I loved Jalova :)

I was in Jalova as a 2 Month (Short term) Intern and I got to say 2 months are too short! I would suggest if you choose to do an internship stay as long as your money allows you to. The only time I would not recommend staying long is if you get homesick easily.

I have a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and I really wanted to gain more experience doing field work which is why I chose this internship in Tortuguero National Park. The two weeks are basically orientation, learning the species, first aid, getting to know people and getting used to our new surroundings. Then we start doing the surveys, there's the Forest Biodivery Survey, Canal bird surveys, Jaguar walks and camera traps, and turtle stuff (though I didn't stay long enough for that).

For the internship, you are most of the time paired with a project leader and they walk you through the internship. A short-term internship is mainly focusing on leadership with no additional work related to biology. But since the leaders are fantastic they let me do both the biology and leadership work, which was a lot to cram in to 6 weeks but I did it thanks to Allen! I think that the internship is a great way of seeing if conservation work is right for you if your still on the fence. Also, you will see so many awesome animals like Central American spider monkeys, Collared Aracari, and many Slender anoles. The animals are adorable and you will see a new species each time you go out!

The friends that you get from Jalova though is by far one of the best reasons to come. I came in January so the group I was in were the first batch of the year. The jungle put us through the ringer the first month, rain, more rain, solar powered things stopped working, the water tower broke... We became so close since we went through everything together and it also helped that the leaders were somehow still so enthusiastic when the sky was raining cats and dogs and we had to go out on a survey.

I was so sad when it came time to leave, I honestly didn't want to. I think I was lucky with the staff I got and the other volunteers I was with during my time there. But I'm sure if you give it a chance you will have a great time and learn a lot of card games!