I have always loved the ocean and been intrigued by marine life. This past summer, I traveled with one of my best friends to Costa Rica to participate in a sea turtle conservation project. We traveled with a program called Rustic Pathways which is for high school students wishing to travel both for pleasure and service hours. We were in a group with three chaperones and 16 other high school students from all over the country. We lived in a very rustic bunkhouse in a secluded beach side area called Punta Mala.
We started our days early with a light breakfast before venturing down the beach to the area where we would create our hatchery for the turtles. Here we weeded, oxygenized the sand, shoveled, and smoothed to provide the ideal protection from predators for the sea turtles. We also spent time cleaning the litter off the beaches while admiring the black sand, towering palm trees, and roaring Pacific Ocean. Then we would take a break to swim with the group before retreating back to the bunkhouse to be served lunch by our Costa Rican cook, Don Carlos. The rest of the day was free and we were able to go to the beach, play volleyball or soccer, start a game of cards, etc. Then after dinner, it was time for turtle patrol.
With a park ranger as our guide, we dressed in dark clothes and red-light headlamps and silently hiked down the beach in search of turtle trails. When we were lucky enough to stumble upon a track, we would follow it up to the mother turtle. Here I was able to personally collect the still warm 100+ eggs from beneath the mother turtle as she was laying them. It was an exhilarating, yet nerve-wracking situation as the eggs are extremely fragile. The next step was to relocate the eggs to the hatchery where we would bury them, safe from poachers, raccoons, birds, or other enemies. Then we trekked back to the bunkhouse to sleep after a long and busy day. This was the usual routine for most weekdays, but we also were able to do many exciting activities on the weekends in the city.
The first activity we did was zip lining in the canopy of the jungle. At first I was very nervous, but by the end, I was going upside down and backwards, loving it. We also got to go river rafting, which was much more intense and exciting than I expected it to be. The highlight of this activity was that we stopped and were able to go swimming in a huge waterfall. Surfing was the next activity on the list. This was my first time surfing, and it was much harder than I ever expected. However, by the end of the day, I was able to stand up and make it all the way back to shore. Our last activity was horseback riding on a beautiful ranch. It was a nice way to admire the gorgeous Costa Rican landscape one last time before we had to check into the hostel before flying home the next day.
This amazing adventure was a once in a lifetime experience. I was able to do community service that I really cared about while having the time of my life with great new friends. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone and learned a lot about the Costa Rican lifestyle, the sea turtles, and about myself. My travels to Costa Rica were extremely rewarding, and I hope that I can have similar experiences in the near future.