Hola a todos, mi nombre es James Evaluarjuk, I’m going to be telling you about one of the best and heartwarming memories I had in Costa Rica. One night we were able to participate in a Tortuga patrol (Turtle). Turtle patrols happen every-day usually after dark between 7-12 at night. We were told no loud noises or bright coloured clothes. You use a Red light and be quiet and bring lots of water.

Our patrol was from 8:00- 10:00PM and there was about twenty-three people. It was warm but a cool night. The first responders went out on electric bikes to move faster than the group to search. We began walking from Cirenas and headed toward the hatchery. There are markers on the beach to know where we are on the beach and to show miles. We walked in a straight line parallel to each other, looking back and forth on the ground for signs of turtles coming on the beach. It was important to use the red light at this time. The normal white light hurts their eyes and might scare them off. We stopped at the nursery and continued on to markers numbered 19-20. We waited for about 30 minutes to get a text from the first responders if there was a turtle sighted. After 30 minutes we were told that we had to head back to Cirenas. We weren’t going to see a turtle that night. As we were walking back to the nursery there was a text saying TORTUGA. Hurry!

So, Vamos! James (a volunteer) and I started running to the first responders. We were the first to get there. We had to walk around and wait for the signal that we could come see the turtle in small groups.  The turtle laid ninety-six eggs that were collected by the first responders and we all walked back to the nursery.  They were put in a hole how the turtle would make it for the eggs. They will hatch in about one month. It was very rare for a person to see a turtle their first patrol. Some people were there for one month and had not seen any turtles. I felt very honoured to be a part of what they do to help the turtle species survive. 

Thanks for reading my blog y’all this was one of the best times I had in Costa Rica. Pure Vida/live life.