Tortugas

Back at it at 5:00am for our second turtle viewing session.

The bumpy road video series continues…..

Lydia made a new friend.

The Asociacion de Guas Locales Ostional office was hopping even in the early morning hours.

We felt grateful for the chance to see the turtles in the evening and in the early morning. The 5:00am visit had a whole different feel and I loved the moodiness of the ocean and the sky. In the morning there were more turtles heading back out to sea and we got to see more babies heading for the ocean as well.

We asked our guide what the thinking was about why so many turtles come to this particular beach. She said there are many theories including the way the currents run, the color of the sand, the fact the the community is still relatively undeveloped meaning no distracting lights or nightlife on the beach. She also talked about the positive feedback loop that is now in effect with the local community. Each month when the arrival occurs the community and guide association protect the beaches and the turtles. They limit the amount of visitors and clean the beaches, in turn making it a more appealing and safe place for the turtles. The community also has special permission to legally harvest turtle eggs for sale and consumption to help fund the protection efforts. The egg harvest happens in the early morning on the first three days of arrival only. Paradoxically, more successful hatchings have been counted since harvesting of eggs has been in place. Our guide gave us an amazing statistic, that even without predation by animals or egg harvesting; if conditions were perfect and all nests were allowed to follow their natural course, 85% of the eggs would still not result in a surviving turtle.

So wild and beautiful.

Double turtle tracks.

Baby turtles seem so tiny and vulnerable. It is amazing to see them heading towards the ocean.

Babies on the move. It seems like such a harrowing journey, but our guide reminded us how important the long walk towards the ocean is for them. The trip not only gives them a chance to build muscle strength, but gives them time to imprint on the beach taking in the chemical signature of their birth place so that they can return again.

The pink and yellow coloring was so striking. You can tell which turtles are younger because they still have the typical lined markings when you look at their shell. Older females tend to have shells that are more worn that start to look like smooth rocks or boulders.