited (though if truth be known, also a little nervous as we'd been warned that conditions would be quite tough) as we sat on the one hour boat trip from Tortuguero to Parisima the following morning. Parismina is an even smaller community than Tortuguero on a similar island between the river and the sea a bit further down the coast. As you might imagine from the name, Tortuguero is famous for the turtles which nest on its beach, but mostly for the green turtles which are later in the year. However, Parismina in fact gets more turtles and April/May is peak nesting season for the Leatherback Turtle and a small community project ... read more