ISV - Volunteer Projects in Costa Rica

When I was in Ostional, Costa Rica, I had an amazing experience being able to help work with the sea turtles. Not only was I able to make a difference, but I got to interact with other volunteers, employees of the wildlife refuge, and the locals. Along with all of these positive experiences I had, my favorite was being able to witness a small arribada of 3,100 nesting sea turtles. I will never forget my experience with ISV.

The first optional week was amazing. I would go to that school all over again. My host family was really nice, the food was great, and I totally fell in love with Heredia. If you like coffee, go to Cafe Armania up the street from Intercultura.
I volunteered in Nancite with the sea turtles. Let me warn you, the living conditions are quite rough. It's hot and humid, there are A LOT of mosquitoes, the beds are pretty horrible, and if you're not physically fit, you will have a hard time even making it there since you have to hike over a steep mountain. However, I took it as a personal challenge and was proud I made it through. Also, it felt really good to help the turtles, and they were amazing. I completely loved my Project Leader, Florence.
The last two weeks were unforgettable. I made really close friends and the activities were exhilarating. The only damper was the Tour Leader, who was pretty offensive and condescending towards the volunteers. I only heard worse things about the other Tour Leaders as well. Still, it is relatively easy to avoid them and have a great time.
Also, the packing list contained contradictions and could have been more helpful.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country who's motto is Pura Vida (Pure Life) and I truly got to experience just exactly what that means. ISV provided me the opportunity of a lifetime and memories I will cherish forever. My favorite memory from the trip was one day on our sea turtle volunteer project in Osa. It was the end of the day and we were pulling in the nets and right as we got to the end we caught a juvenile Hawksbill sea turtle. We brought her into the boat and happened to see some dolphins in the distance so we headed over towards them to check them out. There were three dolphins who were so playful and came right up to our boats. It was truly magical to experience these beautiful creatures play in their natural habitat. I highly highly recommend doing any ISV program!

If you decide to do the volunteer program plus the travel portion, you'll spend the second two weeks thinking about how after all the sweat, dirt, and bug bites, you still don't feel like you contributed enough to a country that's giving so much back to you. I swam in volcanically heated springs, surfed the pacific coast, and hiked through the rainforest to cliff jump into hidden waterfalls... Yet when I look back, the best time I had was working for the community we got to live with. There is nothing I can say here that will do justice to my experience but I can say that after a year of college, I learned more in the month I spent in Costa Rica about hard work, appreciation, and living and loving purely. I've never met a more yu inviting people willing to share their way.

During my two weeks in Ostional, Costa Rica I made some of the most amazing memories and experiences I have ever had. We stayed in the most welcoming host families, which forced us to be completely immersed in Costa Rican lifestyle. We ate a traditional meal of rice and beans for most meals, and there was no air conditioning which made things uncomfortable at times. Because you and these other volunteers are thrown into this together, you al become very close very fast and it made it SO much easier and a thousand times more fun. Our main work was at night doing patrols on the beach for turtles. Ostional is the second largest arribada (mass nesting event) in the world (only 9 total). The first night of patrol was not fun, it was a lot of walking and we didn't see any turtles. But my new friends and I encouraged each other to keep each other's spirits up and the next few nights of patrol continued to get easier. Each night after that we saw anywhere from 1-10 turtles. Finally on the second to last night we got to witness an arribada, in which 3100 olive ridley sea turtles all came up on the beach the same night! It was one of the most incredible experiences I could have ever imagined. On our days off we got to go to near by "touristy" beaches and spend time on the beach and shop for souvenirs for our families and friends. All in all, this experience was a once in a life time opportunity and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Any student who is considering taking this trip should go for it, because it is incredible.

My trip with ISV changed my life in so many ways. I was assigned to the Nancite sea turtle project, which meant I worked to tag turtles and count their eggs. The volunteer experience itself was amazing; the host organization was welcoming and really worked to educate all the volunteers. I learned so many new concepts, not only about sea turtles but also the state of our environment in general. The adventure tour was also an incredible experience. We got to see so much of Costa Rica, all while doing fun activities like rafting and zip-lining. ISV really opened my eyes to the world around me and how I can preserve it. I left with a new found appreciation for different cultures and their influence.

During my time in Costa Rica my group participated in so many crazy activities. We went white water rafting, surfing, kyaking, swimming in hot springs, tubing down rapids, horseback riding, and more. However, my favorite was a zip lining and repelling excursion we did that ended at the home of an indigenous tribe of Costa Rica, the Maleku people. The first part of the trip was 6 zip lines that brought us to a waterfall. We repelled down the side of the waterfall 285 feet. Then we had to climb back up on a 200 foot cable ladder. After we did 5 more zip lines that landed us right at the Maleku peoples' home. They had set up shop for us, given us a religious presentation indicitive of their culture, and welcomed us. They displayed artwork that we could buy from them to help support their community. Every second was amazing. I will certainly be back.

It is very difficult to pick just one moment from my trip because this experience was truly a dream. I had the opportunity to push myself physically and mentally which allowed me to progress as an overall person in my journey through life which I am so thankful for. After the first 2 weeks of the volunteer program was over, we continued on to the adventure tour where we explored Costa Rica and all it has to offer. The first few days of the adventure really stuck out to me because of the fact that we jumped right into a 3 day white water rafting trip, which i had never done before. With our guides being members of the Brazilian rafting team, the leadership was very strong. However, they didn't speak very much english. This, although it was an obstacle, forced us to really come together as a team and communicate with each other during all times since we were riding through class III and IV rapids; pretty intense! The rain started to come down pretty hard about half way through the trip on the first day. Since our lodge was only accessible by raft due to the fact that it was built into the side of the mountain in the middle of the rainforest on the Pacuare River, we had to persevere and continue on until we reached our final destination. Once we arrived, my team and I climbed 850 steps through the jungle to the top of the mountain where we found infinite pastures that presented such immense depth of the forest, I was at a loss for words. The views that met my eyes were absolutely breathtaking, i can assure you they will forever be ingrained in my mind. Not to mention, on the third day the guides allowed us to jump out of the rafts to swim down a safe portion of the river. The water was aqua blue and very refreshing. These 3 days of white water rafting taught me how important team work was and showed me how beautiful the land of Costa Rica truly is.