La Tortuga Feliz

Our unofficial motto at La Tortuga Feliz is ¨save a turtle, kill a crab¨ because we pretty much have to kill any crab we see within 10 feet of the hatchery. I have issues with that role, but it´s suprising how easy it became. It´s just what we have to do, I guess.

So I am having an absolutely incredible time in Costa Rica. I feel like this is the first time in my life where I´ve actually had meaningful work to do! I don´t have much time in town today, so I´ll try to make this quick. And I must say, it´s really strange being in a city now where I cannot hear the sea crashing in the background.

First thing to talk about is of course the turtles. Right now it is the nesting season for leatherback turtles, and green sea turtle season starts in June so I may not see those. Buuut there have been a few earlybirds and I´m hopeful that I´ll see one before I leave.

The leatherbacks are beautiful and massive creatures! Dinosaurs even. The average shell length in 150 cm and is not scaly like others turtles, but leathery (go figure). My favorite part of the turtle is her eyes - they´re almost human like, but of course much bigger, and really dark.

There are 3 shifts I could be working: 1. housekeeping slash kitchen duty. I may get this once a week, but usually less. 2. hatchery - we dig nests and bury the eggs. When the eggs hatch we release the babies into the sea. My arms aren´t as long as the depth of the hole, so I end up doing one handed push ups while scooping out sand with the other. 3. beach patrol - a 4 hour walk on the beach searching for turtles that come on shore to lay eggs. When we find one, we take her eggs and walk back to the hatchery. The eggs are not light! On average there are maybe 80 fertile eggs and 20 infertile. All shifts are 4 hours long minimum and it is really hard work! I feel stronger every day because of it.

Food, of course I will talk about the food. Love it. There is variety but at the same time it is predictable. Each week the meals repeat with slight variations, but it is all so good that I´m entirely satisfied. I´m not even sick of the gallo pinto (rice and beans) yet! There are coconut trees, passion fruit, pineapple, avocados, lemons, mangoes and more growing on the project grounds. I´ve never ate so much coconut in my life. I just learned yesterday that scorpions live in coconut trees so I think I´ll get someone else to fetch them for me next time...

On the boat ride to the project on the first day we saw howler monkeys - what is such an elusive animal in other parts of Central America! They are easily spotted around here, and heard when dawn breaks. One of the shifts I work is 2-6 am and as soon as the sun starts to rise the sound of the monkeys begins and the birds start chirping. I saw one snake, but I think some survival mechanism kicked in because I saw it and kept walking. It was a blurred coil of green and brown. It moved so damn fast and apparently that´s a good thing because it was a venomous one!

The project is set on the Caribbean Sea, but unfortunately there are really strong riptides that I can feel even when in the shallows. If you get caught in one you will likely be pulled out to where the agressive bull sharks are. I saw some from the shore, not too far out actually, so I´´m pretty careful everytime I go in the sea.

About a week ago a 13 year old boy got killed by a crocodile in Tortguero National Park, which is up the coast from us, maybe about 2 hours. That story freaked me out and I don´t think I´ll go fishing/wading in the lagoons any longer! The last time the guys from the project went out they saw a croc in the spot they were just fishing at. I haven´t seen one yet, or a caiman, but I hope to see those when I take the kayak out next.

The people here are awesome, although a lot of people stay for only 2 weeks, and it´s hard to see them go. We are understaffed so that means work is a bit harder, but we still only work 4 hours a day. Shifts are scheduled 24 hours a day, but mostly at night. I don´t have a sleeping schedule of any kind right now, but that´s alright because hammocking has easily become one of my favorite pastimes.

I´m not sure what I´m missing, and I´m not going to edit this so surely there are loads of errors. Hopefully you can make sense of this.

This is one of the greatest experiences of my life! So glad I made it here.