Day Three Final

Sorry for the delay in posts, It’s been hectic and we haven’t had any wifi. To finish off what happened on tortugero, I should start by saying that we did indeed find our lost key. After that, we hopped back onto the boats and took a long ride back past the village of tortugero. We were to go on a turtle walk late that night. From 9-12. We had dressed in all black and were not allowed to carry lights with us. We hiked up the beach for two hours, and a hike on sand is not easy whatsoever. After two hours, we took a break, and wound up sitting and lying on the sand to watch the brilliant night sky. When you looked up, it was nearly as clear as a night sky seen on the boat in the middle of august. I luckily had my binoculars and we passed them around to get a better look while we waited for the guides to return. While we were relaxing, they had somehow disappeared from us. No worries, we simply leaned back and enjoyed the moment of peace. To be honest, I fell asleep lying there for a few minutes.

                The guides finally joined the group and we returned on our walk. We had passed other groups on the way to our resting spot who simply said “nada”, meaning they hadn’t spotted turtles. However, the other groups went out earlier and we were the last to hunt. Thank goodness we did because half way through the walk home, we found what appeared to be an overturned rowboat up along the bank of the beach. Our guide nearly jumped out of his skin “Holy Christ! Un Tortuga! Tortuga!” He was so funny. We sat back on our heels and waited a little while, because the turtle was just starting the process by digging the nest. Our guide called the STC (sea turtle conservation center) to come collect data while we waited. After about five minutes, the leather back turtle started laying her eggs. She lays about 80 eggs in a bootshaped nest, and goes into a trance while she lays so that we aren’t actually bothering her while we watch. The eggs are normally ping-pong ball sixed, however, she laid multiple tiny eggs that are “fake” eggs to confuse predators. This leather back had been tagged before and was 1.5 meters long. Leatherbacks are named as such because of their lack of shell. If you cut the back of a leather back, it will bleed. It has multiple bones  under its skin that act as a shell.  We watched her lay eggs for about 45 minutes. What a shame too. The spot where she was laying was right before a sand cliff that was well inside the tidal zone. Within a few hours, the sea would wash over the nest and ruin it. As part of the reservation, we were unable to help move eggs or even think of doing so. 1 hour of work down the drain.  Still, it was an extraordinary experience. The STCC crew worked with swift speed to collect their data without harming her. Everyone involved was so glad to be a part of the experience. We returned to the hotel exhausted but extreamly pleased with ourselves.
Pura Vida!