This morning we went over to the station and picked up trash on the beach. We learned from Juan that beaches in Costa Rica are full of trash from all over the world because their labels are in several different languages. After retrieving the trash we sorted it into reusable bottle caps, bottles, cans and everything else. This process is extremely important to the beaches in not only Costa Rica but beaches all over the planet because the ocean connects everyone.
After cleaning the beach we all played beach volleyball and beach soccer. We then left the station and had a little rest time in preparation for our late patrol. Then, we had dinner and drove an hour to a different beach than we have been going to for patrols. Corozalito beach is much smaller than the one we usually patrol and is a fairly common place to see the arribada, an event occurring on some beaches monthly and on others only once a year. In these mass turtle events, there are thousands and, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of turtles in a couple of nights. In these night patrols there is a very specific protocol everyone must follow: dark clothing, pants and no bug spray. Here, we finally saw turtles! We got to watch two bury their eggs and walk out to shore, but it started to rain during our second sighting so we all decided to start our journey back to the hotel a little earlier than originally planned. Overall, it was definitely worth the trip!
