Toucans, monkeys, turtles…Oh my!

07/04/2008

After a long day of travel on Monday, the crew of the Costa Rica Explorer have had quite an experience. Their first night was spent in San Jose getting acquainted with the country and their guide, Moses. Tuesday was an eventful day as they visited a local school and had a chance to learn a couple of local dances including “the Little Bull.” Since they taught the group some dances, there were a few gifts for the school kids including a soccer ball which was a big hit. There was also some discussion on the differences in their schools with Vicky and Sam utilizing their skills in Spanish. After that they headed out to Las Tortugas to begin their time with the turtles.

Wednesday, they were joined by a group from Scotland as they learned about the different kinds of sea turtles that nest on the beaches of the Carribean Coast during the “Turtle Talk.” This included some time in the education center where the crew broke up into 2 small groups to teach each other a few things. Greg, Alex, Kenny, and Juliana did a skit presenting the threats to sea turtles. Zach, Sam, Vicky, and Moses presented a skit on how the turtles set up a nest and lay their eggs. This included a blockbuster performance by Zach as Mama Turtle with a costume made from leaves.

The night brings patrol times for the group. It also brings mother turtles onto the beach to lay eggs. Greg and Juliana had the luck of finding a green sea turtle laying eggs so they relocated the nest to a safer location. The next day, everyone had a chance to count, measure, and release some baby turtles that had been hatched earlier. Thursday also provided an opportunity to take a boat tour of the canals in the area. This group seems to be lucky as they saw a lot of wildlife including howler monkeys, spider monkeys, iguanas, a toucan, and crocodiles. Supposedly, the howler monkeys are calling all of the time and like to hang out in the trees above the groups hammock area. There’s also been time for soccer and volleyball as well.

For Friday, the group has an appointment for rafting on the Sarapiqui River with some class I-III rapids. Then they will be heading onto host families for the night to see how the people of Costa Rica live. Kenny was really excited about the group as everyone has great energy and enthusiasm and Moses is a great guide. We won’t be able to get pictures yet, but they will all be uploaded once the group returns. Look for another post in the next few days and let me know if you have questions.

Kevin Terrell

Adventure & Trips Director

(845) 985-2291 ext. 265

adventure@FrostValley.org

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zach eigenbrodt

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Zach couldn't keep himself out of the woods when growing up. He started working at a Northern Wisconsin YMCA Camp as a wilderness trip leader while in college and fell in love with getting kids into nature. The smiles on kids faces after returning from a once in a life time wilderness experience is why he is here today. Zach brought his talents to Frost Valley YMCA, in 2014, when he started as the Trips Coordinator and soon was promoted to Adventure Director. Zach loves all forms of Wilderness exploration, though some would say his heart lies most with canoeing.