A tale from a starry night

It's 3am, I am 18 years old, and this is my first time away from home. And I am alone. What have I done?!

These are the thoughts, which were running through my head, as I embarked onto the sand that night. The night, which shaped every major decision, I have made in the seven years since. My eyes were red due to the early hour, I was full of fatigue from the sheer amount of new experiences and I was homesick.

We fumbled in the dark, a mismatched group of strangers from all walks of life, led by a young girl who explained she was there to escape her unpleasant past. We walked silently; it felt like we were moving aimlessly, time passing slowly, 20 minutes, 40 minutes, 1 hour. Heads down, unsure of what patterns we were trying to find in the sand, lit by the glow of headlamps dimmed by red cellophane in an attempt not to startle her.

There was a sharp intake of breath. We halted. The already quiet group was hushed, "shh, get down, quick!" We crouched behind a sand dune, hearts racing. The clouds had lifted at some point, now the moon was out to illuminate her. Her shell looked as though it had trapped the stars within it. It was black with specks of white. She was beautiful. My first sighting of a leatherback turtle. We sat frozen as she laid her eggs, breathing heavily through each, and as we watched her slowly drag her 700kg body down the beach to disappear effortlessly into the sea. We jumped into action at this point, relocating the eggs to a secure hatchery away from poachers.

As we sat around the table later that night, I looked at the faces of the strangers who were to become lifelong friends, forever linked by this experience. I had no idea this night had sparked a passion that would influence my future, that I my life-goal would be to protect these and all other marine critters. That my future had started in a small village of Gandoca, Costa Rica, as far from home as imaginable.

This experience was flawless to me. There are many tour group experiences for turtle conservation available, but the fact that I made this trip by myself and was hosted by a local family really made this trip unforgettable. The people in this country are so open and caring. They want to show off their culture and learn about yours. These people helped me to grow. If you are to follow in my footsteps, take a risk, travel in the unknown. Take my advice and you may just find yourself too!