Trinity / Assumption Costa Rica Trip 2023

 

 

  An exciting night of turtle sweeps last night. This is the first time a Trinity group has seen a nesting turtle (out of 8 years of coming down here). We originally met up at the beach and took two separate groups in opposite directions in hopes that we could find some turtles. One group was fortunate to find a False Crawl tracks (a first as well), which is when a sea turtle comes ashore and then back out to sea. The other group discovered tracks on their way back and we all met up to see what was going on. When we arrived, the turtle had already laid her eggs and we watched her retreat to the sea. We then watched our guide dig up the nest and secure 90 eggs to be put in the hatchery. What an amazing experience. 

 Today, we started with our last meal at Finca La Anita. It's crazy to think that today was the last day we'll have the rice and beans that we have had for breakfast for the past 8 days. After another lovely breakfast, we loaded all of our packed bags onto the bus to travel to Playa Junquillal to hang out and learn about marine turtles. The bus ride to the beach was so interesting, as we got to see a Guanacaste tree, as well as the varied landscape. We learned that the Guanacaste tree is what the region of Costa Rica that we are in is named after. We also learned that it is protected and can't be cut down. It crazy to think that so much variety can be so present in such a small (by land area) country! Upon arrival, we ate a lovely lunch of pizza. The pizza was so amazing, yet so filling that we all wanted to eat more, but were too full! At the beach, we went to the Verdiazul hatchery for marine turtles. The woman that runs the hatchery shared so much information about the t...

      First we all woke up a bit earlier than normal because we had more to pack for the day. We all went up for breakfast where we had beans, rice, toast, and cereal. As soon as we finished eating, we said our farewells to the staff of Seeds of Change, and got into the bus. We only made one stop for some snacks, and back into the bus. Overall, the bus ride was three hours when we arrived. We settled into the rooms and went to lunch where we had some awesome pizza. We finished eating and got ready for the beach. We met with the sea turtle biologist and where introduced to what we will be doing and some info on the turtles. Finally, we where able to get into the water at the beach. The waves where very large so we didn't go far. We all just had fun being knocked over by the waves. After about an hour and a half, we rinsed off and got into the pool. Shortly after, we cleaned up and ate dinner, where we had chicken, rice, beans, and plantains. As it got dark, we prepared for...

Take a look at a new queen Atta cephalotes ant. She just recently came back from the nuptial flight and is now feeding on some fungus garden we got from the field.