So Much Bug Spray: La Tortuga Feliz

This entry is part of the week we spent volunteering at La Tortuga Feliz (a turtle conservation project), near Bataan, Costa Rica.

2:05 AM
Writing by red light at the hatchery
La Tortuga Feliz (Near Bataan, Costa Rica)
I got up for the 2AM shift at the hatchery. Other shifts had turtles come out in the night (43, then 4, then 4), so I may see 1-2 this morning, or maybe more, guess there’s no way to know these things in advance.
Seems like the dogs did more barking last night than I can remember from other nights. Also felt hotter and muggier to me attempting to sleep. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, which I think was actually my body’s response (defending itself against the stuff which may be growing in the pillow or the mattress). I’d sleep in the hammock the rest of the time I’m here, but the 2 ½ hours I spent in hammock resulted in lots of little bites (fleas?) all along my back. So, no more hammock.

Bug bites on Melinda’s Leg

The water is also dripping through the plastic covering the hatchery onto my head, so I’m moving out under the stars which are, once again, some of the best I have ever seen.

8:30 AM
Slept about an hour and a half after my 2-6 shift at the hatchery. It was simply too hot to sleep this morning. I carried breakfast over to Carrie at the school (she has guard duty), which is maybe 600 yards, but a long way in beach sand holding two covered plates of food. She had thought I would be sleeping this morning, so she had someone else bring her breakfast already. So I carried both plates of food back since the plate I carried was for someone else, and I ate here at the project. I saw a couple of pigs on the beach (weird). I learned that they belong to one of the locals and must have gotten out, or been let out to forage on the beach.

6:30 PM
Writing under solar powered light at the main hacienda
Spanish twice today and was feeling really funny in my stomach tonight. Carrie and I agree that it must be the mold that’s growing in various places around here. I learned from Robert today that they have the mattresses sprayed every 12 weeks and get new pillows at the beginning of each season, but we’re here at the end of the season, so that’s why the pillows are a bit yicky – and they’ll get new ones soon. Knowing the money we’re spending on Spanish classes here goes to sponsor schoolchildren (who might be eating turtle eggs at home now or become poachers in the future) to come here and get educated from a first-hand experience makes me happy to be taking an intensive Spanish course. I feel like I’d need to take the course 3-4 times before it would really soak in, but that’s language… it just takes time and attention and practice, practice, practice. Robert is an excited and passionate teacher and a much different style than I’m used to. I would prefer an immersion class (a class conducted entirely in Spanish), but since we’re covering so much stuff in such a short amount of time, this may be the best option.

I have never used so much bug spray or been bitten so many times in such a short amount of time. Also, I had forgotten to put on deodorant in the time I’ve been here, but I had been showering at least once daily. However, by day 5, I was really surprised at just how strong I smelled. I went back from Spanish classes at the school (where I noticed I smelled so bad) and put on deodorant. After that, I could actually stand myself. So I’m sure others felt the same, even if they didn’t say anything.

This entry is part of the week we spent volunteering at La Tortuga Feliz (a turtle conservation project), near Bataan, Costa Rica. La Tortuga Feliz is an ecovolunteering program where the money paid by volunteers provides an experience with protecting turtles from poaching and taking part in new turtle life (hatching new turtles, measuring them, and releasing them into the ocean). Income from volunteers (which is minimal, considering what it goes to take care of) supports a community which has depended on turtles as a way of life for hundreds of years. This wouldn’t be a problem (eating and selling turtle meat and eggs), except that the species of turtles which are being poached are all on the brink of extinction. We spent 7 days at La Tortuga Feliz and have shared our experience here (in case you’d perhaps like to volunteer, and/or) in case you’re researching things you might want to know before going to La Tortuga Feliz. This journal was written on paper and later transferred to typed text to post on the site. If you want to see all of our pictures (over 300 from La Tortuga Feliz), visit our pictures page.

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Related posts:

1. Kayaking at La Tortuga Feliz
2. Should You Come To La Tortuga Feliz?
3. It’s Turtle Time! Hatching Turtles at La Tortuga Feliz
4. Raking Leaves And Tarantula At La Tortuga Feliz
5. La Tortuga Feliz: First Impressions

TAGS: bugs, Costa Rica, La Tortuga Feliz, mosquitoes, tortugas, Travel, turtle preservation, unique, volunteer program