Meaningful & Affordable Service Learning Programs in Costa Rica

I originally wanted to do a program where you travel and volunteer with a group, however, I only started planning this trip a month and a half before leaving. This led me to The Volunteer Bay because their programs weren't booked to capacity. Although the program was more based on solo travel, I am so glad I did it because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone. (Also, it offered a much cheaper price compared to group volunteer programs) Pedro, the managing director, and Vida, the programs director, were extremely helpful in what I needed to know about the program. I did the Sea Turtle Conservation Project in Montezuma that is run by ASVO, a non-profit organization that has three locations in Costa Rica. (The Volunteer Bay is pretty much an intermediary between the volunteer and ASVO).
The first two nights of my trip I spent in San Jose at Hostel Van Gogh. Although the hostel was very nice, the city itself isn't great, so unless it's necessary I wouldn't spend much time in San Jose. Getting to Montezuma from San Jose took about 6 hours total which includes bus rides and an hour long ferry ride. The ASVO house in Montezuma is nice and has all of the basics (bathrooms, showers, electricity). The town of Montezuma is small but it has everything you need plus very friendly locals and backpackers. The food served at the ASVO house was great and there was always more than enough. There is also more freedom at the ASVO house than I expected (there's a curfew because a lot of the work that is done takes place at night). The volunteers had some free time during the day so we took a couple trips to the waterfalls and a trip to Isla Tortuga where we went snorkeling. During a typical day in the early season, there is a lot of down time for reading and relaxing.
As for the actual turtle work, there wasn't much when I was there because I arrived at the very beginning of the nesting season. The volunteers were scheduled for one patrol a night which started anywhere between 6:30pm and 2:00am, there was also a 5am shift which is actually great because you get to see the beautiful sunrise. Patrols consisted of walking the beach 2 or 3 times with other volunteers and a Patrol Leader searching for turtles/turtle tracks. I saw three turtles lay eggs and on my last night I was able to move 93 Olive Ridley eggs to a safer location. The experience was amazing and I couldn't have had a better way to end my trip.
I met so many great people from around the world and even those who I don't share a language with became great friends of mine. I would definitely do this program again or do another program through The Volunteer Bay in the future. Pura Vida!