What would possess an American war veteran to spend all night alone on a Costa Rican beach, looking for turtle nests? Turtle Rescue! And it’s urgent.

Mike Hughes seems to be an unlikely volunteer conservationist. But that’s exactly who he is, and he has probably saved thousands and thousands of turtle eggs from illegal turtle egg poachers who have now become well organized, and in many cases affiliated with drug dealers to sell their eggs. Turtle eggs are almost as profitable as drug smuggling, with half the risk. It just takes a shovel, a bag, and a motorcycle to flee the scene and head to San Jose where bars purchase turtle eggs to accompany beers. An average turtle nest yields roughly $100 on the black market, for little effort — and no skill. This activity is completely illegal in Costa Rica, but those laws are almost impossible to enforce.

Mike Hughes arrived in Costa Rica three years ago, and settled in Esterillos Oeste, to be close to his favorite activity of night surf fishing. It was through this nighttime activity that he became aware of the presence of others on the beach at night, and many seemed up to no good. Hughes discovered that turtle poachers would cruise the beach at night on ATVs or on foot, looking for the telltale trail of a female nesting turtle making her annual pilgrimage out of the ocean, and up the beach to dig her nest and lay hundreds of eggs. Theft of these eggs is endangering the future of sea turtles, especially the Olive Ridley, but also leatherbacks, loggerheads, green, and the critically endangered hawksbill turtle.

Many times Hughes would discover the tire tracks of an ATV, and close by, the decimated nest of a sea turtle – empty. He learned that the tradition of the beach is when someone finds a full turtle nest, they just stick a tall pole in the sand, thereby claiming the nest for themselves. Those who ignore this tradition do so at their own peril. In 2013, the young conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval seemingly ignored those rules of the beach, and wound up brutally murdered; his three female companions managed to escape. The number of turtle rescue volunteers has dropped dramatically since that event. But Mike Hughes fights on, often forced to use his military skills and instincts to protect himself. He explained, “I just don’t let anybody near me out there.”
Two people that he has let near him are the Tico couple who help maintain the turtle hatchery, vivero in Spanish, and file the overwhelming paperwork to keep the operation afloat: Jorge Bolandi Rios and his wife Ana Alfaro. Hughes met Bolandi on the beach where he serves as a volunteer lifeguard, surf coach, teacher, and wise man of all things turtle. The hatchery is the shelter rescued eggs are taken until ready to hatch. They call it “Tortuga Vida”, and it’s challenging work. Not to mention dangerous.
After each turtle hatch, the surrounding sand needs to be completely replaced, as it is contaminated by the previous hatching. Maintaining the night turtle egg hunts, filing legal paperwork, upkeep of the hatchery, and protection of the individuals involved is a herculean job, and all three Tortuga Vida workers are volunteers.

Here’s how you can help Tortuga Vida, and their important mission saving sea turtles. They are raising money for an ATV to facilitate faster response in cases of both beach drowning, and turtle saving. They are in desperate need of an ATV to move more quickly to help drowning victims by day, and turtles at night. Contact Tortuga Vida at (506) 8419-2897, and give what you can to help complete the remaining $3,000 for that dream ATV.

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