Olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), Ostional Costa Rica

Las estrellas, la luna.

La luna preciosa, la luna linda. La luna es fea............. a veces.

A little song I sang with Abraan while working on Playa Ostional.


¡Pura Vida!

Olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), Ostional, Costa Rica


This project was funded by Royal Roads University and recognized as the 1st President's Global Externship Field Studies Award.

© This website has a copyright. Any information or photographs used from this website requires permission from JeanJang@shaw.ca

¡Muchas Gracias!

This project has raised my awareness on some of the issues sea turtles face in the world. Spending time in Playa Ostional allowed me to witness some of the adult marine turtle activities, egg development and hatchlings. As an outsider I observed some of the community functions and interactions between the people and the marine turtles.

The arribada is a phenomenon that is almost unbelievable until you witness the gradual coming of the turtles over a few days. A less mentioned and equally important event is when there is a massive hatching of tortuguitas. This is when hundreds of hatchlings race towards the ocean and the beach is hustling with bird activity.

I would like to thank Rick Skinner, president of Royal Roads University for granting me such a terrific opportunity and his endless support for this project. This experience has changed my perspective on global issues dealing with wildlife and community interactions. A change in perspective has changed my life.

RRU Site Visit

Later on that day we dined at one of my favorite restaurants 'Luna' at Playa Pelada and watched the sunset.
Don isn't afraid to get dirty when it comes to photographing sea turtle hatchlings.

Bill Dushenko and Don Burrows visited the Ostional research site this January 2006. In a single day they were able to witness turtle hatchlings emerging from the sand, resting at the surface and then racing towards the ocean, adult turtles swimming in the lagoon, sea turtle eggs buried in the sand and green and black iguanas scampering away into the columnar cactus.

Dr. Bill Dushenko - Royal Roads University, Victoria BC Canada

Dr. Bill is a professor from Royal Roads University – School of Environment and Sustainability, Victoria, BC Canada. He is my project advisor and has played a large role in this project from the beginning to the end. He’s been wonderful to work with and has been very attentive to the project’s needs even though communication wasn’t always easy. He has given me great advice especially when I came across project emergencies. This project would have never happened without Bill’s persistence, generosity and positive attitude.

Thank you for all of your encouragement! You ROCK!

Los niños

This photo was taken at 7:30am in the morning near my cabina. I woke up to these kids screaming as they playfully fought over who got to stand under the shower. Most people wake up at 5am to do their morning chores before the sun is strong and hot. By 8am you are ready for a morning shower to cool you off for the rest of the scorching hot day.
Estar is 6 years old. She refuses to have any photos taken of her with a straight face.
Jose David, 7 years old doing a handstand on the beach.

I absolutely fell in love with the children at Ostional. They were eager to be my friend and extremely affectionate. Living in a small pueblo many of them walk freely on the beach visiting from house to house.

Corvina

One of my favorite dishes is a whole fried fish. Corvina is typically served with plantain, salad, rice and beans. This meal only costs $2USD.

Bananos

Bananas, coconuts, papayas, limes, oranges, and plantains are commonly grown in Ostional.

Rio Montaña

Rio Montaña receives seasonal extreme flash floods. The angular flat substrate in the streambed, high undercut banks and high water marks on trees in the riparian are all signs this river floods annually. This year Ostional was isolated for 27 days due to this river flooding to the point it was not passable by truck or horses. This prevented the delivery of food and supplies and people leaving the Ostional area. Here's a photo of Rio Montaña in the dry season with somebody washing their flat deck truck.

Me gusta mi bicicleta

My bicycle was one of my most valuable purchases. Without my bicycle I think I would have become what we call in Canada ‘cabin fever’.

There are three rivers on each side of Ostional that flood yearly during the rainy season. Access to Ostional is limited to all terrain vehicles. Only one bus departed from Ostional every morning at 5am sometimes 4:30am depending on how the bus driver was feeling. And the same bus would return at 3:30pm that very afternoon.

With my bicycle I was able to purchase supplies for the project from Nosara (nearest airport), eight kilometers south and visited beautiful white sand beaches like Guionnes and San Juanillo.

Iguana Negra, (Ctenosaura similis) Black Ctenosaur, Garrobo

Black Iguanas are common in the vegetation along the beach and around the biological station at Ostional. They prefer lowland dry and moist forests in open and disturbed sites. They occur in the entire Pacific coastline of Costa Rica in areas with sandy beaches.

Ctenosaus of all ages and sexes are territorial. Head-bobbing is used to display territorial rights. Females produce one clutch a year with the clutch size varying from 12-88 eggs, correlated with the size of the female.

During the rainy season adults primarily feed on vegetation. In the dry season their diet consists of flowers, fruit, insects, spiders, marine crabs, rodents, bats and lizards. They also eat eggs of their own species.

Info Source: The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica - A Herpetofauna between Two Continents between Two Seas, Jay M. Savage

Naranjas

The oranges that grow in the Guanacaste Province are green, similar to a pomelo (Citrus maxima) but smaller. Amongst many other things Abraan taught me how to eat an orange the Costa Rican way. With careful instructions I was told to peel the outer rind of the orange with a knife leaving behind the inner white skin. A small section at the navel is then sliced. The juice is then drunk while squeezing the orange as hard as you can at your mouth. Here’s a photo of us eating oranges at some of my practice runs carving the orange.

Masaya, Nicaragua

Masaya is famous for its extensive markets. You can find almost anything from leather goods, clothes, music, fruits, vegetables and meats to shoemakers and hammocks.

Lago Nicaragua

Lago Nicaragua is the largest freshwater lake in Central America. In Granada you can view the lake by horse and carriage and watch fisherman seine for fish right off the shore.

When I was walking around the lake a large group of boys were biking back from swimming. They stopped just behind me and jumped off their bikes. One boy threw a machete into the air into a massive tree while the others scrambled picking up mangoes off the ground. They hurried back on their bikes with their T-shirts filled with mangoes and insisted I tried some. Green mangoes are typically eaten sliced with salt and limon.

Granada, Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. There is a population of 5, 465, 100 with an age structure of:

0-14 years: 37.2%
15-64 years: 59.7%
65 years and over: 3.1%

Some of the agricultural products are: coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry and dairy products

Major industries are: food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear and wood.

Info source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nu.html