Experience:
Organisation:
Name: Kate
Hometown: Cambridge
Destination: Gandoca, Costa Rica
Project type: Conservation - working with nesting sea turtles on the Caribbean coast
Organisation: Volunteer Latin America
What were your impressions of your destination?
Living in a remote village in the very South of Costa Rica, only a few miles from the border with Panama. It was amazing! Beautiful beaches, banter with the locals and lots of turtles - what more could you ask for?! Volunteers and locals alike were very friendly; there were plenty of hammocks/beach space to lie around in/on in your spare time and there's a bar that's open til the last customer leaves :)
Was the work interesting and challenging?
It was a lot more work than I thought it would be but it was really good fun! You spend your time patrolling the beach at night (two 4 hour shifts - 8pm-midnight and midnight-4am) looking for nesting turtles so you can measure them and collect their eggs to take to one of 2 hatcheries, on hatchery duty (has to be done 24/7 - done in 6 hour shifts) where you check the temperature of the nests, chase away any predators (dogs, crabs etc) and dig nests to put eggs that have been collected by patrollers in, or doing a daytime activity - ranging from removing drift wood from the beach to nest digging practice (good fun but you get covered head to toe in black sand!). Although that sounds like quite a lot you actually get plenty of time off to laze around in hammocks, top up your tan, go surfing or whatever you fancy
What was your accommodation like? Did you feel comfortable and welcome at all times?
The accomodation ranges from catered cabins to self catered camping (not proper camping - yes, you stay in tents but you're on a raised platform with a tin roof). All the accomodation is run by the locals who are really nice. You can be provided with cooked meals in all the accomodation but if you want to self cater it's a little more challenging as there is no food shop in the village - have to get a taxi to Bri Bri, the nearest town - but it's far from impossible, as I managed it, and is very good for those on a budget. Also, there is "internet" (I use this term loosely) in the village but it is very temperamental, slow and quite pricey - best to go to Bri Bri for this as well - ideal for those of you, like myself, who like to get away from it all and can't be contacted by the outside world!
Were you happy with the organisation and the staff that were responsible for you during your stay?
The organisation was very helpful, answering any questions I had coherently and quickly, and it was all very well organised. I was given an introduction in San Jose (Costa Rica's capital) before heading down to Gandoca where I was given good training before being let loose on the turtles... Everyone was very friendly and happy to help!
Do you feel that you got value for money on the project?
Yes!! After paying the booking fee (roughly £45) you're just paying for accomodation and food. I stayed in a tent and self catered so it was only costing me £7 per night plus however much I wished to spend on food. Staying in a catered cabin cost about £13 per night.
Would you recommend the project to others?
Yes
