Wake up with a smile in this amazing place

“Wake up with a smile in this amazing place”

Written on: 26/07/2012 by LeahKinsella

Costa Rica Big Cats, Turtles and Primates project was an experience that will stay with me for a long time to come. I undertook to do the a four week project and the have given me some lasting friends and memories. Life on camp became an easy routine to come to terms with. Camp life has a basic routine but it runs alongside constant excitement of what may cross your path over the course of the day. On the very first trek the group saw two tyra´s fighting, a troop of spider monkeys and a tarantula hawk wasp bringing a tarantula back to its nest. That set the standard for the four weeks. Everyday we would be blown away but some little or slighter bigger first sighting. What I personally enjoyed was seeing people get excited about things they wouldnt have thought might have interested them. Dragonflies was a big winner amongst the group along with birdwatching. Myself included, I decided to do my BTEC on the abundance of in the swomp area. At first the thought of going to the swomp at night time terrified me but after a day or so I fell in love with the mystery of the swomp. Every night a different water level with different activity. Camplife was broken into three sections, following an early morning start the group would head off on different treks, trails and surveys. Generally everyone reconvines for lunch to eat together and talk about their experiences of the morning, then off again for the afternoon to do something slightly different to the morning. None of the treks or trails are mandatory but your time is so precious you dont want to miss anything! In the evenings a swomp visit was nearly always on offer. At the weekends free time was enjoyed either by the lagoon or sitting in camp chilling out. Camp duties were assigned on a daily basis so that everyone has a chance to help with lunch and dinner but its actually really enjoyable to see what you can create with the fresh produce available. While the diet is actually really good its easy to miss some of the little home comforts and thats what makes meal times so much fun. You´ve got to get creative.
I would honestly promote anyone who has some free time and has an interest in animals and wildlife to sign up for this project. We had an amazing time, met amazing people, saw some amazing scenery and made amazing friends. I loved every second of it and would do it again in a heartbeat!
Leah Kinsella.