This is Lillie and Rebecca signing in after a week in Playa Hermosa with the adorable tortugitas. When we arrived at Punta Judas, finding enough beds for everyone was our first challenge, but after the initial confusion we all found a place to rest our heads and enjoyed a delicious meal. The first day of work found the group in an all too familiar situation of moving dirt as we cleared the invasive grasses that surrounded the turtle hatchery. Afterwards, we spent our afternoon blissfully relaxing in the waves or in the hammocks overlooking the beach. That night we went on our very first turtle patrol. We were excited to discover three mama Olive Riddley turtles and 5 nests. Each nest held nearly 100 golf ball sized eggs all stacked on top of each other. In this way we spent our days working on digging a new hatchery and our nights releasing baby turtles into the ocean.
Adam and Allison introduced a new aspect of our stay with a game of Assasins. Each player received a mark and a method of killing. For example, Lillie made the first kill of the night when she asked Winnie to borrow her shoes hardly 10 minutes after the game was announced. Katrina was the clear MVP, tricking Jasmine into singing a song, Mary into performing her dancing skills, Shayna into making loud animal noises, and Rebecca into playing leapfrog. As of now, it seems as if the game has ended in a stalemate between Katrina and Bridget.
Some of our readers may have been wondering how a Carpe Diem group celebrates the holidays. Well, Adam and Allison surprised us all with a lovely Thanksgiving dinner in town at a Carribean/Local restaurant. We enjoyed fish, coconut rice and beans, salad, and two delicious desserts of a brownie sundae and a banana split. During our meal we expressed three things that we were thankful for, and both laughter and tears were shared. After such an amazing meal we were further surprised by our token American friend who was kind enough to share her meal of stuffing, potatoes, and cranberry sauce. The rest of the night was spent relaxing before our first night of releasing baby turtles. It was truly a night to be thankful for.
For the next three days we are back in San Jose relaxing, catching up on journaling, and bonding. Afterwards, we leave for Roatan, Honduras the last stop on our epic journey. We hope that these last 10 days do not fly by too fast, but we are as always looking forward to seeing you all at home.
Signing out. Peace, Love and Happiness.
Lillie and Rebecca
