She has arrived - 4/5/09

So the turtle project is on a nearly deserted island, on the caribbean coast of Costa Rica. To get there I first drove through a banana plantation and then got on a boat to cruise through a river surrounded by intense plants. Just on the boat ride in we saw howler monkeys and caiman; very cool! The project itself is pretty cool and has an interesting dynamic. The problem of egg poaching has existed for years; the eggs have been collected by the Ticos (Costa Ricans) for years and are apparently not only really delicious but also an aphrodisiac. They can be sold on the black market for about a dollar an egg which doesn't seem like a lot but in each nest there is anywhere from 60 to 100+ eggs so they can make some money off of it. The way the project works is volunteers go out with guides who are ex-poachers but trained to collect the eggs properly and spot turtles. Some of them have been poaching for their entire lives but the consistent work is a real incentive, and some feel the moral responsibility, but mostly it's just the money. So between 8 pm and 12 am a shift goes out every hour for four hours walking up and down the beach looking for turtles. When a turtle is spotted you go over and watch it until it lays eggs and then you collect the eggs which are brought back to a hatchery, or vivero, where they are reburied and then guarded day and night to ensure no poachers or dogs or crabs or ants get to the babies before they hatch. On my first walk on the beach we found a turtle; it was enormous (160 cm shell). It was shocking; I had no idea turtles could actually get so big and I actually was at a loss for words when I got up close. My guide, CJ who was sixteen and had been poaching since he was 9 before he was working at the project, was so great and explained everything really well. He also told me that "los juevos son muy ricos" with a big smirk. The walks are a little weird because you can't use a flashlight and it is pitch black out with the exception of the stars and the moon; the light confuses the turtles and makes them think they are seeing the waves on the land and they won't come out of the sea. At the end my legs and knees were killing me; not so used to walking on sand for four hours. Because the shifts are sometimes super late at night, or rather early in the morning, the sleeping schedule is nuts and requires many naps in the hammocks. The food is petty terrible consisting of gallo pinto or bread in the morning, barf soup for lunch, and either rice or pasta for dinner - lack of protein and an overabundance of carbs, awesome. The people are all really great and I'm actually leaving the same day as two girls, Vanessa and Morgan, and we may travel together afterward which will be nice. Thus far, I couldn't be happier with my decision to come here!