I had the opportunity to go on a volunteer trip to "Save the Turtles". It's an important project here because a lot of people here sell and eat the eggs (which is illegal) and the turtles are almost extinct. The objective of the trip was to find turtle eggs, put them in a nest we made, wait until they hatch, take some data, then let me out into the ocean. Unfortunately, not many turtles make it, for several different reasons. They either didn't hatch or when they reach the ocean, predators see them and eat them or they die.
Overall, I did not like the trip because of many reasons, but I liked that I got that experience. I didn't get a lot of turtle action, but when I did get to see a few baby turtles it made it all worthwhile. We were only at the place, Matapalo, for two nights and three days. During that time I never got a formal introduction or clearly explained what I had to do. It was very unorganized, much like everything else in the country. We had to dig weeds up out of the gardens at the place we were staying (which had nothing to do with turtles). We also had to clean a lot and there were night shifts, that I wasn't aware of. I had hatchery duty the second day at noon then at 1:30am I had beach patrol. We had to walk up the entire beach and walk back, looking for poachers and animals that could be looking for eggs and also searching for nests that the momma turtles laid. I highly disliked the walking because it was late, raining, and I didn't have the right shoes but it was a cool experience to find and dig up the turtle shells and take it back to the hatchery. Sometimes they can lay up to 100 or more eggs. I think I would have liked the trip a lot more if I was better prepared. A girl had all the information but failed to relay the information to us. I got bit by mosquitoes and sand tics they have there. That wasn't fun. Also, I didn't like the showers and sleeping arrangements. (That seems to always be a problem when I travel lol). And like a million ants found their way to my purse and bag and I almost had a meltdown lol. If you are an outdoor or adventurous person, you will love this trip, but if you are like me, don't go lol. But it felt good to be in another country on a volunteer trip.
And I learned three new words in Spanish that weekend: vivero (hatchery), ácido (sour), and tramposo (cheater).
Overall, I did not like the trip because of many reasons, but I liked that I got that experience. I didn't get a lot of turtle action, but when I did get to see a few baby turtles it made it all worthwhile. We were only at the place, Matapalo, for two nights and three days. During that time I never got a formal introduction or clearly explained what I had to do. It was very unorganized, much like everything else in the country. We had to dig weeds up out of the gardens at the place we were staying (which had nothing to do with turtles). We also had to clean a lot and there were night shifts, that I wasn't aware of. I had hatchery duty the second day at noon then at 1:30am I had beach patrol. We had to walk up the entire beach and walk back, looking for poachers and animals that could be looking for eggs and also searching for nests that the momma turtles laid. I highly disliked the walking because it was late, raining, and I didn't have the right shoes but it was a cool experience to find and dig up the turtle shells and take it back to the hatchery. Sometimes they can lay up to 100 or more eggs. I think I would have liked the trip a lot more if I was better prepared. A girl had all the information but failed to relay the information to us. I got bit by mosquitoes and sand tics they have there. That wasn't fun. Also, I didn't like the showers and sleeping arrangements. (That seems to always be a problem when I travel lol). And like a million ants found their way to my purse and bag and I almost had a meltdown lol. If you are an outdoor or adventurous person, you will love this trip, but if you are like me, don't go lol. But it felt good to be in another country on a volunteer trip.
And I learned three new words in Spanish that weekend: vivero (hatchery), ácido (sour), and tramposo (cheater).