Day 26 March 30th - Burgers

We went to one of the local pubs before night patrol to get some burgers because we felt we NEEDED junk food! Night Patrol with Claire and Fer turned out to be the wettest one yet, I got that soaked I looked like I had gone swimming!!! luckily tomorrow is the last day of the rainy season!! Despite the rain it was also the funniest night patrol yet! 

Day 25 March 29th - Punishment

Victor and I had to do the morning nest check after our Cacique filled evening. To make things even worse it was a scorching hot morning with no breeze. On the upside it helped Victor with his english lessons!! He now knows the meanings of the words regret and punishment!!  

Day 24 March 28th - Cacique Fuelled Uno

Maddie, Victor, Fer and I had the night off so we decided to indulge in some Cacique and Uno fun in the library. We decided to take a photo using the self timer. As you can see the results were quite comical.

Day 23 March 27th - Swimming

We all had the afternoon off today so we went down to the neighbouring lodge to have a dip in their pool. Its been SO hot the  last few days it was just what we needed. They have a butterfly house too but it was closed so we are going to go back sometime so we can see lots of Blue Morphos and attempt to get pictures. They never seem to stay still long enough!

Day 22 March 26th - Wildlife in the Kitchen

When I went down for breakfast this morning there was an owl butterfly just hanging out by the window in the kitchen. It didn't seem to mind the constant attention it got and stayed there all morning. It was a beautiful blue colour on the inside of its wings and it was huge!

Day 21 March 25th - Hanging With The Locals

This photo is courtesy of Sam one of the bird banders and his AMAZING camera.  He was hanging out in one of the trees just right beside our bedrooms (The sloth not sam)! We seem to be having a lot of luck with wildlife sightings!!

Day 20 March 24th - Sangria

After three nights out on Patrol I finally have a night off! Maddie and I have decided we want to make sangria! With help from everyone we made tropical sangria, but according to the Spanish boys it wasn't up to scratch so we have given Raul orders to make it for us next time!!

Day 19 March 23rd - We are Official

We finally got our official ID cards from the National Park. We have to wear them on every night patrol and every track survey. Now all we need is our official t-shirts!

Day 18 March 22nd - Checking our Nest

We had to check our nest the next morning to make sure we had marked it properly the night before. When we triangulated the measurements we had a nice small triangle.

Day 17 March 21st - BAULA!!!!!

I feel today deserves two pictures as it was that exciting!!! WE SAW OUR FIRST TURTLE!!!!!! As you can see in my lovely drawings I put up on the whiteboard in the kitchen as soon as we got back, we were able to mark the nest as well as tag the turtle!

It was our first night patrol without Cata (our Co-ordinator) and we were luck enough to see the turtle 28 minutes into patrol! she was just emerging when we saw her so we got to watch the entire nesting process. I got to tag her which meant I placed the first tag of this season!!!

Day 16 March 20th - Detox

My camera has recently been turning the white areas of photos pink!! So I have a feeling its on deaths door!!!  To try and save it from a potential disaster Raul suggested putting it with a silica gel bag thing to see if it will draw out some of the moisture. Turns out my camera likes the humidity about as much as I do!!!! Hopefully it can be saved! 

Day 15 March 19th - Spanish Lessons

Someone found this amazing book in the library and thought I could use it!! I'm going to be way cool once I've learnt these phrases!!!! So far the one we have found most amusing is  Tengo un hambre de lobo.

Day 14 March 18th - Canal Tour

Today was a long day! We have finally split up in to different teams for monitoring work. My team got to do a canal tour early this morning. We were up super early but it was worth it we saw cute frogs, lots of bird, howler monkeys, spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys. Night patrol again tonight!

Day 13 March 17th - Back to Civilisation

We are back at the station today after a very wet boat ride, and boy are we glad to be back! Dry for the first time in 3 day, no mozzies, running water and best of all Juanita's amazing cooking. As we have the night off we are going to celebrate St Patrick's Day in the traditional way, by drinking Tequila of course!!

Day 12 March 16th - Eaten Alive!

Still in Jalova at the Rangers Hut. I think I have been bitten by mosquitoes more times in the last 24hrs than in my entire life!!! Off to face the crocodiles again tonight, nothing like a little adrenaline to get me through a 6 mile walk in the dark!

Day 11 March 15th - Jalova

What a day today has been!!! We headed to mile 18 to do night patrols to see if we could get more luck with the turtles. We are staying at the Rangers Station, which is in the process of being repaired. Theres no running water among other things, we have to get water out of the crocodile filled river to flush the toilet! Makes us appreciate our station!! Night patrol was terrifying!!! We were stalked by a jaguar, and had to wait to be picked up by the boat at two in the morning while being watched by hungry crocodiles in the river! Oh and STILL NO turtles!!!

Day 10 March 14th - Dancing!

We have a pretty empty day training wise today. We spent the morning making our data boards. Tonight we have the night off so we are going out dancing! Surprisingly there is a discotecha!

Day 9 March 13th - Recycled

We went to visit the local recycling plant in Tortuguero town today. For such a small community they have a very impressive recycling program.  They recycle everything, they even grow plants using the compost they make. 

Day 8 March 12th - Coconut Eggs

So we had the fun task today of seeing how well we were able to find the 'nests' we had marked earlier in the week.  We found our coconut in no time!! But I dare say it will be as easy measuring in the dark while being covered in sand by a Baula (leatherback) !!!

Day 7 March 11th - High Fashions Night Patrol Style

Apparently I look like I'm about to go on a crime spree in my sexy night patrol getup! Night patrol numero cuatro tonight! So after 25 miles, numerous downpours, a handful of falls, very wet shoes and one set of turtle tracks we still haven't had our first Baula (leatherback) sighting!!!

Day 6 March 10th - lluvia

Today I found out that even paradise gets rain, and when it rains boy does it rain!!! We almost have our own swimming pool out the front!

Day 5 March 9th - Pizza and Cocktails

We had the night off so we went out for dinner for some group bonding! I had the biggest daiquiri I have ever seen, and the pizza was delicious!!!! From left to right Raul, Victor, Catalina, Maddie, Angela, Claire, Me, Elias (missing from the picture is Fernando).

Day 4 March 8th - Prime Nesting Beach

This is our nesting beach that we patrol. It goes for miles and miles but we only patrol 5 miles during night patrols. Every third day we do track surveys up to mile marker 18. We spent today pretending to be turtles and burying coconuts so we could practice marking nests. It's quite different to how we did it in Greece.

Day 3 March 7th - Yo Pinto

We were up early to make a start on painting the mile markers on the beach. We had to replace lost markers and repaint old markers. Estudiado espanol en la playa. It was also a great chance to learn spanish.

Day 2 March 6th - Back to the Classroom

Today was the start of our two week training programme. After that watch out tortugas (turtles), oh and eco-volunteers!!!!!!

Day 1 March 5th - Home Sweet Home

Our first day was travelling from San Jose to Tortuguero, our new home for the next 3 months! It took two bus journeys  and a boat ride through the jungle but we finally got there.