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In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the caiman sleeps tonight (while I walk the beach!)
San Francisco De Tortuguero, Costa Rica
In the morning with Khrissy feeling better we headed to the mainland ready for our huge journey. Feeling bittersweet (sad and excited for the jungle and turtles) we got a boat, boat, taxi, bus, bus, walked, bus, taxi, bus, bus boat and boat! And after 10 hours we finally arrived at San Fransico, a small village only accessible through small canals by boats. This was by far the most remote place I have been so far, with no roads or cars the locals use a small canal network to more from town to town and walk within the villages. The biological station where I was staying was even more remote using just kayaks up the river to get there. Here there are no emergency services, post or cell phone services. Luckily the staion has internet access some how!
Here I was introduced to the current team at the station. It was managed by Charlotte an ex-pat and ran with Khrissy and Aiden. There were also four long term and 10 short term interns all from Canada so there was plenty of people to spend time with. Everyone was really nice but after no sleep the night before and a 10 hour journey I headed to bed, however not before been introduced to Juancho (the camp caiman - meaning he is living in the camp not that he is slightly effeminate as my father asked me to clear up!), giant spiders and poisonous snakes! As my decision to come here was rather spur of the moment and I didn't really ask any questions been placed in a slightly less glamourous version of 'I'm a Celebrity' didn't cross my mind! Luckily I was so tired I managed to sleep while the reality kicked in.
After waking up and truely realising turtles weren't the only living things I would encounter during my stay in the jungle I decided to man-up and get over it. If other people were here for years it really couldn't be that bad. So after talking to Brice (a California guy who is definitely the new Steve Irwin) I learnt about the animals that were around and how to avoid getting bitten or any unwanted contact. I also learnt the camp caiman was friendly as he had been swimming with him earlier. After having basic training for all the skills needed on the night walks I had dinner and get ready for the first patrol. To get to the beach we needed to cross the canal. At night with no lights the canal became an even scarier place! Especially when you are thrown in at the deep end and have to paddle over alone so the other team could have a boat. Again I just did it without thinking that I was in the dark on a caiman, snake and various other digusting creatures infested canal and got to the dock on the other side as quickly as I could. Once here we started our partrol. Walking in a line the leader would point out any logs or debris on the ground as we weren't allowed any form of flash lights so the poachers couldn't see us. After adjusting to this I really enjoyed the walks. We walked minimum 6 miles or so each patrol stopping to examine different turtle tracks, measure turtles, help them nest, count eggs, trianglate nests ready for extravation and putting off the poachers. During the patrol throughout the week I saw three types of turtle (which apparently is super lucky and some people don't see any!). I saw a green, leatherback and hawksville with some of the leatherbacks nearly at 2m long (shell length!). I loved helping measure and tag the turtles and watching them get safely back to the ocean without been poached! I also took part in morning patrols where we looked for hatchlings and signs of poaching in the nest. I didn't see any hatchlings but this is even more rare as they normally hatch at night.
On patrol I learnt alot about the different species, nesting patterns, identifying species, counting eggs and how to collect data. Alongside this I manage to conker many daft fears about insects and bugs and the dark! I also learnt about the local community, different mammals in the area such as the passing monkeys and other animals in camp alongside the negative aspect and the major problem of poaching. This is a major problem within the 3 days I did night patrol, despite our prescene for the whole night apart from 2 hours 3 turtles were lifted for meat and leather and numerous nests raided for eggs.
Apart from just work I managed to celebrate both Canada day and the American Independence Day (intregating myself with the various cultures) in the local village. The pathways were all grass with small little sodas (cafes) and a bar. We sat on the waters edge on the canal side then walked over to the bar and relaxed on hammocks with machacha music playing! The whole experience in the village was very relaxing and easy going and totally different to anywhere I've ever been before, it was definitely off the beaten tourist track which was nice!
I truely enjoyed my experience at Cano Palma, despite the 100s of insect bites and bruises from turtle flippers, stubbed toes from the pitch black night patrols and extremely close lightening and torrential rain storms on the beach! It was definitely worth every minuet. Here is the stations website if you or someone you know may want to voluteer, they desperately need more help! http://www.coterc.org/
After a lots of hard work onto the next location Manuel Antonio! But first to pick up my belongings in San Jose as I though I was only going for 3 days not 10!
- comments
Robert Day I am really truly jealous of you now Anna. Helping out at a place like this is something I love the idea of, but fear that I'm far too chicken to ever do. I helped out at a study centre in Scotland once, does that count? You are packing so many amazing experiences into your trip, keep at it, I'm enthralled.
Anna Thank you! Yes Scotland definatly counts! And it really isn't that bad after the first night, you just get used to it! It has definately done me some good been less of a drama queen with living things!