Caught in the Moment

Episode 1

Costa Rica: Turtle Beach

Sat, Jan 24, 2026

Tristan and Vanessa are on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in search of a spectacle known as 'Arribada'. This is the arrival of up to 150,000 turtles on a 1 km stretch of beach - one of the largest collections of turtles anywhere in the world. Timing is everything as Tristan and Vanessa try to pinpoint the critical moment when the turtles will arrive. Once Tristan and Vanessa are on location it's just a case of waiting and hoping that their timing is right! But in this part of the world there's always plenty going on! Walking along deserted beaches, through steaming mangrove swamps, and beautiful coastal forests, the pair discover lizards that can literally run on water, troops of capuchin monkeys that have learnt how to open clams with their bare hands, and crabs that literally ghost across the beach. Vanessa's turtle timing comes good when they see the first of these prehistoric animals hauling themselves out of the surf and up the beach to lay their eggs. For both Tristan and Vanessa it's a huge relief to see these first turtles, in what turns out to be a truly staggering arribada! Now their work really starts; to capture on film these rare and endangered animals in their struggle to survive to the next generation. But what happens next is to really draw on their resolve.