Written By Michaela & Maya
Hey guys, Michaela and Maya here! Writing from Refugio Camaronal, we are excited to talk about our time in Golfito and here in Camaronal at the turtle project!
We left Mastatal early in the morning and drove for 5 hours to reach Golfito. We all were tired but excited to learn how to scuba dive. After we arrived we jumped straight into it. We split into two groups: open waters and advanced open waters. Then we met our awesome dive instructors: JT, Miles, and Gio. We all did some elearning that consisted of videos and long quizzes. Later that day we had some awesome casados for dinner and got our SIM cards and Wifi for the first time in over three weeks.
Although it felt amazing to talk to our parents and friends back home, we all reflected on the fact that the three weeks without Wifi had been a great break and a way for us to get to know each other. After a good night sleep on a comfy mattress sans bugs; We started the 3 days bright and early at 7:00 am with breakfast and went straight into some more elearning, spent the afternoon in the pool getting familiar with the equipment, then hopped on the boats to dive at beautiful spots.
Open water divers had amazing dives and the opportunity to learn how to navigate the ocean using a compass. We ended our experience with an incredible dive though a shipwreck where we saw all kinds of fish and stingrays of all sizes. Advanced has the opportunity to learn how to navigate further and recognize different fish. They also ended their experience with a shipwreck dive!
We ended our time in Golfito with a lesson from Gio about coral reefs and said goodbye to our dive instructors who had become friends to us.
The next day we drove 9 hours to Camaronal, where we would spend the next four days learning about turtle conservation and volunteering.
We started the next day bright and early at 6:30 am for a morning walk to search for turtle eggs and learn how to classify nests. We learned about the fact that many of the turtle eggs on the beach are stolen by poachers and sold. After a filling lunch we hit the beach once again in the scorching sun to pick up plastic and make the beach and ocean a safer space for all sea life. As we finished the sky decided to rain and relieve us from some of the heat acquired from hard work. We ended the day with an evening walk at 7:30 to try and find turtles laying eggs, unfortunately that was unsuccessful.
Most mornings at Camaronal started with a 6:30 am walk. The next day Maya, Claire, Spencer and Jill had the awesome opportunity to see baby turtles hatch and find their way to the ocean. They also found lots of eggs that they brought to the hatchery so they could grow safely.
One night the group had the incredible experience to see a turtle create a nest and lay eggs! While Maya and Emma picked the eggs, Rosa measured the turtle and tagged her as she was new to the beach. 94 eggs later the turtle returned to the sea and we all continued our walk in hopes to see more turtles.
While our experience at Camaronal was unforgettable, we faced some bumps along the road and had a group discussion about the tendency to check out midway through the trip. Although we were reminded that it was normal, the leaders gave us the opportunity to step back in and remind ourselves of the beauty that surrounds us in Costa Rica. We all understood and took the time to reflect our actions and purpose on this trip.
Overall Golfito and Camaronal were incredible experiences and allowed us to grow our knowledge of the ocean and turtles along with some personal reflection and growth.
We are all excited to reach Samara and go to a yoga retreat as the midway point of the semester quickly creeps up on us. As we continue this week we hope it continues to be filled with self-reflection.
