Costa Rica, Take Two
Disclaimer: This is a rather long post for a short week because it is jam-packed with some great highlights for us as a family! I’m adding subtitles and pictures to help selective readers…you know who you are 😊
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We spent our 6th week revisiting one of our favorite locations—Costa Rica! It’s just that this time was totally different…
Last year, we visited Costa Rica as tourists. We stayed in two extremely nice places, Arenas del Mar in Manuel de Antonio and a VRBO luxury villa in Santa Teresa; and lived indulgently while observing sloths and monkeys, daily. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that everyone was looking forward to returning. Since we were on the Pacific side last time, we opted to visit the Caribbean side on this trip. We lined up a turtle conservation project for the week, complete with a homestay experience in a remote location, Gandoca.
Getting to Gandoca
We arrived in the capital, San Jose and were taken to a small town outside of the city, called Heredia. There we were greeted by the friendly partners of a nonprofit, Amistad Institute who showed us around their 12- acre property with beautiful plants and a river. The family had a daughter about Kenza’s age which meant that Kenza was immediately put at ease! We moved into our very simple room for the night with the plan of leaving for a 4-hour bus ride to Gandoca the following day.
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The next day was quite an adventure. I had prepared school packets for the ride (as four hours is perfect school time) and we piled into a jam-packed bus. The first hour, we felt like we were having a great “authentic” experience, but by the second hour, we were sweltering (check out Costa Rica highlights on Instagram). It was pretty miserable, but we survived!
We arrived in Sixaola which is the bus station on the border of Costa Rica and Panama. We hopped into a pick-up truck and drove to Dona Gladys’ home in the heart of Gandoca, a mixed refuge where people and animals cohabitate. Gandoca is home of a matriarchal society and many farmers. We learned that the homestay and the turtle project would be run by the same family—a couple with their six adult children (some of whom lived in neighboring towns).
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Our Homestay
The living condition there was the most spartan-type arrangement that we had lived in. I am not talking about not having AC; or having days of dirty toilet paper in the bathroom because you can’t flush it; or even being exposed to huge ants and tons of mosquitos. I am not talking about any of those things because six weeks into our trip we were well-accustomed to all of that. I am talking about showers with PVC pipes that channel the rain (so never warm), bathrooms and showers that have private access but are stalls with shared ceilings, and night darkness that requires headlamps when we walk to dinner so that we don’t step on a snake!
Note: Zayan would like me to add that the bunk beds were sturdy but did not have any railings, so the kids had to sleep on the bottom.
PVC pipe rain shower
However Spartan the living arrangements were, the family was equally warm and kind. One or two of the kids spoke English but other than that all communication was strictly in Spanish. They asked us our names (which is always a bit hard because they are so unique) and Kapil explained that he was “Kapil, como papel” (translated, Kapil which sounds like paper)! After that, they never forgot his name and at one point, Kapil and I became “papel y lapiz” (paper and pencil)! 😊 During our introductions, we explained that we don’t eat pork. She replied, “oh ok” and confirmed that eggs and fruit were good for breakfast the next morning.
We arrived on Saturday evening and decided to go for a walk and check out the area. We were warned about snakes at night so we decided we would see how far we got before nightfall. We saw a ton of wildlife just around that area—spiders, monkeys, birds, frogs, and a sign that warned us of crocodiles (luckily, no snakes)! Aside from the wildlife though, we didn’t see much activity at all. It was probably the most remote place we had been to date. We walked back just as it was getting dark and learned how serious the family was about needing headlamps!
Adventure #1: Punta Mona
Since Sunday was a day of rest for the family, we decided to explore the beach and visit a particular area that we learned about from the family—Punta Mona (point of the monkeys). Coincidentally, one of the sons, Moises, and his family (wife and two kids) were visiting and planning to go to the same point, so we joined them. It was a 2-hour walk to the point (each way) and the “path” there went in and out of jungle, through ocean, and over miles of beach! I didn’t know we would be out all day but suspected we would need some sort of lunch. I asked Dona Gladys if she could provide me with something and she happily gave me 8 slices of white bread and a small pouch of jam, which we later learned was not nearly enough for what ended up being about a 4.5 hour excursion.
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Thankfully, Moises had brought his machete and was able to cut some fresh coconut for us. They also generously shared some fruit that they had brought as well, but unfortunately, we got caught in a downpour of cold rain (which we were to later learn was super common on an almost daily basis)! The rain was so strong that Moises cut palm leaves and built a makeshift lean-to for the kids (and backpacks) to take cover under. We were drenched, soaked, and cold, but it was too late to turn back, we were already at Punta Mona.
The kids were all keen on swimming in the ocean and were just jumping in when Moises called them all out. He stood very quietly and intently for 20 mins at the shore and looked out over the ocean. After about 12 minutes, Kapil and I went to talk to him and see if there was a problem. We assumed there were some dangerous rip tides, as we had seen warning signs at the beach near their home. When I asked of anything was the matter, he “shhh’d” me and continued to look out. We stood right next to him staring out too. Then, he quietly and carefully told us (in Spanish) that he thought he saw a shark fin. Literally, right at that moment, Kapil and I both saw the fin! It was so close to the shore and we saw it for three seconds and then it was gone. Moises said it could be a dolphin but usually dolphins travel in pods. He mentioned that this beach was usually great for swimming because there was a natural reef barrier around it but that the water level was high and sharks would be able to swim right in. In any case, he had never seen a shark that close to the shore at this beach. Naturally, we didn’t swim there but moved down further where the strong waves in the distance would form the barrier against sharks coming close.
When we arrived back from the day, the kids were famished. We met a new volunteer (from Turkey) and sat down for dinner—rice, beans, plantains, and puffy white dough bread. We lapped up our plates and then met with one of the sons, Pablo to learn all about turtles and the plan for the next day (which was to clean up the beach in the morning and then go out to find turtles in the night).
Learning About Turtles and Our Values
I should mention a little bit about the kids here. They all along with everyone but Kaysee, especially, developed a relationship with Pablo. Kaysee would tell “tall tales” about his Great White Shark sightings during snorkeling, and Pablo would retort that the crocodiles around Gandoca loved to eat little crazy boys! During these amusing discussions, Kaysee named himself, “Pura Vida” (which is the Costa Rican saying for life is good). For all intensive purposes, anyone named Pura Vida would likely be super mellow, chill, and maybe even a stoner! Needless to say, Kaysee’s energy was the opposite of “Pura Vida” but the name stuck for the week!
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Pablo informed us that there were only seven species of sea turtles in the world, and Costa Rica hosts five of them—leatherback, hawksbill, green, and loggerhead—and all of them are endangered, mostly due to climate change (cycles are off), human/canine presence on the beaches, and egg poachers. The kids were interested to learn that turtle eggs were a delicacy and could be sold for high prices. From May to October was the laying season for hawksbill turtles in Gandoca. The turtles arrive on the beach at night to dig a hole and lay their eggs about 50 centimeters deep in the sand. During the season, each turtle will come to lay eggs three times, laying about 100 eggs each time. Usually, one turtle will space their three visits apart by 15 days. The eggs incubate for 53 days before they start to hatch and it takes about three days for the turtles to actually come out of the egg. Then, they walk to the shore and battle the surf to enter the ocean. The kids were very attentive and were eager to go out the next night.
We ate breakfast and headed out to our beach clean-up sight, which was the entrance of the beach. Our job for that morning was to remove large twigs, seaweed, and organics so that turtles and tourists could better access the beach. This was the beach that had a lot of warning signs about rip tides so there was no distraction of the kids wanting to swim in the ocean. It was hot, but us six volunteers cleared up a big space in a matter of hours. The kids then started collecting sand crabs (an amazing feat for Kenza as a day ago she had been extremely fearful of them). During our clean-up, we also found a green parrot snake hanging out in a palm tree! Aack!
We came back to the house to eat and rest before night patrol (8-11pm). Here we encountered a slight issue, we were given a plate of the same food but with something that looked like “hot dog” meat. We later learned that it was canned pork.
Side Note: I was born into a Muslim family and that is my faith, though I am not very strict about my practice. I was raised among Muslims where alcohol was occasionally consumed but pork was never eaten. Kapil has partnered with me to allow me to lead our family in the way that I am most comfortable in expressing our values, as we all deepen our own connections with God. So, our family does not eat pork as a general rule. I am sure that they have tasted pepperoni pizza at school or some birthday party, but we don’t eat it as a family. I have, however, held a very firm rule in our house that whenever we are guests in a home, particularly a less-to-do-home, we will always be grateful for what they serve and eat it, but even that rule has never conflicted with the “no pork” rule. And the kids know my story from years ago where I was invited to Christmas Eve dinner by one of my former juvenile justice youth in their home, which was in the garage behind an old Victorian home in downtown San Jose. As a teacher and lawyer, I was truly the guest of honor, and they had presented me with the Christmas ham. That was the first time (of two times—this Costa Rica homestay being the second) that I knowingly ate pork, as there was no way that I was going to insult that kind family. So, rightfully or wrongfully, in our house, compassion for others is the rule above all else, and I believe, the purpose of any religion.
Unfortunately, despite my informing the family twice, they kept serving us pork and while we tried skipping it for a meal, the portions were small and we were in such a remote place without options, that we just had to eat what we were given. The kids totally understood that we were guests in a simple home and we just had to be grateful for what they gave us.
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Adventure #2: Hawksbill Turtle Laying Eggs
That Monday night, two more super fun girls (from Spain), joined us! After our day of beach clean-up and dinner, we all got ready for our night walk to the beach. We were only allowed to use our headlamps on the path to the beach, because after that, we were to use only red light that would not disturb the turtles. We were also told to be absolutely quiet because if turtles get scared by lights or sound, they retreat to the ocean and do refuse to lay eggs. Serendipitously, it was a full moon so we had beautiful moonlight to light the way.
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We walked about 10 minutes through the jungle and beach. I kept remembering the snake warnings, but I just had to trust that Pablo knew what he was doing…and sure enough as my mind was spinning, we saw huge tracks in the sand (kind of like narrow tractor wheel tracks). You could feel the silent excitement in the air as we followed them to a large depression in the sand. Pablo whispered that the turtle was not there but that the tracks were fresh and we would see if we could find the eggs (with the intent of putting them somewhere safe). He used a stick to poke holes in the nest, and gently dug through the sand trying to find eggs, but to no avail. He found one broken egg, which meant that the turtle had nested there and someone had already come to take the eggs!
Disappointed, we continued walking on the beach—first one direction and then the other. Then, about 20 minutes later, we saw more tracks leading up from the ocean and towards the edge of the jungle. Pablo went to check it out and sure enough, we saw a huge Hawksbill turtle beginning to lay her eggs! She had already been spotted by another team researching the turtles and they confirmed that they had taken and protected the other eggs that we had looked for earlier.
It was a mesmerizing sight. Our eyes were all glued to the laying turtle and we got so close that we could’ve reached out and touched the eggs. The research team had placed a plastic bag under her to catch the newly laid eggs (for transport to a safer spot) and had to swap it out mid-way through as the turtle laid about 80-100 eggs. The kids silently watched (for almost 40 minutes), as the turtle lay eggs and powerfully buried them in the sand with her flippers.
When she was finished and heading back to the ocean, the research team picked her up, placed her on a log, and covered her eyes so they could attach a tracker. It was amazing to watch the true power of the Hawksbill, as it took two men to hold her down. We all remained silent and watched as the team removed a barnacle and began gluing the tracker to her shell.
Aside from the pure magical moment itself, I was amazed to see all three kids so silently attentive for nearly two hours! In fact, at about midnight, Pablo suggested that we leave because it might take another hour before the glue dried and the turtle could swim away. The kids, especially Zayan, wanted to stay longer and, as an aspiring marine biologist, found the research activities just as interesting as the turtle itself. We walked back in awe and went straight to bed after nearly a five-hour night shift (approximately 1am).
The next day was another beach clean-up (this time, non-organics) and a night shift. Kenza was too tired from the night before so I stayed back with her while the boys went out. Unfortunately, Kaysee asked Kapil to carry him 10 minutes into the night shift and fell fast asleep. The team walked the beach for about 2.5 hours (Kapil carrying the additional 50lb load all the while) and didn’t spot a turtle. It was then that we all understood how lucky we had been on the first night! Later, we learned that Gandoca no longer has the “turtle rescue” programming that it once had a decade ago, largely due to the government reductions in personnel and funding to the area. So, while the “turtle rescue” program wasn’t quite the “program” that we had envisioned, it was an amazing way to learn about turtles and human impact.
Pura Vida
Though short, our time in Costa Rica was extremely impactful for us as a family. Aside from the magical night with the turtle and a great day with some new travel friends, we had our first “real” travel awakening, or tough love talk. It was a perfect storm of high expectations from a previous vacation, fatigue, and discomfort…and it lead to some bad attitudes when we tried to do a “school” session (as Kapil mentioned in his post “Human Footprints…”).
As the bad attitudes escalated, we all had it out as a family and Kapil and I earnestly confronted them with the possibility of ending the trip early. We were sure that Kenza, who had complained of homesickness almost regularly up until that day, would be excited at the possibility of going home, but instead they all started crying. For over an hour, they sat together and wrote contracts and journal entries on changes they would make with each other and with their attitudes to make this trip successful. At that moment, they began to differentiate “being homesick” from “wanting to go home” and began to truly be present to (and grateful for) this opportunity of travel. It was then that we all understood and began our journey to live the words of Pura Vida.
For more footage of these adventures, check out our Costa Rica Highlight Story on Instagram!
