It was really impressive to be able to watch the turtles hatch or lay eggs and to know that our work has a direct impact on their survival!
A month in Montezuma, Costa Rica - a dream of working with animals became reality in the Turtle Protection Project. Nicola had been dreaming of this trip for a long time and the preparations went smoothly. She was finally able to experience unforgettable moments on site: patrolling the beach at night, watching hundreds of tiny turtles hatch and living together with other volunteers right by the sea. In her free time, Nicola discovered waterfalls, went snorkeling on Isla Tortuga and swam in glowing water on a bioluminescence tour. The open, welcoming culture and the people's zest for life made a lasting impression on her. This trip made them braver, more spontaneous and more relaxed - and above all enriched them with friendships that will last far beyond their time in Costa Rica!
I had always wanted to travel to Costa Rica and support a project with animals there. When I finished my bachelor's degree at the beginning of the year, I had a lot of time on my hands and simply googled projects abroad. That's how I came across WanderWorld and the Turtle Protection Project. I booked the trip about four months before my departure and that's when my travel preparations began! It was really exciting and my anticipation grew with every day. I had to catch up on a few vaccinations and went through my packing list a lot. The WanderWorld preparation seminar helped me with this and I received a lot of important information about the country, the culture and the project.
When I arrived, I was totally tired from the long journey but also super excited at the same time. At my introductory event in San José, I met Lisa, who I later worked with on the project, and we have since become really good friends. In San José, we tasted local fruit at a market, withdrew colones and went out for a traditional meal. The next day, Lisa and I were on our way to our project in Montezuma, where we started straight away. We learned how to dig nests and took part in an exhumation. Nests are dug out after the hatching date and we saw our first baby tortoises! That was so great and exciting! After the first few days in the project, I really settled in and felt at home.
We had various tasks in the project. During the day, we usually had beach or house cleaning duties and at night we always had a three-hour night shift (6 pm - 9 pm, 9 am - 0 am, 0 am - 3 am or 3 am - 6 am). Two or three of us would patrol the beach and look for turtles laying eggs and nests. We then brought the eggs to the hatchery and buried them in a perfect nest where they could hatch safely. We also recorded data, for example the size of the turtles or measured the tracks in the sand. Sometimes we had a watching shift instead of a patrol. If a nest was about to hatch, we would monitor it and see if anything happened. In general, it was really impressive to be able to watch the turtles hatch or lay eggs and to know that our work has a direct impact on their survival!
I enjoyed spending my free time with the other volunteers and we often spent the morning at the beach, went on a trip to the waterfalls or just relaxed in the hammocks. There were also lots of cute cafés and restaurants in Montezuma that we tried out. We also did lots of tours from Montezuma, such as zip-lining in the rainforest, horse riding on the beach, snorkeling on Isla Tortuga or a quad bike tour. But my absolute highlight was the bioluminescence tour: we were taken out to sea by boat at night and went swimming. The bioluminescence caused the whole water to glow and leave streaks of light behind. Seeing this was a truly unforgettable experience.
During my time in Latin America, I found the culture to be very warm and open. At the same time, I experienced that many people live in comparatively simple circumstances and that issues such as the influence of drugs are more present in everyday life. However, I also learned from the local people to be more relaxed and to enjoy the moment more instead of constantly planning ahead. Compared to Germany, everything was much more spontaneous, simply "pura vida"!
I experienced so many wonderful moments on my trip that I can't really choose just one. I really enjoyed an evening with my friends from the project, when we got pasta and brownies to go and watched H2o on towels and blankets on the beach. But also just generally the time with the other volunteers, the shared hatchery shifts, tours or just chatting. Apart from that, it was of course always very impressive to witness the turtle hatchings and see how hundreds of tiny turtles find their way into the sea. But every patrol where you could watch turtles building nests or laying eggs on the beach at night was also really special!
The work of the volunteers is very important for the conservation of the turtles! By securing and burying nests during our night patrols, we significantly increase the hatching rate of the turtles. Our work has a direct impact on the survival of the turtles and would not be done without us.
After my time in Montezuma, I traveled around Costa Rica a bit on my own and visited Manuel Antonio National Park, among other places. It really was such an impressive and beautiful experience - I saw sloths, howler monkeys, bats, hummingbirds and so much more.
My accommodation was very basic and therefore very different to what I am used to at home. I shared the room with two other volunteers. What we liked most was the communal area on the terrace. Here we ate together, played games and chatted. We also had a direct view of the sea and were surrounded by nature. Sometimes we even had capuchin monkeys on the roof or saw armadillos. The location was generally really great: we were right on the beach and could walk to the town of Montezuma in just a few minutes. We also had two pets at the house, a cat (Chusma) and a dog (Lucy)!
Costa Rica really is such a special country and I definitely want to come back one day. You can really see and experience so many different things; there are volcanoes, numerous national parks, great places to surf and so much more. My tip would be not to get an idea of what it will be like beforehand - it always turns out differently than you think anyway.
I always felt very safe in Montezuma. I was usually in a group, but sometimes I went to the supermarket on my own. Because we lived there for a month, we eventually got to know the people in the village and we said hello to each other as we passed by. At night on the patrols we were never alone, but always with one or two other volunteers.
I'm proud of myself for daring to travel so far away on my own and to get involved in a new country and a new culture. And I wasn't that alone. I met so many nice people on my trip and made new friends in the project that I hope will last a long time!
I can definitely recommend a stay abroad in Latin America! Costa Rica was such a beautiful country with impressive nature. I saw so many animals on my trip and was able to experience so many new things, it was really incredible. I also made new friends on the project and soon we'll all be visiting each other again in Germany! I really want to visit Guatemala one day - Lisa was there for a month before our project and only had positive things to say.
To enjoy the Turtle Protection project, you should be interested in animals and turtles. You also have a lot of responsibility at work, for example when building a nest or digging up the eggs, and you should handle the tasks responsibly. Apart from that, you should be prepared for the fact that you can't plan everything in advance, as you might be used to at home. You should be spontaneous and enjoy adventure and a new experience!
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