Why did you decide to enroll with Oyster Worldwide in Costa Rica?
Becky: Costa Rica was one of the places I had always wanted to visit and after close encounters with green turtles in Mexico, I wanted to help protect turtles.
I enrolled through Oyster Worldwide because it looked like the best trip for me and I had heard great things about them.
Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Becky: As a volunteer, I participated in patrolling the beaches in shifts at night to collect the turtle eggs and bury them in the hatchery as well as releasing the hatchlings in the ocean.
As well as this, we played games with the locals. Occasionally we had group meetings with the other project sites and I went on a few boat trips and horse riding with the other volunteers.
Do you feel like you made a significant impact on the local community?
Becky: I felt like we impacted on the community because they all enjoy helping out on patrols with the turtles and releasing the hatchlings.
If a turtle was spotted, the local community knew to tell us straight away so we could collect its eggs before a predator got to them.
Tell me about one person you met.
Becky: Maddie was the coordinator and was absolutely brilliant. She made everyone feel welcome and taught me so much about the turtles and the surrounding wildlife.
When it was pouring rain outside and you had to get up to patrol, it could be quite hard, but Maddie was brilliant at motivating us and making every patrol fun.
What was the best moment of the entire trip?
Becky: It's hard to say the best moment of my trip because the whole experience was brilliant and I could talk about my favorite parts for hours!
The shooting stars, the fluorescent phytoplankton making the ocean glow, the hatchlings heading off to the wild, having an iguana living in the bathroom, playing with the locals, the beautiful scenery -- all of it was incredible!