General Impression
Overall Rating: / 10
This was a wonderful program. Well run. Exciting. Educational. Life changing. Camp was beautiful and so much to see ( animals!) in the immediate surrounding area. Fun excursions also available. Food was delicious - is all vegetarian though.Country
Costa Rica is a friendly and welcoming country. Costa Rican people are very grateful for the beautiful country they have and are proud of their country. They appreciate tourism especially eco-tourism and go out of their way to make tourists / volunteers feel at home. A wonderful place to visit. One just needs to be flexible as small things like bus schedules may not run as smoothly as in US.
Project & Staff
This project is impressive. Facilitating very high rate of turtle egg successfully hatched and turtles delivered safely to the ocean. Animals natural process is respected as much as possible. The staff are highly trained and knowledgable. They are also friendly and fun and willing to answer all questions from volunteers. Volunteers understand what is expected of them and feel supported at all times working with the turtles and keeping the camp orderly. Could not ask for better staff.
Tips
Wish we had been informed by LOVE volunteers that we would have 6 hour shifts doing beach patrol at night and working in the hatchery day or night so sleep will not be on any set schedule but will change each day. Wish we had been informed that we needed to be able to carry 25 lbs of heavy sand. Wish we had been informed that we needed to bring clothes for very warm weather in Oct. beach weather still hot and sunny although it is cooler and rainy in San Jose. Also wish we had been told to bring black clothes and black rain coat for beach patrol and red head lamp or red flashlight needed for working with the turtles. We had to borrow these. Also wish we had know food was all vegetarian. There is a small store near by if you want to buy tuna or something like that. You will work hard and sleep strange hours, but you will have a lot of free time so plan if you want to learn to surf, go to hot springs, waterfalls, nearby national park Manuel Antonio, go to a market, whale watching etc. Although we saw more wild animals right in Matapalo near the camp than we did in Manuel Antonio. Monkeys, sloths, birds, lizards, frogs, crabs, etc. beautiful. None of these are dangerous to humans. You will also need to have great hiking boots for walking on sand. You will also be sleeping in bunk beds and no air conditioning which was fine with me - beautiful at night, but some people might not like no AC. Also there is no refrigerator currently in the camp so you would not be able to store insulin or food you brought with you. Showers are luke warm because water is heated under the beach so not as stone cold as I expected. Real flushing toilets, but can't flush paper as it ruins septic system so goes in trash can near toilet. Meals at 8, 12 and 6 - delicious!