I never mentioned where I was sleeping.  The house was really beautiful!  The backyard was gorgeous.  The room I shared was upstairs and we had two sets of bunkbeds.  It was interesting to feel like I was in a dorm again.  Everyone came and went at vey different times during the day and the middle of the night.  So sneaking around was widely accepted.

Here is a picture of the room I shared with Sarah, Cassie and Suzanne!

I had the top bunk on the right--that is not my luggage there!  Pretty nice, huh?

Here's some of the neighbors!

Every day was an adventure!  You get up and go outside and look at the schedule.  Come in, sit down and talk to everyone and find out how their night was. 

This was the backyard!  Paradise?!

 Did you see any turtles?  How was the walk?  It was great to be surrounded by people so dedicatied and enthusiastic!  Dave and Ilene from Florida were lifesavers.  We managed to find each other at the hotel in San Juan and travel the rest of the way together.  I can't thank them enough! I felt immediately at home with them. Suzanne was a veteranarian from St.  Louis and Cassie a student from Ohio.  Sarah was our Jane Goodall, she had been on three previous Earthwatch trips!  She was an inspiration to me!  Fun, caring and just herself!  Doug and Pat were from Arizona.  What would we have done without their senses of humor and great outlooks on life?  I was so glad to have met these people. 

This is us at Kike's for breakfast!  A motley crew, tired and exhausted! But still smiling!

                                                                            Here we are returning from a ride in the van!

                                                                           Really, we didn't have ANY fun!

I had hatchery duty at 5am.  Up and ready to go at 4:40.  I needed coffee BAD!  It was a bit chilly when I got out there..and DARK.  Many, many stars.  As we walked out the gate, I saw a falling one.  Sarah and I were on duty until 8:30.  WE WERE READY!  Predators BEWARE!  We sat and talked for quite a long time and then SUDDENLY...a crab came in and feigned an attack! 

Yikes! (not really)  His little claws were extended outward and he looked menacing.  HAHA...he insisted on hiding next to a chair leg, but were were on to him!  He was quite harmless but a great source of entertainment at 6 in the morning!

Sarah went in for more coffee, but only found what we will affectionately call "SWILL."  Still it was warm and accompanied by M&M's it wasn't so bad. 

Kelly relieved us and we walked to breakfast at Kike's. Prior to that we checked the schedule.  We had Ventanas beach tonight.   High tide at 9:55, so on the beach at 7 o'clock to 1am. 

What were we going to do today?  Usually we had a lecture at about 3 pm so we had the day to do something.  Pat decided we should adventure into town and called a local taxi driver named Francesco.  For five dollars each, we would get a ride to the next town.  Six of  us hopped in a small truck and off we bumped down the dirt roads, swerving to miss the potholes.  We arrived at the Pharmacia, a multi-purpose store with just about everything you might need, then walked over to the local bakery and nibbled on some cookies.

What is local culture like?  Chickens walking around, dogs strolling the road, cattle trucks going by and people waiting for buses.  But, in all, very laid back and comfortable.

Walking to Kike's for dinner!

Here's some local surfer dudes!

Looking toward the big rock on Ventanas!

I rested until 6pm.  If you are on the beach, that's when you go to dinner.  It is SO hot today.  Humid and disgusting!  Sarah and I have beach patrol with Emily tonight.  We rode back to the lab to meet her and then started for Ventanas.  We started at the hatchery (6) and were to walk 1600 meters to the end of Ventanas past the BIG rock.  Eventually we would be trapped past the big rock on Ventanas, and would have to wait until high tide receded to get back. 

It was so humid, the air was saturated with water.  It made a beautiful sunset. 

It was SO dark and difficult to discern where we were.  The stars were out and falling, but the hike felt EXTREMELY long.  You are on the beach, all you hear are crashing waves, like a big engine continually coming toward and going away from you.  It's pitch dark, we don't even use flashlight, we walk, walk, walk. 

The bioluminescent phytoplankton wash up on the beach and leave a glowing outline where the wave washed.  As you walk your footsteps glow, sand kicked ahead leaves constellations on the beach as the plankton twinkle.  I felt like I was making fairy dust trails.  It was AWESOME.  (basically it was our only entertainment for the night!).  A rainshower moved in and covered the stars with a haze of clouds.  The waves continue to crash, seldom leaving any silence.  Once in a while, there is a lull in the activity for a split second of time.  The beach felt endless.

I wonder what I am doing here--people don't do this--walk the beach from 8pm-1am, in pitch dark, silently.  We are not talkative tonight.  I think all of us are tired.  We patrol for turtles but none are here.  We rest at the end of the beach on a log that hurts your butt.  We silently look at the fireflies, stars and plankton which provide the only light.  You havea lot of time to think--I missed my family.  Some people along this beach refuse to turn off their light or shut their curtains.  The turtles are deterred here.

We again get up and trek back, the tide is rising and the beach gets smaller and smaller.  Bioluminescence provides our fun.  We walk through the mist to the hatchery and check in with our glowing red flashlights.  Another 20 minutes rest, once we pass the big rock, we will be trapped on Ventanas until the tide receded. 

We make it past just in time.  Our feet got wet...  We walked down the beach, it seemed endless and my legs were tired.  But, maybe, we will see a leatherback.  I sit on the "break log" imagining a turtle emerging from the surf towards us.  Sara says, " what a sad world it would be without the leatherbacks, that's why we are here."  I think she has gone temporarily hypnotic, and I burst out laughing.  It was SO quiet, no light except those on Tamarindo in the distance.  No turtles either, just black rocks jutting out of the sand and the tide getting higher.

The tide covers the end of the beach.  We are trapped like rats...we climb a berm and sit on a stone bench.  I give up and lay down on it with my Spongebob bandana covering my face.  It starts to rain, big cool drops plop on me washing away the layers of sweat and sand.  I lay there for 20 minutes, just enough time to get COLD.  Time to go--we hike the berm until the end and high step to the hardened sand near the surf.  It's easier to walk there.  We finally get to the LOG and I give up.  I plop down on the sand, use my water bottle as a pillow, Spongebob as a sheet.  I lay on my side and wake up to Emily saying, "Kim, we have to go."

The tide has gone out.  We can emerge from our seclusion on Ventanas.  We make it to the hatchery and plop down by the door and fall asleep.  Emily says one more trip and we're done.  She must be exhausted, but no one down here ever takes the shortcut.  They always finish their tasks.  Very impressive to me!

We walk another 1600 meters to "THE LOG!"  No turtles, just stars and phytoplankton.  We finally are on our last hike and head to Park Headquarters.  I felt like we were in the movie Castaway.  I showered and collapsed at 2am.  My alarm was set for 5am (I am the coffee girl tomorrow)

How far did we walk?  I calculated 13,400 meters...Now convert to miles...

   Looking from BIG ROCK toward  the house and hatchery!

I'm up at 5am.  I'm the coffee maker for the morning.  I crawl out of bed and walk downstairs and people are stumbling about.  The salt marsh tour is with Brian at 5:30 am.  We are all sittiing drinking coffee when he comes in and tells us it is raining.  We wait until 6:45 when the rain stops.  We walk outside and there's a rainbow.  One of the best parts of this whole trip was the great conversations!!  Thanks guys.

We walk down the muddied road toward Kike's and take a turn toward the salt marsh.  On the way, he points out parakeets, grackels, wrens and other birds.  There are termite mounds in the trees that the parakeets build their nests in. (I wondered what those were!)  As we walk, we hear howler monkeys in the distance.  It's really muddy.

As we enter the mangrove area, the dirt is very silty and has little holes in in made by tiny gray crabs--this aerates the soil since it is anoxic conditions.  The salt content is high in this area and there are dwarfed mangroves.  They have aerial roots due to the continual flooding and compacted soil which does not allow air or water in.  In the water we saw bird footprints.  (see the picture)

I look like a hoodlum with my hat covering a very bad hair day.  Crabs keep peaking out of these little holes in the mud--they leave behind little piles of dirt that they pushed out.  They put up their little claws when they see you and run sideways.  We also see the national tree--the Guanacosta tree.  It's really tall and very branched. 

Our final stop was a salt producing area.  It had a series of dike controlled evaporating ponds that during the dry season he would fill with 2-3 inches of water.  He allows these to evaporate (leaving the salt behind) , after several times, the salt concentration of the water is very high.  He then uses a fire to evaporate all of the water (using barrels) He then collects the salt, carries it to town and sells it.  The ground is burned to deccrease the vegetation but little seeds pop up their sprouts--(gotta love succession!)

Walked back to the house and covered the hatchery for Doug--went to see turtle tracks at marker 9.  Took pictures with Sarah as scale.

I have the dreaded overnight hatchery duty. (11:30-5am)

             Leatherback Tracks

                with Sarah for scale!

I was due out at 11:30pm--equipped with my volunteer shirt and some extra clothes (rumor has it it gets chilly), I meet Trish and get going.  I kept telling everyone that I was going to get a nest.  I was hoping that would come true!!

We got to the hatchery and were radioed that , yesiree, there was a nest coming in!  What does that mean?  Well, the hatchery is set up to take care of eggs that were deposited below the high tide line or that are in some sort of "danger."  If the turtle is going to lay her eggs below the high tide line, the biologist/volunteer collects the eggs in a heavy duty plastic bag, then brings them to the hatchery to be replaced in a nest dug by people.

How cool is that.  I was going to help dig a nest, actually handle endangered species eggs, and who knows what else!  Yahoo!

We got to the hatchery and set up the balance. (same ones I use in class), buckets, and plastic bags.  We both put on latex gloves and eagerly awaited the arrival. (well, I eagerly awaited the arrival!)  Wow! When they arrived, they were in a heavy duty, clear plastic bag.  I got out the hatchery book, turned to an empty page and numbered 1-20.  We then began to take the mass of the first 20 eggs we took out of the bag.

This is what the eggs look like--ping-pong balls!

But ooey-gooey (scientific) (photo:M. Godfrey)

I reached into the bag, the eggs felt paper thin and goobely. (very scientific word).  I was paranoid that I would damage one and carefully removed each, one at a time, and placed it on the balance.  Trish probably thought I was a nut case, I was scared I was going to hurt them. (I seemed to forget suddenly, how far they fall from the turtle into a deep hole with no damage...)  She told me just not to rotate them alot and keep them in the same plane as I moved them.  I still felt like they were precious carge, each part of a successful story.  We massed 20 eggs in all, then removed the rest into a bucket.  We then took the mass of the SAGS.

Now it was time to dig a hole. Talk about some exercise.  On your hands and knees, 12:00 at night digging a 2-3 foot deep hole in the sand, can be a bit taxing.  Doug decided that he would videotape me doing this...THANKS DOUG!  I layed down on my stomach, my whole shoulder and arm were in the hole and I still had to keep digging---  widening the bottom.    When I was done, Trish counted the eggs as I placed them in their new nest cavity.  I was to line the nest with them, I place them in 2-3 at a time and then dumped the SAGS in on top.   There were 78 eggs in all.  We then filled the hole with sand and patted it down.  Eventually, when it was full, we scientifically stomped (haha) the rest of the sand down.

How could someone like this so much?  Is that what you are thinking?  It is something unexplained.  I thought it was one of the neatest things I have ever had the opportunity to do in my life!

We placed chicken wire netting around it for protection and sat down to rest.  It began lightning shortly thereafter and we retreated to the back porch of the house.  We walked out several times during the rest of the night to check for Olive Ridley hatchling and racoons (who like fresh nests)--but nothing happened....off to bed at 6am...

I got my turtle nest!!Yahoo!