Isn't this a peaceful place? This is right off the beach by Ventanas. It is crucial that this pristine beach area remains as it is. Development is a big threat to leatherbacks. They need their nesting grounds to continue. The data the scientist collect is important factor in the decisions that are made about development. Three cheers for the biologists who walk the beaches every night to collect that data. Without their work where would the leatherbacks be?

Rm 102- The Bronx during our conference

I was so happy to be able to communicate via teleconference with Rm. 102. Ms. Dunn -their first grade teacher and I worked together preparing for the conference. She and her students loved the Turtle lessons. They made some really cool clay turtles that I wanted to share with everyone. Rm. 102 kids were fantastic listeners and had wonderful questions during our conference and on the blog.

Congratualtions Rm 102 for a job well done.

Costa Rica, a Beautiful Place

Costa Rica is rich in biodiversity. After leaving Playa Grande I took a short trip up to Rincon de la Vieja. This is a volcano area. Part of the road that leads to the National Park is very white, I asked the taxi driver "Is this white sand?" He told me it was the ash from the volcano! I was amazed at how much ash there was to make the sides and the bottom of the road. There must have been a good size eruption at some point to have that much ash.

The National Park area is beautiful. There are several trails. One of them leads to Las Paillas Waterfall. I didn't have time for that long trail but I took a shorter one that led to Agua Caliente. It said on the sign that the temperature was at least 192 degrees Farenheit.

It was beyond a fence that said no one allowed beyond this point. The wind blew a heap of steam at me and my glasses got all fogged up.

Then I continued the walk and went to a boiling mud pit. The guide there said that when it first started it was very small- maybe the size of your spaghetti pan at home. Now it is quite large- about 10 feet by 9 feet- maybe bigger. The guide says it grows bigger every year. I saw a coati while I was on the trail. I hope you can look that one up and see what they look like. I will post pictures of him tomorrow night. He was very friendly and the people he was sitting by didn't seem a bit concerned.

I had an extra special surprise at my hotel. Outside my room was a towering tree. There up in the tree giving a lovely serenade sat a beautiful toucan. What a perfect ending to a most beautiful trip. Thanks for sharing my adventure. I will continue to add more pictures and narration. There was so much to see and do. Keep reading!

Morning Turtle Friday before Sunrise Jan. 24, 2008

About 4:30 in the morning, as we walked the north beach, Gabby the chief biologist came over the radio saying” there’s a morning turtle there’s a morning turtle!.” I’ve heard of a lot of different species of turtles but never heard of a morning turtle. “What is a morning turtle?”
A morning turtle is a leatherback that comes up to nest close to sunrise. The rules on the beach are very strict, absolutely no flash photography at night, in fact no cameras of any kind of camera on the beach at night unless you have made prior arrangements and have a permit. That is not an easy feat! Morning turtles are a rare sight on this beach, this was the 7th one since the nesting season began in October. As a result, the morning turtle brings waves of excitement and a rare opportunity to photograph an adult leatherback.


We went to the house to pick up any of our sleeping team members because we knew this was something we would not want to miss. We drove back to marker 25 and walked to marker 27. There we watched as the beautiful turtle dug her chamber, laid her eggs, covered it, camouflaged the area and returned to the ocean. She seemed to get confused as she got to the shores edge. She dipped a flipper and turned around towards our team, She started walking back and maybe she just wanted to be sure we understood that we should protect her nest. Then she took one more turn and headed off slowly to make her journey out to sea.