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Meet Our Guides!
If you’ve traveled with EcoTeach, you’ve no doubt heard the name, Inti
Hughes, our multi-lingual and multi-cultural guide. Of French descent but raised as a Costa Rican, Hughes speaks Spanish, French and English.
He describes his parents as “French hippies” who met in Latin America
and then decided to call Costa Rica their home. Costa Rica is where
Hughes was born and raised. “I have European genes but am very much a
Costa Rican,” said Hughes.
Hughes has been guiding for EcoTeach for 19 years and led some of the
very first groups through Costa Rica. As a student studying to become a
tropical biologist, he started guiding to pay for school. “I was not
very social and would turn red like a tomato when I first started
leading groups,” said Hughes. “I wanted to become a tropical biologist
and teach. Now it’s so easy to be in front of people and I get to teach
and practice biology every day.”
When asked about his favorite part of an EcoTeach expedition, Hughes
could not stop talking about the last day of the trip. “This is the day
that {as a guide} makes you feel important as the group comes together
and reflects. You see that the travelers have been changed and realize
there are other ways of living and it’s not just the American way. They
are exposed to real research at the turtle conservation projects and
visit people in the indigenous communities living on $10/month who are
happier than most in the U.S,” said Hughes.
When he’s not guiding, Hughes is spending time with his wife, Lady, two
year old daughter, Luna and dog and cat – Mickey Mouse and Dino. He is
an avid biker and hopes to get an EcoTeach biking tour going in Costa
Rica.
Participants will go out in research boats and assist project staff in
the safe capture of hawksbill and Pacific green sea turtles. Staff
members will place nets in the water in popular turtle feeding areas and
wait for turtles to enter them. Once the turtle is in the net,
volunteers will help get the turtle safely and gently into the boat so
they can measure, tag and collect data. Once the studies are complete,
the turtle is released back into the water. Circumstances permitting,
participants may be allowed to get back in the water with the turtles.
EcoTeach has partnered with WIDECAST, an international non-profit
organization dedicated to sea turtle conservation in the Caribbean
region. WIDECAST encompasses the largest coalition of sea turtle
scientists and conservationists in the world and is credited with
ensuring that sea turtle projects are professionally managed and
protected. Little is known about the sea turtle population in this area
and WIDECAST's goal is to collect data about population structure,
genetic origin, in-water habitat use and health status of the turtle
population. With the help of volunteers, researchers have already
collected data on 150 turtles in this region.
Travelers will stay in Playa Blanca, located in the southern Pacific
province of Puntarenas, and spend two days and three nights working at
the project.In addition to assisting on research boats, volunteers
will work at the on-site turtle hospital, clean beaches and have time
for hiking and exploring the area for macaws, monkeys, dolphins and
humpback whales.
If you would like to participate in EcoTeach's "Turtles in Water"
project or would like more information about other community service
projects in Costa Rica, please visit our web site at
www.ecoteach.com. |
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