Conservation - COSTA RICA Daily Life

Daily Life of a Conservation Volunteer in Costa Rica

An average day at the Ostional turtle camp would involve getting up at about 5.45am to be ready for the morning patrol at 6am. Morning patrol is when all the volunteers and staff walk down the beach searching for new turtle nests; when/if we found one we had to look at the signs in order to decipher whether the eggs were still there or whether they had been taken by poachers, or dug up by dogs or vultures, both of which could often be seen out on the beach. We would also check on the hatchery to make sure nothing had managed to get into it.

We would normally arrive back at the camp at around 7.30-8.00am where our breakfast would be waiting for us, prepared by the resident cheff, the lovely Yammi. We usually had something different served to us every day eg. Rice and beans, fried plantains, sometimes pancakes, and many other things. Even if we didn't like it we still ate it because food is food!

After breakfast we would go back to our rooms for a cold shower and then help Yammi with the cleaning, which didn't take long as everyone helped out.

The next job would be to help with any turtle projects going on at the time eg. Fixing the hatchery or weaving baskets to be placed over the nests in the hatchery. The projects tended to change from week to week.

At around 12 we would go back to the camp for dinner, again prepared for us by Yammi, which would usually consist of rice and beans, perhaps with other vegetables or meat.

After dinner we would usually have the rest of the day to ourselves, unless there were any major projects to be worked on. In this time we could sit and read, watch television in the open aired main room of the camp, wash our clothes, or go to explore other beaches along the coast; most of the beaches seemed beautifully unspoiled and uninhabited, but some had a bit more life about them, with a few hotels nearby where we could buy food and drink, use the internet, and rent surfboards. There were no buses to get around, so we hitchhiked everywhere, though we always travelled in groups and never attempted it at night.

We were always back at the camp by around 5.30pm and we would usually go to our rooms for a rest, and another cold shower after the journey and soon after tea would be ready.

Afterwards we would entertain ourselves by having group card games in the open aired main room, watching television, or going down the track to our local nightclub for a drink and a dance.

The average time people would start to head off to bed would be around 9pm as we would be up early again the following day, unless it was Saturday night, as we always had Sunday off.