Boats

This morning, our local friend, Alex, returned with a boat and moved us to a different hotel on Isla Canero. We wanted to check out as much as we could in our short time on the islands. About 20 minutes after we checked in, our tour boat arrived. My dad and I were surprised to see how full the locals fill the 20ft panga boat, but we got to met really great people during our adventure.

The first stop of the day was at dolphin  bay, where it is rumored that dolphins follow the boats. However, we were not that lucky because there were no dolphins this morning. So we were onto our next location which was lunch at a little restaurant in the middle of the Bocas. It was pretty yummy, but obviously a tourist trap because it was quite expensive and there was nothing else around.

Once everyone had grabbed lunch, we were given masks and snorkels and had the chance to snorkel for the next hour. It was amazing! There were so many brittle stars, sea cucumbers, tropical fish and tons of different corals. After we had all gotten sufficiently prune-y, we loaded back into the boat.

Sea Cucumber

Anemone

This fish kept biting my dad's camera.

Our final stop of the day was at Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos. The white sand beach was beautiful and was named for the threatened red frogs found there. My dad and I spent a little time in the water before we decided to go search for the little red frogs. It was interesting because despite them being very bright red they were very difficult to see. However, once one was pointed out, it was easy to find more.

Dad and me at Red Frog beach

Red frog

Sloth in the tree.

As we all loaded back into the boat, we got lucky and saw a sloth right above the dock. It even moved for us which I think is kind of rare since they are such lazy animals.

We arrived back at our hotel just in time for happy hour. I got to try a passion fruit daiquiri while my dad had the local beer. While sitting at the bar we met a very interesting local who lived on the next island over and recommended a very local seafood place (which Alvaro had also mentioned). So with two great recommendations we figured we had to go.

We made it to the recommended restaurant, Alvin's, just as the sun was setting. We were treated like family by the local lady and her family, not to mention her food was amazing!!! After a great meal of shrimp and lobster, we wandered around the town's center where a group of locals were playing basketball while the kids were playing a competitive of tag.

The bocas are amazing!!! It is so beautiful and mellow here. Plus I think its really cool to hear Spanish spoken with a Rasta  accent.

Catching Turtles

At 7:30 in the morning Kayla, Victor and I are picked up by the PRETOMA truck and are taken to the Coyote Estuary where the PRETOMA boat is waiting for us. We were all excited because we were getting to partake in a new task with the sea turtles.

In Costa Rica it is very rare for  a Hawksbill turtle to nest, but there are a few locations where juvenile populations live; one of which is Punto Coyote. These turtles are critically endangered due to their beautiful shells that are used to make jewelry among other things.

The Captain and Erik untangling the net.

The plan for the day was to set a fishing net with very large holes out on the point and hopefully catch a couple Hawksbills, so we could tag, measure and place a GPS device on her. However, as the net was being placed, Erik explained the last time the net had been used there was a large storm and it was gathered quickly and might be quite tangled.

Turtle caught in the net.

Sure enough, it was a mess. As soon as the net was placed, we all put on our snorkeling gear and hopped in the water. We were instructed to be careful while untangling the net not to get ourselves caught in it, which is actually harder than it sounds due to wearing fins and  the visibility was pretty bad.

A half hour later the net was a good as it was going to get and we were back in the boat. While waiting to catch a turtle, we drove over to check on Caletas camp. We stalled around for 30 minutes before returning to the net to check if we caught anything, only to be left disappointed.  So we once again decided to wait another 20- 30 minutes before returning to the net again to find nothing.

By 10:45, we still hadn't caught a turtle and the tide was changing, so we decided to collect our net a come out again another day. However just a we were getting back to the net, we watched a turtle swim into the net. I couldn't believe it, after all this time I was finally going to get the to see a Hawksbill turtle!

Erik and Victor grabbed the net and started pulling the turtle towards the boat. Only as we got close to it could we see it wasn't a hawksbill, but an Olive Ridley, the same species I see everyday on patrol. Even though we were all disappointed it wasn't a Hawksbill, we still brought her onto the boat and tagged and measured her. After we all got a quick picture with the turtle, Erik and Victor helped lower her gently into the water and we all hoped to see her again soon on one of our nesting projects.