Costa Rica: A Week of Sea Turtle Conservation
About the trip
This past August we held a week-long volunteer conservation project in Costa Rica, in collaboration with WorldPackers. We had the chance to volunteer at Tortugas de Isla Damas, a sea turtle conservation association on the Pacific coast, right outside of Quepos.
Giving back to the places we travel to has always been a core part of what we do. It's easy for tourism to take a lot from a community and leave very little behind, and we continue to seek out opportunities to do the opposite. Eco-tourism and hands-on projects like this one are exactly the kind of travel we want more of. So, when we had the opportunity to spend a week volunteering on a conservation project, we jumped at it.
It was no doubt an unforgettable experience and a trip we'll be talking about forever! Below I talk about sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica, the project itself, and what our week looked like in Isla Damas.
Why Sea Turtle Conservation in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, and is known for its commitment to environmental conservation. It is home to five of the world's seven species of sea turtles: the Green Sea Turtle, Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Hawksbill, and the Loggerhead. However, in recent years, like many species on our planet, these sea turtles have faced numerous threats, including habitat destruction, industrial fishing, the illegal trade of turtle eggs, and plastic pollution.
Conserving and protecting sea turtles goes beyond just protecting their species, as sea turtles play an important role in the biodiversity of their entire ecosystem. Sea turtles help to maintain healthy coral reef systems and seagrass beds, which store carbon, and they help to transport essential nutrients to the beaches, helping to prevent coastal erosion. Beyond the environmental benefits, the conservation of sea turtles can also benefit the local economy. Many local communities surrounding a conservation project depend on it for their jobs and income.
In Costa Rica and around the world, when a mother sea turtle is ready to lay her eggs, which she does roughly 2 to 8 times each season, she exits the water at night and climbs onto the beach and finds a suitable nesting area, digs a hole, lays her eggs, covers them back up, and then returns to the sea. The number of eggs laid depends on the species, but on average each nest can contain up to 110 eggs.
So, you may be wondering: why are sea turtles endangered if turtles lay SO many eggs? The reason is that only about 1 in every 1,000 baby sea turtles reaches adulthood. Every sea turtle, from the moment it hatches, has an extraordinary and challenging journey to the sea. Hatchlings face many natural risks on their way to the ocean, including being snatched by birds and crabs, and then once in the water, they can be eaten by larger predators. Beyond natural threats, human activity also poses a threat. Turtle eggs, meat, and shells have been in high demand in many societies for over a century. Although poaching turtle eggs is highly illegal, it still goes on in many communities today, which we unfortunately witnessed numerous times while volunteering here.
About Tortugas de Isla Damas
Isla Damas is a coastal community near Quepos on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. It is a well-known area for protecting and studying endangered sea turtles. "Tortugas de Isla Damas" is a conservation project founded in 2014 by "Milo" Francisco Duran Parra.
Milo and his family work mainly by themselves, and rely on volunteers and eco-tourism to keep this conservation project alive, as they receive no government funding. The associations mission is to conserve sea turtle populations by protecting turtle eggs and educating the community on turtle conservation. Since 2014, 115,000 turtle eggs have been rescued and 109,000 turtles have been released into the ocean.
Tortugas de Isla Damas' main conservation activities include:
Beach Patrol & Nest Monitoring: Volunteers walk the beach at nighttime looking for turtles laying eggs, then collect the nests to protect them from animal predators and illegal poachers.
Every night around 8:00 PM we'd head out to walk the beach with Milo, looking for turtles coming up from the water to lay their eggs. We'd cover about 4 miles, Milo out front with his red light and what we swore was night vision. It was usually pitch black, but somehow he could always spot a turtle.
The egg poachers were out every night too, zooming past us on dirt bikes and ATVs, racing to be the first to find a nest. There was an unofficial rule that whoever reached a nest first got to collect the eggs. A few of the poachers knew Milo, and if they beat us to one they'd sell it to him, sometimes for as little as $20 USD.
When we did find a turtle coming up from the water, we'd follow quietly behind her to her nesting spot and give her space while she dug her hole and laid and buried her eggs. Then we'd follow her back down to the ocean. That night we'd dig the eggs back up, and the next morning rebury them in the nursery.
Turtle Egg Nursery: Each nest is re-buried in the nursery and monitored. When the eggs hatch 45-60 days later, the baby sea turtles are released back into the ocean.
Tortugas de Isla Damas has two nurseries, each with over 100 nest spots, although not all are active at the same time. Milo and volunteers have to replace the sand every couple of years because bacteria and fungus build up in it over time. As nests hatch season after season, leftover material from old eggs and hatchlings raises the microbial levels in the sand, and that lowers how many eggs successfully hatch. Swapping in fresh sand keeps the hatch rate high. A nest is re-buried the day after collection, then a mesh wire fence is placed around it and it is tagged. The turtles will typically hatch 45-60 days later.
On the right, Milo digs up a recently hatched nest to check for hatchlings that didn't make it to the top
Turtle Release: Once a nest hatches in the nursery, the hatchlings are carried down to the shoreline, and set loose to make their own way to the water. Volunteers and guests get to watch dozens of tiny turtles scramble toward the waves for the very first time!
This was by far one of the coolest and most exciting activities we got to participate in. We were very lucky to take part in about half a dozen turtle releases while we were there. Once a nest hatched, we would go in with gloves, collect the turtles into a basket, carry them down to the ocean, and let them go.
Research and Education: Scientific research on sea turtle behavior and migration helps conservationists continuously improve their preservation efforts. Additionally, engaging locals and tourists alike in conservation efforts is crucial to maintaining a successful project. We even took part in a beach clean-up one day.
This was an incredible project and opportunity to be apart of and share with our guests. Along with supporting conservation efforts, we were also able to explore this beautiful area of Costa Rica. Below I go into more detail on what our trip looked like!
Getting There
"It's about the journey, not the destination." Boy, was that applicable to this trip! (But I would argue the destination was just as exciting.) Most of us arrived in San José the night before the start of the trip and stayed in a hotel since the journey to Isla Damas was quite long. On the morning of the start of the trip, we headed to the bus terminal in San José (Tracopa) and bought a ticket to Quepos. The bus ride was approximately 3-4 hours long and made one stop to go to the bathroom and get snacks.
Once we arrived in Quepos, we took a taxi to the river crossing that would take us to Isla Damas. At the river crossing, we got on a boat that drove us over to the other side, which took about two minutes. Once on the other side, we were met by a taxi driver, who told us to climb up into the bed of his truck with our luggage and hold on! And after five different modes of transportation, we arrived at Tortugas de Isla Damas.
Our Stay
I would say the description we were given of an "off-grid" stay was fairly accurate, minus the very strong Wi-Fi we had. Despite being warned it would be an off-grid stay, I don't think we were all truly prepared for what that really meant. We stayed in a cabin with three bunk rooms, a small sitting area, an outdoor kitchen setup, and two bathrooms. There was no AC or hot water, and plenty of critters that weaseled their way into our home. I would say the hardest part was no AC (us Americans are a bit spoiled with our AC) but sleeping with an ice pack on my head made it work!
We were quite literally steps from the ocean and had a beautiful beach in our backyard that was virtually empty. The property had space to spread out, hammocks to chill in, and a small pool. And the nearest store was a 20-minute taxi ride, 2-minute ferry ride, and 10 minute-walk! All of that to say, it was really all we needed. Getting to spend so much time outside and by the ocean, disconnected from the hustle and bustle of the world, was amazing.
We had three delicious meals a day, made by Sonia—Milo's wife—and his son, Kevin. They cooked for not only our group but all of the volunteers staying on the project. We all ate together in their outdoor kitchen. Sonia was excellent about being able to accommodate dietary restrictions, and we even did a cooking class with her. Milo and his family couldn't have been more welcoming, and we'll always be grateful for how generously they shared their home, their food, and their time with us.
Exploring Isla Damas & Quepos
Along with an incredible volunteer experience at Tortugas de Isla Damas, we also had the chance to take part in a lot of other unforgettable activities: a surf lesson, horseback riding, a day trip to Nauyaca Waterfall, a cooking class, a crocodile tour, and a trip to the Quepos market.
Surf Lessons
We each got a two-hour surf lesson with Miguel! Miguel owns Miguel Surf Camp, a surf school and retreat spot right on Playa Isla Damas. Over the course of two mornings, half of the group took ATVs down to his surf school for a morning of surfing. For some of us it was our first time, and others had surfed before. Either way, Miguel did a great job tailoring his coaching to each person's level. We started the morning with some stretching and a bit of theory, then quickly got into the water right in front of his surf school. We had so much fun that some of us even went back a second day in our free time!
Horse Back Riding
On days three and four of our stay we all went horseback riding, split into two separate groups on two separate mornings. We did our ride with Isla Damas HorseBack Riding, right in Isla Damas, and again took ATVs to get to the stables. We went on an incredible ride all the way down the beach to our guide's uncle's house, where we stopped for a drink and fresh fruit. He gave us a tour of the property, showing us all the different fruit his uncle grows, before we got back on the horses and headed back. He also let us gallop down the beach, which was a first for many of us and an incredible feeling.
On the way out and back we stopped at a watering hole to let the horses drink. We'd originally assumed it was fresh water, but learned it was a mix of fresh and salt. Turns out horses lose a lot of salt when they sweat, and the sodium in slightly salty water actually triggers their thirst and helps them replace what they've lost, so a bit of brackish water is fine for them. The horses were extremely well behaved and great for riders of any experience level.
Nauyaca Waterfall
We had one free day on the trip where we were given a few different activity options to choose from. We all decided we wanted to go to Nauyaca Waterfall, and what a great decision!
On the morning of our excursion, we took taxis down the beach to the river crossing, where a van was waiting for us on the opposite side. On the way to the waterfall we stopped at a grocery store to grab snacks and drinks for the day, then drove about an hour and a half before reaching the park. Since Nauyaca sits inside a nature park, we had to stop at the entrance to pay and get our wristbands. Our driver then took us down to the trailhead.
We hiked in to the waterfall, roughly a 2.5 mile hike, and saw a handful of wildlife along the way including howler monkeys and a toucan. You could also pay for a ride in and out, which we did on the way back since it had gotten extremely hot. The waterfall itself was breathtaking, a double falls, though I could only really see both tiers once I got my drone up. We swam, hung out, and did some cliff jumping.
For most of us, the cliff jumping was the most thrilling part of the day. Two guides who worked at the waterfall opened it up to us at one point. One of them climbed to the top of the falls and set up a rope that ran down the face, then one guide stayed up top and the other at the bottom while we climbed the waterfall on the rope with their help. I'm not sure about everyone else, but that was easily the most intense climb to a cliff jumping spot I've ever done, with the water pounding in your face so you couldn't see anything and everything slippery. Once at the top, we had an exhilarating 30 foot drop to the water below.
Cooking Class with Sonia
On one of our last days at Tortugas de Isla Damas we did a cooking class with Sonia, who taught us how to make patacones with fresh guacamole. We started with the guacamole, then moved on to the patacones. First we cut the plantains into slices and pressed them in a presser, then fried them on the stove and took them off to cool. Once they'd cooled we spread the guacamole on top, and it was delicious!
Crocodile Tour
We went on a crocodile tour through the Damas estuary with one of the ferry drivers who takes people back and forth across the river crossing. We saw numerous American crocodiles along with a handful of birds, including a great blue heron, a neotropic cormorant, and a white ibis.
We had only one scare, when the little dog riding along on our boat jumped off and lunged at a crocodile resting on the shore. I think it gave us all a mini heart attack, but luckily the crocodile got startled and swam off, and the dog came back.
Quepos Farmers Market
We went into town to visit the Quepos farmers market. There were farmers selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, coffee, really anything. Along with food there were also local vendors selling jewelry, clothes, and other trinkets. It was fun to experience the local market and pick up some local food and souvenirs.
Interested in getting involved?
If you are interested in volunteering with Tortugas de Isla Damas, please check out their Facebook page or contact Milo on WhatsApp at +506 8777 8880.
If you are interested in joining one of our upcoming trips check out our trips here: Nomad Collective Upcoming Trips. We are heading to a lot of cool places this year and would love for you to join us :)
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