Volunteer Travelling

After a week of volunteering at Reserva Playa Tortuga, we asked the kids a few questions about their experience.

1) What did you get out of the volunteer experience?

Devon - I got experience with helping others and it can help me to figure out what kind of travelling I can do and what my preferences are. I know that I can't go somewhere without helping in someway,  even if it's not much. 

Rika - I got more experience and knowledge about animals here, but most importantly, I realized that there is a lot of things I can do to improve the earth, such as wildlife and environment even if I am not volunteering. I felt that the best thing I can do is to continue to remember that we are a part of nature, and that helping the environment is helping us. The workers and volunteers all had a huge love of nature and kindness. Their hard work and passion inspired me a lot, and I would never want to forget their strong thoughts and this memory. So, the most important thing I got out of this experience was how to find a way to help more, and the message of protect and improve our world. 

Huy - I think that I got more knowledge on what it would probably be like when you volunteer for this type of cause. I think this experience is good for me as it could help me make decisions on whether or not I would want to volunteer at a place or not if I were to ever travel.

Hunter - I got a lot out of the experience but I think the biggest thing I got out of it was realizing how much I can do at my age. We did a lot to help the animals and the ecosystem at the reserva even though we are just teenagers, and we were able to do all the fundraising and a portion of the planning for the trip itself. Even though we had a lot of assistance planning this trip, I think next time something we do something like this, we will be able to do more of the little details of the trip. We put a lot of work into this from the very beginning with picking the perfect destination, to the end with picking what activities we do in our free time, and I think it all paid off. 

Yumi - I learned some Spanish, about the animals as there were lots of animals in Costa Rica. And the foods are really good here.

Stephen - The reserva uses a system where at different times of the day, different groups of volunteers would do different tasks. This made it so that there was less work on individual people. Previously, I have attended a volunteering job where everyone had to work every hour. If I ever organize something, I will definitely use this system.

2) What did you most enjoy about volunteering?

Devon - I got to get a feel for how I'm helping from a first hand experience. I love to be able to make a difference.

Rika - What I enjoyed the most when volunteering was talking with different people from different backgrounds. I like to learn about different languages and cultures from different areas, so I was very glad that I had this opportunity to talk with other people including staffs and volunteers in this reserve. I really enjoyed spending time with different people while volunteering. I also felt very happy because no matter what kind of experience we had, or where we were from, we all worked together toward the big goal of making the world a better place.

Huy - I enjoyed being able to go through different activities which all offered a different experience  from each other. This made things not as boring and since you get grouped with other people, you can learn a lot about other people and where they came from.

Hunter - I really enjoyed meeting all the different people at the reserva. We met so many people from all around the world and even though we only knew them for a few days saying goodbye was hard. We hung out with them for days straight and did lots of jobs with them. The volunteer coordinator, Sara, was so nice and it was especially hard to say goodbye to her. On our way out we gave her a gift of maple syrup from Canada and our trip badge. She was very grateful and we were very happy to give it to her. 

Yumi - I enjoyed to meet with people from other places and talk with them.

Stephen - I enjoyed helping out the staff and workers during our hikes and data collections. I had the opportunity to measure a baby caiman and write down the measurements of the different body parts. During the first few days, the staff were collecting all the data and I felt like the volunteers were just there for emotional support. I am glad that we eventually got to collect some data and help out.

3) What was the hardest part of the volunteering?

Devon - At some points it was hard to want to stay committed during the more boring parts. I quickly realized that its important to stay committed.  I remembered about the purpose of the trip and that helps me want to commit to volunteering. 

Rika - I found this volunteering experience very enjoyable, and I didn’t feel anything hard specifically, but I realized how limited my work can help the world. I found out that what we worked on in the reserve everyday was only a small step to make a change. For example, we did hatchery check everyday to increase the sea turtle’s population, but to really help sea turtles to have a better habitat, all of the people in the world have to work together. I found this hard because I thought if we work hard and care about the environment, we could solve problems, but that is not how things are. I found this part hard because it sometimes take years for the consequences of our hard work been show. And sometimes when I was working on these things that seemed small to me, I got lost. But I believe if I keep working on what I can, it would make a difference.

Huy - I think the hardest to volunteering might be doing tasks that could make you feel uncomfortable (like getting water in your rubber boots), but apart from that, I am not really sure about other volunteering opportunities as they have different goals and fight for different causes.

Hunter - I think the hardest part of volunteering was the long days. Some days we would have to be ready for a 6am turtle check, and then not be done the day until 10 o’clock when you get back from looking for crocodiles. We had long breaks in between shifts so we could take a nap but because of all the noise and the heat it was pointless to try. Even though we were very tired, the excitement of all the new experiences was enough to keep us going.

Yumi - Sometimes you have a job at late time or early time so you will have to get up early.

Stephen - Having two time tables: one for the hatchery checks and one for the volunteering shifts, was difficult to keep track of. Sometimes, there would be hatchery checks right before a volunteer shift. We needed to make sure to check the schedules every day. 

4) Do you think you might be interested in volunteering when you are older?

Devon - 100%. Volunteers build community and everything involved. Even if someone gets paid to do the exact same job, it's just not the same. This is exactly why I will volunteer in more than just community events back home. I believe that everyone should volunteer. I encourage you, the reader, to get out there and volunteer.  No matter your age, restrictions,  or anything,  I believe that you can make a difference. 

Rika - Yes, I will definitely plan another volunteer trip in the near future. I found this volunteer experience very purposeful, and it inspired me a lot. I realized how shallow my other trips were, and how volunteering can make a trip more enjoyable and purposeful. This volunteer experience helped me learn a lot more about Costa Rica and I couldn’t learn these without it. Before this week, I didn’t know how this experience would be like, but I am very thankful that I had this amazing opportunity. I believe this is just a start point of me as a volunteer, and I would do more and more of this in the future. I also promised the staffs in the reserve that I will come here again by myself when I turn eighteen, so I want to make sure I start to prepare for that from now.

Huy - I think that I would be interested in volunteering in the future as you get to meet a lot of new people from different places, and while you know that you are contributing to a cause, even if it’s small. It’s also a good way to spend time when travelling, especially if you’re a single traveller, or you have a budget to fit within.

Hunter - I would love to do something like this when I am older with my friends. I think going to the same place would be cool but it would also be cool to go somewhere else. I really enjoyed our time at the reserva and maybe coming back in a few years to see what it looks like then would be cool, but it would also be great to learn about a new place. I think next time I volunteer somewhere like that I will stay longer because while it was amazing to experience all the different jobs they have there I would like to get good at them and be able to be more independent in my work.

Yumi - Yes, it was so fun and I get to know different people. Also it’s cheaper to stay so if I don’t have lots of money, I can do volunteers.

Stephen - I saw some older volunteers at this camp. When I am older, I would like to volunteer in other countries or other places. I don't like the idea of returning to one place for volunteering, since I want to have different experiences and explore a bit more.

5) What would you recommend (tips + advice) for someone interested in volunteering?

Devon - Start simple and find you passion. Volunteering is broad. What is something you enjoy or care about.  Volunteering doesn't need to be with a big group of organization. Go to a local event or even just start on your own. Care about bees? Plant pollinator plants in your garden. Care about litter? Pick up trash or make sure garbage bins are up in parks.

Rika - I would say it is important to always remind yourself the purpose of volunteering. Because when you are working on something or having a busy day while volunteering, you might forget about what the works are for. So you have to remember what and who are the works are for, so in that way, you can always have positivity and porpoise when volunteering.

Huy - I would recommend volunteering as a single traveller, or with friends if you all agree that it’s okay to spend a week volunteering. But if you were travelling with family, it would probably be safer not to volunteer, unless you know for certain that everyone would do it.

Hunter - Don’t be shy! Hang out with the other volunteers, they are also probably looking to meet new people. Also don’t be afraid to ask questions about what you are seeing or experiencing. If you are unsure about how to do something, ask. If you want to know something about the animals you are working with, ask. And most importantly, if you want to learn about another volunteer or person working there, even just to make a friend, ask.

Yumi - I will recommend them to check the weather and wear the right clothes. But sometimes even it’s hot there, you will need to bring long sleeves because of the mosquitos

Stephen - Asking questions is important because you need to be sure before you do something. I found myself asking more questions to the staff than I usually would have, since I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any shifts or collect any data wrong. Being flexible is also important. You never know if you will be given an extra task or your shift time will be changed. This was not much of a problem at this volunteering job sonce there was a lot of free time, but it is important to keep note of for other jobs.

Crocodile and Caiman Hunting

    Crocodile and caiman hunting: wet, muddy, and soaked. No one would willingly want to be any one of those options, in the dark, wearing regular clothes, with rubber boots that should've been water proof, except there were holes in them. (Pura Vida!)

    But why would we do all of that just to NOT hunt for crocodiles and caiman. In fact, when it was our turn to go crocodile and caiman hunting, we found 2 juvenile caiman: one close to adulthood, and one that was quite small; which I even got to hold! All of this might sound exciting, or scary, but there weren't many times where we actually experienced catching caimans and getting chased by caimans. Despite the title, both the group I was in and the other group, didn't see a single crocodile and only saw caimans.

    Recognizing whether or not the giant lizard was a crocodile or a caiman was pretty easy since all we had to do was shine some white light at their eyes: crocodiles would have yellow eyes; caimans would have red eyes. Catching them however very much depended on the size of what you were catching. Us volunteers didn't actually do any of the catching, but we were tasked with measuring young crocodiles and caimans if they hadn't already grown 2 ridges on their tail. If they did though, all we had to do was tag it if it hadn't already been tagged.

    Now moving on to what mostly happened when I went croc/caiman hunting. Doing a quick summery, we went to a river first where we found and CAUGHT our only 2 caimans. The first one being already tagged, and the second one being a lot smaller so we had to do some measurements. I was even able to hold it, which the skin felt like a weird blend of smooth plastic, and bumpy surface.

    Instantly when going into the warm water of the river, some people had a sock soaking issue. Despite everyone wearing "water proof" rubber boots. Some people had holes in their boots that weren't patched up at all. I was VERY "lucky", and got the 1 pair of boots that EACH had a hole in them. Despite having the obviously inferior boots, it didn't really matter in the end as everyone would have to go through near waist high water.

    Once we had experience trekking through the cleaner, non-muddy water of the river, we went to the beach, which was at low tide, but not low enough for us not to get soaked socks. After a little bit of walking and wading through on the beach and through the water, we got to the truly muddy areas to go searching for crocs and caimans. Through out this whole adventure, there was this one moment where we had to cross a particularly muddy and deep section to get back to solid dirt. The thing was, there was a fully grown 2 meter caiman at least 5 meters from where we needed to cross. While everyone was crossing, the caiman went into the water and everyone went into a sort of hushed panic.

    Everyone was going a little bit faster through the water, while also avoiding pockets of mud that would suck you to the ground. Fortunately no one was hurt nor traumatized.

Well, that was my experience with croc and caiman hunting: miserable for my socks, feet, and pants; very cool and dopamine inducing for my brain. It was lots of fun finding a lot of caimans, lots of suck, finding mud everywhere.

Signing off,

Huy

    

The Turtles

Image: some of the reserva's baby sea turtles (different year)

Here at the reserva, the staff collect sea turtle eggs from the beach and keep them in a hatchery. The hatchery is essentially a greenhouse made of mesh material with sand on the bottom, where the turtle eggs can be buried. Every two hours of every day, groups of volunteers are sent to check on the sand above the turtle eggs to track any changes. They are supposed to hatch this week, so hopefully we will get to see some baby turtles before we leave. I have been sent a few times for the hatchery checks, but as of right now, there have not been any changes in the sand.

There are seven different species of sea turtle in the world, and Costa Rica has four of them. The hatchery at the reserva is currently holding eggs of the Olive Ridley sea turtle, which is the smallest of the four species in Costa Rica. It is also the most common species we find here on this beach. 

Why does the reserva take the eggs and put it in a hatchery? Why not just let the eggs hatch on their own in the wild? They do this for a few reasons. 

Firstly, there are many poachers who dig up sea turtle nests to use the eggs for their own consumption or to sell. We were shown some statistics, and it showed that there were 41 poached nests out of some 200 total nests on our beach in 2023. That year, the reserva was able to save 44 nests.

This picture was also taken at the reserva

Another reason that the reserva takes the eggs is to prevent the eggs being eaten from predators. This includes Jaguars, armadillos, crabs, ants, and humans. The hatchery is locked and surrounded by fences in order to keep out predators and poachers.

The final reason, and the most interesting in my opinion, is to breed more males. If the temperature becomes too cold, the baby sea turtles will be mostly males. If it gets too hot, there will be more females. As we all know, the temperature of the earth has been rising slowly, which means that there are more female sea turtles coming out. To keep the balance between male and female turtles, the hatchery is placed in a shaded area to prevent the sand from getting too hot. 

I looked this up on Google, and it said that if the eggs are incubated below 28C, all turtles hatching will be male, and if incubated above 31C, all turtles will be female. Very interesting.

This is another picture taken by the reserva. If we spot a sea turtle laying eggs at the beach, we will take measurements and check if the sea turtle is tagged. A fun fact is that a sea turtle will always return to the coastline it hatched on. Because of this, many tagged turtles return to this beach every year.

Written by Stephen J

Monkeys in Reserva Playa Tortuga

One of the animals they have at the reserve are monkeys. The job focused on the monkeys is walking through the jungle finding monkeys and once you find one you have to follow it for five minutes tracking what it does every 15 seconds. 

While I was on the monkey walk, we didn’t find any monkeys but we have seen them while we were doing various other tasks. One day during free time, while some others from our group where coming back from another job, we saw them in trees that were visible from our rooms. Another day during breakfast, they were right outside of the main entrance, and the last time we saw them, we where collecting the videos from the cameras in the forest and there were lots of them playing around in the trees.

When we were on our monkey walk, some of the things we were looking for were if they had babies with them, if the babies were on there backs, where they were (how high on the tree they are), and what they were doing. Some examples of things they could be doing are eating, sleeping, climbing, etc. and we had to update it every 15 seconds. 

From what I’ve seen capuchin monkeys are very playful jumping off of one tree and grabbing a branch from a near by tree while yelling as loud as they can. Other times they will be fighting like siblings or even running away from all the other loud monkeys to get a break. 

The two kinds of monkeys we were looking for were capuchin and howler monkeys. Both kinds have a life span of 15-20 years. Their main diets are also mostly the same with flowers, nuts, fruits, and leaves but capuchin monkeys also occasionally eat small birds and other things like that. I have only seen capuchin monkeys so far but hope to see howler monkeys soon.

-Hunter 

 

Bats at Reserva Playa Tortuga

Picture this: you're a fruit bat in Costa Rica, hanging from the holes in the center of leaves from a invasive banana tree. At night, you fly though the air, searching for insects and delicioso fruit.

Birdwatching at Reserva Playa Tortuga

Time flies by so quickly- today is already our day 3 volunteering at the reserve! In the morning, when it is still not too hot outside, we went for a birdwatching walk. Josue, a worker here took us on the walk and taught us a lot about the birds. Starting from 7 am, we went on a trail surrounded by plants and animals. 

We each got binoculars to observe closely at the birds, and Josue brought a camera to take pictures of birds. 

As we were walking, we could hear a tweet-tweet sound of Chestnut-Backed Antbird. They are small and black, and they usually stay in couples. Josue told us that sometimes if we copy their tweet-tweet sound, the male Antbird will come out to check the sound. 

We walked past a river where some rocks and logs are, to find some more birds. We were able to see some bigger birds: Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, and Bare-throated Tiger-Herons. Tricolored Herons looked mostly grey except for their beaks and legs. Little Blue Herons looked a bit similar to Tricolored Herons, but their feathers will change to white in winter. Snowy Egrets on the other hand are white at all times. Bare-throated Tiger-Herons are interesting because when they are kids, their feathers are brown, but once they grow up, their feathers will turn grayish-blue. We also saw some Kingfishers, which were small green birds.

Although we couldn't take any pictures, we were very lucky to spot a toucan flying. 

Later, we walked down to the beach. I found some footprints on the sand which would likely to be from a Heron. We were also able to find a Masked Tityra on a tree nearby the beach. It was mostly white, but had some black parts, and some pink around its eyes. 

We didn't see any on the birdwatching walk, but I saw two Macaws earlier in the morning on a high tree. 

I was surprised by how Josue knows so well about birds. And in the conversation during the walk, he told us that he was a local, and had been watching the birds since he was a kid. So, whenever he heard a sound of a bird or see it from far away, he knew what species it was.

I really enjoyed today's birdwatching. It was an amazing experience for all of us in Costa Rica. I never really had a chance to look closely at birds before, so I am very glad that we had such a chance. 

Thank you, Josue, for sharing your knowledge and time with us!

By Rika

Butterflies in Reserve Playa Tortuga

Caligos

As one of the activities today, we went to the butterfly garden. We cleaned the cages of the larvae, changed the plants that they eat, counted the larvae to make sure they were safe, and learned about the butterflies, their eggs, and their babies.

Sara, a worker at RPT, told us about the three types of butterflies in their butterfly garden: Morpho, Caligo, and Siproeta.

Morphos are blue, and their eggs are big. Their pupae are green, and the caterpillars have yellow spots.

Caligos have patterns of an eye on each wing. Their pupae and larvae look like dry leaves. Their eggs are white and small.

Siproetas

Siproetas have orange and white wings. The larvae are black with orange spots. Their eggs are really small and look like watermelons. Their pupae are light green and also have orange spots.

We petted the larvae, and they were soft. But the babies were delicate, so we used a paintbrush to move them while cleaning the cages and changing the leaves. We also gave the butterflies some fruit because they haven't planted enough flowers for them yet.

Every afternoon, the volunteers pick up the eggs. The eggs are very small and hard to find. Some of them are behind the leaves or between the leaves.

I really enjoyed taking care of the butterflies and larvae.

~ Yumi ~

Siproetas eggs