Roughing it out on prison island

By Lydia Barge, Alpha 4

When I learned that I had been assigned to Alpha 4 to work on an environmental project on San Lucas Island, I was thrilled to the bone. The fact that there was a derelict prison which once housed Costa Rica’s most notorious criminals, added more intrigue to the project. San Lucas Island is now a designated heritage site and wildlife reserve and we were tasked to work on shelters to make the place more visitor-friendly.

It was rather stressful at the beginning. Our bus had broken down during our journey there and it was a challenge trying to set up the camp and our living area. If we didn’t build our basha beds well, it would get soaked from the rain. Still, we were quite lucky as it only rained twice in the evenings during our stay. 

The mosquitoes on San Lucas were really something to write home about. They must’ve been of some genetically superior species; almost impossible to ward off in spite of the copious amounts of repellant. There were a million other bugs that shared our home and we learned to always check for crabs before climbing into bed at night.

After a few days we got used to the less comfortable living conditions, smelling bad, and wearing damp clothes all the time. Fortunately the sea was right at our doorstep so we could always jump in for a dip to wash ourselves.

Work on the project took time to get off the ground because we were guided by the rangers and at first it seemed as if their plans were changing all the time. But eventually it all came together and we really had fun building the visitor shelter and a fence to cordon off the rangers’ private area. We also built a trail to connect our part of the beach to another one called Hacienda Vieja.

It was amazing being on that island, as we got to learn about the history of the place. The tour around the prison and the stories gave the place an eerie setting. People who had read a book by a former inmate said they that it was easy to imagine how horrific it was. I reckon it would be good if the prison building were restored in such a way to make it a better experience for the tourists.

Having out jungle camp on the beach was incredible. The evenings were cool and we could chill out with a great view before us. I think we’ve all matured a little bit from this experience of living so closely and sharing so much over the 19 days. I was always encouraged by how well the team worked together. It was also great to have two Nicaraguans, Josi and Ariana in our group. I can say two more things in Spanish now, thanks to them – “Tengo ambre” and “estoy cansada”.

I don’t think anyone of us realized that we could actually do the construction work and wield a machete like how we did. I felt all the hard work of sawing, cutting, nailing and hammering under the hot sun paid off when one of the rangers, Don Julio wrote us a letter of appreciation thanking us for our help, because that was why we were there – to make a difference. After this project I feel that in a way, we own part of San Lucas now, and that for me, is priceless.