Life is good at the Camaronal turtle conservation project! Volunteers spend their days hanging out on the beach, helping maintain 
the project site and resting up for their night patrol.
Volunteers mainly work at night doing the patrols. There is one shift from 9pm to 2am and another one from 2 to 6 am. An average of ten nests will be found every night. The beach is 3 km long which means the volunteers will walk 6 km every night. While on patrol, volunteers relocate entire nests, taking some to the hatchery. The hatchery is checked every night and the volunteers help the little turtles to get to the water. Data is always collected; number of eggs, kind of turtle, position of the nest, new location, number of turtles hatched, etc.
Volunteers are provided with three meals a day from Monday to Saturday. Breakfast is from 7 to 8, lunch is at 12 and dinner is served at 6. On Sundays the volunteers can cook their own food
in the kitchen or go into town. The volunteers have the day free in order to rest and prepare for the night work. Volunteers can also help with the construction of new trails or go to one of the three nearby towns, Carrillo, Hojancha or Samara. It is a 45 minuet walk to the bus station in Carrillo. There are different activities they can do in their free time such as going to the beach, hiking, reading, napping, horseback riding or swimming.
Volunteer Blake said this of her time at Camaronal, “The lifestyle here is both rigorous and relaxing. Days are filled with light chores, learning Spanish and recreations such as swimming, reading, and horseback riding. At night we patrol the beaches protecting Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Hawskbill and Black turtles. It is exhausting but rewarding!”
For more pictures of Camaronal, check out uVolunteer’s photo gallery
