Our home here in Costa Rica is one of a sublime sort of beauty. A beauty based off of a raging Caribbean shoreline, a sky full of stars that occasionally shoot and sparkle above our heads, and endless lightning storms during the night. It is a terrifying yet wondrous type of beauty. Our work here seems to parallel the intensity and perfection of the nature that surrounds us. While our labor is long and exhausting, it is also rewarding and spectacular.
Getting to hold a baby turtle during its first moments of life and watching its first flaps into the crashing waves of the ocean is one of the many things that are awe-inspiring here. Moments like that where there is pure joy amongst all members of the group is what makes the tedious and tiring 4 hour late night walks searching for turtles worth the pain. One night in particular, June 4, 2013, was one of the most difficult yet rewarding nights of my EDventure thus far. I had the 10:30-2:30 AM shift with Taylor and our guide Daevi. I was feeling sick, but I still really wanted to walk because I didn’t want to let the group, myself, or the turtles down. We decided on going 30 minutes more and then we’d turn back. 30 minutes turned into an hour, and an hour into two.
Before I knew it we had completed the entire four hours and an extra 30 minutes as requested by our guide. Something hit me during those “30 minutos mas” that I was supposed to turn around after. All I was thinking was “I have to turn around” and how to say it in Spanish. I was so focused on myself. I’m not here to focus on me and my problems but to aid in fixing the problems of others. I stopped thinking about how I was feeling and started thinking of how there could be a turtle up ahead that we could save and how if we turned around we wouldn’t be able to. I charged on with the help of much needed support from Taylor and thoughts of my long walks on the beach with friends from home. Finally, we had completed our shift and made it through. And while my efforts were not rewarded that night and we didn’t see a turtle, the reward came days later.
During my hatchery shift, I released nearly 100 baby turtles into their vast new home of the ocean. The night after that, following an amazing conversation with the person who has inspired me the most here, Christy, I caught 100 eggs of una loca tortuga underneath the most beautiful lightning show I’ve ever seen.
In those moments, the endless nights of walking and sweating were immediately worth it. That night where I struggled the most, while it didn’t necessarily result in much progress for turtles, made me realize how important a strong mentality is and that the work we do here is truly based on what we make of it.
– Vanessa Greaves
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