Hola! We are back from Gandoca, Costa Rica with the bug bites to prove it. Sandflies are nasty things that I would not wish on my worst enemy, but it was a small price to pay to get to play with sea turtles. As I sit here to write this I don’t even know where to start. It’s been 10 days of turtles, beaches, Spanish and fun. I will try to sum things up as short as possible but for those who know me, that’s a long shot : )

We arrived in Gandoca from San Jose by bus in about 5 hours. I want you to picture riding in a small car down a bumpy road with banana plantations on either side, not seeing a house for 40 min. The road into Gandoca is the only road they have, with a few houses, an open patio style bar and the small "snack shack" that a local owns. I believe the population of Gandoca to be about 100. No lie. It’s a small community that relies on the non-profit organization Widecast to provide income to the small town by having volunteers do homestays with the families while they work with the turtles.

We chose to stay with Sandra and her family for the duration of our volunteering. She was a vibrant Tico (person from Costa Rica) who had a huge open style kitchen that made you feel like you were sitting in the jungle as you ate. During breakfast you would hear massive shrieks coming from behind the huge palm trees and plants that sounded straight out of Jurassic Park. The Howler Monkeys that lived there liked you to know how close they were. We had our little room with a fan (major plus) and nice cold showers.

Sandra loved to speak Spanish to us and help us learn the language. She cooked all our meals and loved to make fun of my pictures of our dogs. Dogs are not considered part of the family in Costa Rica and they crack up at the concept of a "dog park" because most dogs just run free there. I could go on and on about how great her cooking was but trust me, I will never look at eggs and plantains the same way.

After we had our turtle orientation at the research station, we began to understand why some people shy away from this project. The bulk of our volunteering was done between 8pm and 6am. All 4 species of turtles in Costa Rica are endangered because of poaching and other human threats like fishing and garbage in the water. All those plastic bags that we throw out end up killing sea turtles because they look like the yummy jellyfish they eat. Anyways, Widecast has locations in Costa Rica and Panama to help save the turtles and ensure their eggs stay safe and are not used as someone’s dinner.

The specific type of turtle that was in season was the Leatherback. It is the largest of the Costa Rican turtles and can grow up to 2 meters in length (or about 5 1/2 feet). These prehistoric looking monsters come up at night onto the beach during their nesting season to lay about 120 eggs at a time. Our job was to collect the eggs and relocate them to the Widecast hatchery where they would be watched over 24/7 by volunteers taking shifts. We also had to put red filters on our flashlights because white light scares away the turtles and they won’t even come onto the beach. We grew more excited as our first night patrol was scheduled from midnight to 4am.

That night was our first patrol. We tried to get sleep after dinner, but we were too excited. It’s never a sure thing if you get to see a turtle but I was hoping to get one our first night. Night patrol consisted of a group of volunteers (usually about 3) and a leader, which sometimes was a local tico. Even more interesting is some leaders used to poach the very eggs they now help to save.

So, on patrol you have one of two sections on the beach that average about 1.5 miles each. Your group walks the length of your section, looking for turtles or their crawl marks. Each night there are two patrol shifts, 8pm-midnight or midnight to 4am. So you are basically walking in the dark, trying not to trip on logs or kick the person in front of you. The other fun fact is that you have to dress in dark colors and wear long sleeves. Heading out for patrol looks like you are dressing like a ninja. It was so dark the first night I could not understand how the heck I was going to spot a turtle, not matter how big. Then I understood how when all of a sudden you step into a divot in the sand that is about 5 inches deep and 6 feet across. The crawl marks from a turtle coming onto the beach can only be described as looking like a tractor came out of the ocean. The marks usually lead to a turtle and sure enough, there was a gigantic one just laying there, playing in the sand.

What went down next is almost hard to describe. We spotted the turtle with our red light and then we have to wait until it finds a spot it likes before it will start laying eggs. We had to be careful and stay out of sight so we didn’t scare it back into the ocean. This process can take up to an hour. The turtle kept dragging itself around in circles and making a huge mess, kicking up sand and grunting. She finally decided that it was a good spot and started to make her body nest, which basically means flatten out the area. After 20 mins, the turtle started to dig it’s nest with its back two flippers. The flippers are about 1.5 feet in length and have amazing dexterity. She took one at a time, digging it into the sand behind her and then scooping and flipping it next to her. It’s a process but if all goes well and the nest doesn’t collapse, in about 20 min the nest is dug about 65 cent. deep (about your finger tips to your cheek). In the meantime, the volunteers and I were gathered behind her, ready with a plastic bag to catch her eggs.

This process of "catching eggs" is very unique. If you are chosen to hold the egg bag (which is a good thing I swear) you have to lay on your belly behind the turtle and wait for the signal she’s going to lay. She will press one flipper against the hole and hold it there for a few seconds. In that moment you have to maneuver the bag into the hole and under the turtles cloacae where the eggs come out. It’s not the butt of the turtle but closer to where a bellybutton would be. So, you are under the turtle, holding the bag, just waiting for the eggs to drop. When she does start to lay, it’s 3 at a time and you can feel the contractions. You get really up close and personal with your turtle.

So back to my experience…I got to hold the egg bag for a turtle who’s back flipper was half gone. It was hard to tell how it lost it or if it was genetic but I just saw it as having a disability. Her nest wasn’t quite deep enough but that didn’t stop her. She laid anyway which added an extra challenge to holding the egg bag. Laying there practically with my nose touching the huge shell, smelling like turtle, I was in bliss. After my turtle laid her eggs I had to quickly get the bag out before she starts to cover them and hit me in the face with her flippers. By the way, the turtle is in a trance-like state while laying, so she really doesn’t even know you´re there. The team of volunteers also measures the turtle and checks her tags during this time so we aren’t bothering her at all. It was exhilarating to walk to the hatchery with my first bag of eggs.

The hatchery is Widecast’s nest palace that is under constant surveillance. It’s a fenced in area on the beach, roped off into a grid system. Each bag of eggs gets a nest dug in a square on the grid, counted, and then buried under sand. Each nest is then marked with a tag as to when it came in, how many eggs, from what turtle, etc. Then, each nest gets topped with a canasta (mesh cage) that keeps out crabs and flies from infecting the eggs. When we left Gandoca, there were 92 nests in the hatchery, ready to hatch between now and June 30th. It takes 2 months for the eggs to hatch and the babies make their way to the ocean. Since each turtle lays twice during the season, eggs are hatching all the time. We were lucky enough to see little Leatherbacks making their way to the big ocean. They have to crawl on the beach to leave their "mark" so in 20 years when they mate, they will come back to the same beach to lay their eggs. Before coming back to nest, some travel as far as northern Canada and back to Costa Rica!

I could go on and on about the turtles and all the technical stuff but I won’t. It was amazing to get to be so hands on with the turtles and really feel like we made a difference. Widecast depends on its volunteers and would not be able to patrol the beach every night if we weren’t willing to wake up and walk around in the dark. It also made the experience that much sweeter being at a black sand, tropical location that you could enjoy during the day before your shift. I know it’s hard to believe that we worked so closely with the turtles but don’t have any pictures from our patrols (no flash photography) but hopefully the pictures from the Widecast website gives you an idea of how big the turtles were.

We were sad to leave Sandra, Gandoca, and the hammocks that are sprinkled everywhere, coaxing you into them to take an afternoon nap. -Ash

        We have been in Costa Rica for just over 10 days now. We have really jumped into this trip at a wonderful place. Over the past 10 days we have stayed almost every other night in a different place, with new people, new surroundings. Although each place has been different, there are two things that have stayed consistent that I thought I would share…
 

         1. The streets in Costa Rica do not have names. Well, some do, but none of them are marked. I know, its hard to believe. You must be thinking, well they are just not on a sign but on an official map they are. No. not at all. I had no clue of this before entering CR. We were staying with Jason’s cousin the first night and she had to type us directions (in Spanish) to her house to give to the cab driver which included things like "turn left at the old factory, then right at the yellow house with then an immediate left at the big tree."

        If you need to send mail, you have to write it out like driving directions. Needless to say we have not bought any maps of any of the cities we have visited. It has made us stop and use the friendly people of Costa Rica as our guides to their towns and cities. It has been welcoming how eager and anxious people have been to help us, even if they dont understand what we are trying to ask!
 

        2. We have been staying at hostels almost everynight of our stay here thus far. For those of you not aware of what a hostel is like, I will try to describe what is has been like in most of the ones we have stayed in. A hostel is a small hotel that is a very cheap way to travel and meet other travelers. A younger crowd of travelers are usually drawn to hostels because you can stay in a dorm like room with your friends or a private room for a little more money. The average cost so far in CR has been $6 a night per person for a double bed in a private room, shared bathroom. A hostel usually has a community kitchen and fridge for anyone to use. It must be mentioned that there is a strict policy about writing your name on your food and not stealing others, they just kick you out. Since most travelers in hostels are on a budget, dinner is usually a busy time in the kitchen as everyone cooks their own food but still enjoys dinner together. Most hostels have a common area with hammocks, couches, reading materials and games for people to use at their leisure.

         The best way to describe a hostel is a college dorm. The bathrooms are a little dingy, the showers always cold, the mattresses are lumpy at best, but…its where you meet the most interesting people. Getting around to my main point. You can walk into a hostel, share a room with friends from Germany, cook dinner with a Canadian or play a card game with a fellow midwester and 9 times out of 10, no where in any conversation did you get the other persons name. I have found it very true in the hostel community that you are more likely to know where a person is from, where they have visited and where they are going next before you ask their name. If someone is looking for you, you are most likely to be described by your accent and what you look like. For instance, I happen to be the fast talking blonde American. All I can say is that I love it. We are in a place where your name does not matter. Where you are from is your identity and where you are going is what people are most interested in so if they have been there, they can hopefully offer you tips to make your experience better.

         It’s a well accepted fact in the hostel travel community that you most likely will never keep in touch after one night in a hostel together…but why not live in the moment and enjoy each others company without the usual formalities.
 

-Ash Ps. We will be leaving on 5-27 for our 10 day trip to the beaches of Gandoca, Costa Rica for our volunteer work with Widecast and their sea turtles. We will not have internet access for 10 days so please watch for posts after the 7th of June!

Hola Friends! We are on the move again! We loved our time in Monteverde, but are anxious to move on to the next adventure.

This morning we got picked up from our hostel by Jeep Boat Jeep to go to the little town of LaFortuna. The ride (which is in a minibus, not a jeep, to my disappointment) was bumpy but very scenic for about 2 hours through the rolling hills. We kept passing the skinniest cows and horses  you could ever imagine, perched up on the hillside just chilling. A girl we were riding with had a theory that all the cows get soo skinny that they turn into horses!

Anyways, after our little ride, we arrived at Lake Arenal to load onto a boat for a 45 min. ride to the base of the volcano. It was amazing to see Volcan Arenal just appear, clear as day. It’s an active volcano so the top was smoking up a storm. We arrived at our next “jeep” and it was a short ride to Gringo Pete’s Hostel in town. The name, LaFortuna, means the fortunate because of the volcano that sits right there has erupted twice in the past 20 years. First, in 1968, killing 80 people and 50,000 cows and another time in 2001.

The town has little soda shops (places to eat-not soft drink shops) on every corner with people trying to keep cool. We grabbed a beans and rice lunch before relaxing in the hammock and reading for the afternoon.

That evening, we went on a lava tour with a tour guide named, no joke, Mr. Lava Lava. He drove a 1993 Ford Aerostar van, very similar to my older brothers. Although Mr. Lava Lava didn’t have matching seats, his car had no rust. I guess Chicago winters will do that.

We drove around to the opposite side of the volcano to wait until it was dark in order to see the lava. We were there for two minutes when the crowd all yell “LAVA!” like some crazy cult. We sat there for an hour and saw a big spill of lava rocks spew from the top. It was quite intense.

That night, it was so hot in our room at the hostel we had to move the mattress onto the floor to get the fan to hit our faces just a little. The fan was supposed to oscillate, but was broken, so we had to rig a cardboard box to the bottom to keep it pointed up at us a little. It was still a good nights rest. -Ash

Yesterday (5-17-09), we woke at 5:30 am and hiked 5 Kilometers to the Reserva de Monteverde  (The Monteverde Biological Reserve) with some friends we met at the hostel we were staying at; Pension la Santa Elena. 

One new friend, Marissa is from Wisconsin and two other girls with us were from Munich, Germany. We soon arrived at a free Hummingbird exhibit just outside the park entrance. We saw a huge variety of brightly colored hummingbirds that were all flying within a few inches of our face.

After entering the park, we decided to do the trails ourselves, instead of with a guide. We were able to float from guide to guide on the trail though, which made it easy to find a Howler Monkey that was high in the tree tops and another two monkeys that were jumping from tree to tree farther off in the distance. We also saw a number of interesting insects and birds. A highlight of the trail was the lookout at the far end of the park on the ridge line of the continental divide (same divide that is in the U.S.). We could see for miles in both directions. The Caribbean side was much more dense and more lush, while the Pacific side of the divide was drier and more open. Very interesting to see such a stark difference in vegetation, literally just a few feet on either side of us.

More to come later…headed to an active volcano right now!