Posted by admin | 09.30.2013 | Sea Turtle Camp News

Sea Turtle Camp Costa Rican Adventure

Sea Turtle Camp Costa Rica is an incredible adventure! The camp takes campers out of their comfort zone, and puts them into the heart of the Costa Rican wilderness. From the beginning of camp, students join in the action through white water rafting through the jungles of Costa Rica along the Pacuare River. The opportunity to jump off boulders into rushing water and to swim through waterfalls is an unparalleled way to break through fears. These activities definitely set the tone for the rest of the camp. Many of our campers felt invincible for the rest of the trip!

Parismina is a world of its own. Campers have the opportunity to live steps from the beach and to be immersed in a sense of community that many have not experienced before. Here, students learn firsthand about the perils that sea turtles face all over the world. The night walks help the students truly understand the impact that poachers have on sea turtle populations and it allow students to work one-on-one with endangered species. Our campers had the chance to work with green sea turtles and hawksbill sea turtles – tagging them, relocating eggs, and watching them return to the ocean. The girls were at a loss for words (a rarity on this trip!) to describe the experience. It definitely was an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Monteverde was the end of our adventure, but it did not disappoint. The UGA campus, set in the heart of the mountains, was gorgeous. Here, the girls had the opportunity to experience the process of making chocolate, visit a coffee farm (and test the product!), milk a cow, and zip line through the canopy of the rain forest. The girls also got to experience a taste of college life through meals held with the entire campus and by attending a few class sessions on campus. What a sense of adventure!

Sea Turtle Camp Costa Rica is more than just a science camp. The campers are encouraged to push their limits and our girls had the opportunity to ask questions and get to know themselves better. Many fears were conquered and the girls left camp as stronger women than they were before. The girls also had the opportunity to see life in another way. Many of the girls had not experienced life in a developing country and this helped them to appreciate everything they had back home in America. This is an incredibly important lesson to learn early in life and I hope that it helps these young ladies develop into strong, positive women.