Jungle Fever

ahh where to start? After being here a week so much has happened, and with working day and night it is as if we have been here longer. Everyone has pretty much covered everything that we have been doing and what we have been going through. So I decided that I wanted to share with everyone those amazing moments that will stay with us after the burns, exhaustion, and the bug bites go away.
The first night that we arrived, we had been through orientatioin and now just relaxing after our long travel to finally reach Gandoca when one of the guides came rushing to tell us that down the beach baby turtles were hatching from the nest. This was not only exciting that we were going to be able to see this but also because we were just told that there was hatchings the night before we came and the next one might not be for another two weeks (the time after we left) so we were all very nervous that we were goiong to miss out on this experience. I can not tell you how incredible it is to watch the baby turtles emerge from the sand and watch their journey into the ocean. Even more so getting to help them through that process, by smoothing out the sand, keeping birds and crabs away, and making sure they do not get flipped over on their back.
Then their is the experience of walking the hours on the beach, no matter if it is a clear night or pouring rain for the entire time( my clothes that night will never smell the same) when you come across that giant leather back sea turtle all the pain, tiredness and itching that we complain about goes away, and you look at it in awe and it makes the entire experience worth wild.
Another memory that I know none of us will forget it the days of practicing digging holes and being covered with black sand. I can not tell you how many laughters came out of us all just covered in sand trying our hardest to dig that perfect hole so that we could go play in the water, be whipped around by the waves, and clean off (to the best of our ability). Video and pictures of this will soon be up. Trust me they are a must see.
Something that I really enjoyed was our hike one morning through the jungle. This was a suprise to us when we were woken up after long night of patrol and told we had 15 minutes to get ready for an hour and half hike. let me tell you at that point they did not have happy campers on their hands. But their was something incredible about walking through the jungle, hearing the noices, making a chain to go through a river of strong currents, having to be helped jump over to the next path, trying not to lose your shoes as you hiked through up to your kneees of mud, and accidently having someone slip behind you causing everyone in front to go sliding down a hill of mud, only to come to a point where the most beautiful beach and coral I have ever seen. We had a whole morning to relax and swim in a secluded secret beach that only the locals could show us. It was definitly worth waking up for.
I can not wait to show everyone the pictures of what we called our "jungle fever" moments. there comes a point where the heat and the tiredness of the work gets to us all and things get a little crazy around here. We have sure been able to provide entertainment to all those around us. from the first day here when we jumped into the pool during a rain storm, or when uncontrollable laughter emerges from the group and no one around us has any idea why the crazy americans are laughing, to the excitement of finding a COLD coke and milkshake, to making headbands out of leaves and putting mud on our faces to look tough after long hike, or my favorite all the crazy antics (we have pictures and video of this too) that happens after when everyone gets back from patrol and we should be going to bed but again we all have "jungle fever" and the real craziness begins.

I can not wait to get back and show these pictures and cause the same laughter again that we had when we first experienced it. It is those moments that get us through all the hard work and take our minds off of the itching.

So until then, to my family, I love you all, miss you tons, and can not thank you enough for supporting and encouraging me to take this trip and experience of a life time.

xoxo all the way from the jungle
Jessica