It has been so interesting to live in a place with such a unique culture! Over the past couple days we have visited the local town of Puerto Jimenez, searched for more turtles, and learned the local art of making dream catchers! Our trip to Puerto Jimenez was a fantastic example of the local culture. … Continue reading The Remarkable Culture of Costa Rica by Angela Leta
What an amazing day, from start to finish. After our host family prepared us the traditional pinto (beans and rice) and scrambled eggs for breakfast, Dr. Melinda Dick gave a lecture about sea turtle physiology. Surprisingly, although I’d never thought I understood physiology before, my “old” education was renewed by her lecture. It is amazing … Continue reading The Wisdom of Sea Turtle Physiology and Costa Rican Culture by Carly Taft
This is such an amazing experience!! Last night a veterinarian from the capitol of Costa Rica, San Jose, came in to spend a few days with us. This evening we had an amazing chat as she did a power point presentation on sea turtle anatomy (these are the things I REALLY wanted to learn on … Continue reading Sea Turtle A&P – New to Me! by Cora Douglas
Today we got to work on 4 more turtles! As soon as we dropped the net we caught a beautiful female Green sea turtle! A little while later we caught giant female Green – she was 100+ cm and weighed at least 350lbs – that was a challenge for us to carry and get to … Continue reading A Jolly Green Giant by Cora Douglas
Today was our second day with the turtles. We went to a beach called Sloth Beach and as you can imagine, there were three-toed sloths! There was actually one in the tree right above where we were standing but we just hadn’t noticed. We all tried to get pictures of him but it was hard … Continue reading We got a hawksbill! by Jessica D’Ambrosio
Today was “turtle day”… and I wish every day was “turtle day”! We dropped the net and it all began! 4 turtles in 5 hours – all female greens, so amazing! They are such majestic, peaceful creatures, yet so strong and courageous. Poor turtles though…there are endless potholes in their graceful road and it’s all … Continue reading I Wish EVERY Day was Turtle Day! by Cora Douglas
Today was our first full day here in Costa Rica and we got to take the boat out for our first day of catching sea turtles. We threw out large nets into the bay then jumped into the water with snorkels to make sure the nets weren’t tangled and in proper position. We ended up … Continue reading Nets and Turtles and Snorkels, Oh My! by Cora Jones
May 9 and 10, 2014 These two days were so very exciting! We got off to a great start, netting a turtle as soon as we cast it out. It was a female Green Sea Turtle (scientific name: Chelonia mydas), and while I thought she looked rather large, she was relatively small as far as … Continue reading 8 Turtles in 2 Days – A Great Haul! by Michelle McKonly
First day with the turtles, or tortugas in Spanish. It was amazing! They had us throw out a net that was about 100 meters long. Then we all got in the water to untangle the net and make sure there weren’t any large knots. We caught a turtle immediately! Lucky for me, I was in … Continue reading May 9th, 2014 – Day of the Tortugas! by Jessica D’Ambrosio
We started our days getting up about 5:30 am. We had no idea when we got up that it was so early, because the sun was already up! Plus, we were still on Clearwater time, and it was 7:30 back home! A few of us got dressed and went on a walk to explore. The … Continue reading Our first day in the water! by Nicole Fahringer