If you’re planning on taking a trip to Costa Rica, you’ve arrived at the right place: here are all my best spots ! I spent 6 months travelling there by myself and absolutely loved every second of my stay. I knew almost nothing about this country and hadn’t planned anything, I just followed my heart and intuition and stumbled upon amazing places to volunteer, go to the beach, hike or chill in cheap hostels.
Max Ernst« What do you do in life? » It’s a very simple and casual question. But also one that tells about our identity and our role in society. We usually answer with our job. It makes sense. Well… we used to answer that. Was that making any sense?
I started writing this article several months BC (Before Coronavirus), and I’m surprised to acknowledge how quick the mechanisms I was trying to demonstrate here have been revealed by this virus that forces us to drastically slow down and stop all of our permanent restlessness.
In our community farm « The Lavra », we don’t host volunteers (or wwoofers) all year long. We prefer to set up a volunteers’ week and gather a group of people to help us boost the farm’s projects. At the top left of the picture are Steve and Kayou who created this place in 2012.
When I was in Costa Rica, I volunteered in two different sea turtle camps. The first one (see this article) is situated on the Pacific coast in Playa Cabuyal. This camp is operated by an American non-profit (The Leatherback Trust). It doesn’t welcome people outside of the biologists and volunteers working on site. The second camp I went is situated on the Atlantic coast, near Tortuguero National Park. This one, called Estacion Las Tortugas, is open to the public, it is an environmental educational center raising awareness about this endangered species.
NB: Leatherback turtles belong to the same group as the Prehistoric Archelon, a species that swam in the ocean 70 million years ago. While Archon measured 13 feet long, Leatherbacks can reach 10 feet and weigh up to 2.000 pounds.
This is my first day at the Butterfly Conservatory, located in El Castillo, Costa Rica. I leave the volunteers’ house and climb up the dirt road with the Arenal volcano at my back. I arrive at the reception at 8 o’clock sharp.
Is saving endangered turtles your dream? I’ve done it. (Thank you Juliette, thank you Javi!) In February 2018, I had the chance to work for 6 weeks as a volunteer, along with the Leatherback Trust Foundation’s team of biologists.
During the weeks I worked as a volunteer at the Butterfly Conservatory, I lived in the small village of El Castillo, southwest of the Arenal Volcano.
I have been working as a volunteer in a sea turtle research camp for a month. Tonight I’m on the second shift with Javi, the Spanish coordinator.
Learning from landscapes 