Turtles and Waves

Nestled along 3 miles of pristine beach, San Miguel is the home of a conservation project aimed at protecting turtle eggs and changing the mindset of locals who poach the eggs for food and money. Before this project was created, 100% of the nests on this beach were poached by locals or destroyed by animals. However, over the past 18 years, the project has reduced this number to less than 8%. Independently owned and privately funded, Turtle Trax relies on donations and volunteer work to run the conservation effort. Every night, the beach is patrolled constantly by shifts of conservationists and volunteers who search the beach for sea turtles.

The last two nights I have taken the 7 till 10PM shift, while tonight I will have the 2AM to 5AM shift in search of turtles and their nests. It has been quite interesting taking part in the conservation effort. Last night I "delivered" or rather caught 119 eggs as they were birthed from a female Olive Ridley turtle. We watched the turtle drag herself out of the water to a suitable nesting spot where she began rhythmically digging with her hind flippers until she had a hole about 38 centimeters deep, at which point she dropped her eggs in. As I caught and placed the eggs in a bag, other members of the team were busy measuring the turtle and placing tags on her flippers. It is interesting that the turtle was not perturbed in the least by our involvement, since they go into a trance-like state once they begin the laying process. After the work with the turtle is finished, and we have gathered her eggs, we walk back to the hatchery, where we place the eggs. Here the eggs mature in a safe, and danger free zone for around 50 days until the eggs hatch and the baby turtles crawl to the surface. A volunteer is also on duty at night to watch for hatchlings. Once they hatch, the babies are placed in a bucket and released on the sand, where they instinctually crawl their way to the sea.

Although slightly sleep deprived, it has been a wonderful experience here so far. It is great to see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes in the conservation efforts. Also, during the daytime there are plenty of activities. The other day I ran with Brett along the beach for 30 minutes, after which I did several sprints. Unfortunately I sprinted too fast, and although the sand was perfectly flat, I managed to strip the skin off of one of my toes! I won't be running for a few days, but I am still able to go body surfing. The waves here are at times so big that they are quite terrifying; a wall of water ready to crush everything in its path. Several times I have gotten perfect bodysurfing rides, going at least 100 meters with my head out of the water allowing me to breath. Other times I am simply flipped, crushed, and burbled in a bubbling blur of back-breaking bwaves.. Did I say "bwaves"? I meant waves... 

Currently I am sitting under a cabana on the beach watching Spirit surf with varying degrees of success. I just finished getting tumbled in the waves, and I figured I would attempt to gather my thoughts and mangled limbs while working on my blog. The sun is about to set, and if I get a good photo I will be sure to post it directly to the right of this paragraph  ----->. (You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it.) After San Miguel,

Photo Cred to Gabi!

we return to the jungle once again. We arrive in San Isidro on Friday, and take 4-Wheel vehicles deep into the cloud forrest where we will work on several projects. Anyway, stay classy my friends! Hasta la vista!

Excavating a hatched nest

The team ready to relocate sea turtle nests!