Bioluminescent Turtles
Written by Lindsay Metz
My story takes place in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. I visited for two weeks and fell in love with the wildness, the vibes, and a beautiful blue-eyed Costa Rican man. I briefly returned home to quit my “dream” job in Chicago, sell most of my possessions, pack up, and move back down to the most magical place on earth as soon as possible. I arrived very late in the evening after an 8-hour drive from the San José airport. Which was perfect timing because night time is when the turtles and the biologist really come alive!
Happy to see everyone, I set my bags down in the cocinera (a little kitchen hut). Everyone was already gearing up for a hike. Four hundred baby Olive Ridley sea turtles had hatched and needed to be released from the nursery to the ocean that evening!
I quickly dug out my gum boots and headlamp (with red light, of course) and raced through the jungle, full of pumas and fer-de-lance snakes, to catch up to the turtle group. I emerged onto the beach and was stunned at the beauty. Like a scene from Avatar, the waves were crashing that night, and the bioluminescence was incredible—the brightest I’ve ever seen! The shoreline was covered in sea foam that was glowing with green and blue dinoflagellates the size of quarters.
I had never seen anything like it. It took my breath away. The world stood still. And then the chaos of releasing 400 turtle hatchlings began.
Each volunteer and staff member had a bucket of about 40 baby turtles. Baby sea turtles need the time during their crawl from the nest or tree line down to the water in order to orient themselves. This is so they can find this beach in 20-30 years when they return to lay their own nests.
Each person was responsible for watching their sweet baby turtles crawl down through all the obstacles of crabs, seaweed, and waves that would push them back onto the shore.
Every time a turtle was washed back by the first wave, it would be covered in glowing phytoplankton. After a while, the whole beach became a sight of bioluminescent-covered turtle hatchlings. Tears filled my eyes, and my heart swelled with the magnificence of the moment.
This is why I became a marine biologist: to witness this moment with my own eyes. It’s a moment that cannot be captured with a camera, and I often relive it when I close my eyes to fall asleep.
Field biology is not always the most glamorous, but in this tiny corner of the world, surrounded by tiny sea turtles and even tinier glowing plankton, everything felt right. It was a moment in time that has locked my heart to the ocean forever.
Lindsay Metz
Lindsay Metz is a marine biologist based in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She earned her degree in marine biology from Hawaii Pacific University. Throughout her career, she has traveled the world working with sharks, turtles, coral, and various fish species. Lindsay is a dive instructor, a licensed captain, a free diver, and an AAUS Scientific Diver. In her current role as the Environmental Outreach Coordinator for a marine protected area (MPA), she organizes school trips and community events to promote ocean conservation. She believes that teaching the next generation to love the ocean is the best way to protect it.