Life as a Turtle Volunteer

Katelios
Katelios is a small town (no more than a few km across) on the Ionian island of Kefalonia. The island is mountainous with winding roads leading from town to town. Speed limits are merely suggestions and drivers seem little phased by the steep drop offs as they zoom around curves. The sky is always blue and temps stay right around 90F dipping into about 80F at night. There is generally a nice breeze which makes the heat bearable. With basically no rain during the whole summer, the landscape takes on a desert like feel with small brush with thorns or branches so dried out they scratch you just the same. The dry climate also leads to a dust that constantly covers everything with each breeze that comes through.
The island is very touristy with plenty of english and italian tourists and now in August, greeks from the mainland on holiday. Katelios is fairly small so it doesn't see near the traffic of nearby towns like Skala which have bigger resorts and what not. The main turtle nexting beach is Mounda beach which is a sandy beach about 4 km long that runs between skala and Katelios.
All the turtle volunteers live in a campsite which is about a five minute or less walk to anywhere in Katelios including the beach, a 20 min hike over some rocks to Mounda. The campsite consists of about 15 tents arranged beneath some olive trees for shade, a big table/eating area, a toilet and shower, and a makeshift kitchen with a stove and sink but no fridge nor counter space. A bunch of pots and pans and dishes are stacked on a table outside the "kitchen." There is also a large storage tent, fire pit, and hammock area. While it might not sound like much, after a couple weeks it really starts to feel like home.
The volunteers range from 18 to 27 yrs and represent everywhere from the US, England, Scottland, Greece, France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy. We can be sitting around the dinner table and there can be conversations going simultaneously in about 4 or 5 different languages. We all take turns cooking dinner for eachother which tends to be pasta or rice, along with salad and some type of veggie usually eggplant. When we aren't doing our work shifts, we are either out at the beach or the pool, or seeking out shade to try our best to make it through the hottest part of the day. With one day off a week we have also been able to see other parts of the island. The main mode of transportation is hitch hiking. Don't worry, we never hitch alone, and it just makes the most sense here bc theres only one main road that goes around the whole island. Generally nice tourists, or local greeks that know us give us the most rides. Its a bit weird at first but after a while you get used to it and can break it down to a science of sorts.