9: Turtles!

As we descended from the mountains it became increasingly hot. I slowly stripped off layers until I was left in a cool summer tank top. Next to me, little Ixchel sat slumbering in her car seat, her bangs sticking to her forehead and her new purple beach sandals dangling off her toes. We were headed to the Pacific Coast with our friends Jameson, Rogelia and their one year old daughter and felt excited to be seeing a new part of the country.

We passed miles and miles of sugar cane plantations in the coastal lowlands before finally reaching the beach. Piles of coconuts for sale sat on the side of the road and bundles of sesame awaited harvest in the fields. We arrived at Rogelia's family beach house right at sunset when the mosquitos were out in full force. In attempts to escape the hungry insects, we quickly ran to the edge of the water to gaze out at the pelicans gliding past the sunset. It wasn't until we turned around to return to the house that I noticed the two "tortugarios." A tortugario is an enclosed area on the beach that protects nests of sea turtles eggs, while people monitor their hatching.

Sea turtles are amazing animals. After hatching they migrate long distances in the ocean for at least seven years before making their way back to the exact same beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs. Scientists still don't understand how they are able to do this! Unfortunately, in the last thirty years sea turtles have encountered increasing threats from humans, including getting caught in fishing nets and health problems caused by water pollution. However, the largest challenge faced by sea turtles is the safety of their nests.

As human populations grow, families have to find new places to live and work. Many beaches that were once remote, pristine places are now surrounded by towns and cities. Dogs and traffic along these beaches threaten sea turtles and their delicate eggs. In addition, many people make money to support their families by the sale of sea turtle eggs, which are considered a delicacy in many fancy restaurants. The combination of these three factors drove many species of sea turtles to the brink of extinction. In response, many concerned families, communities and international organizations started tortugarios. The efforts of all these people working together have helped sea turtles to start making a come back.

In the tortugario that Rogelia's family helped build we saw rows of number sticking out of the sand. Rogelia explained that each number marked the position of a different nest. These eggs were not laid here by the mother, but brought to the tortugario to protect and monitor them.

The afternoon we arrived there was a nest almost ready to hatch. Patty and I were so excited! After dinner, when the stars shimmered over the ocean and fireflies flitted amongst the trees, we took our flashlights and made our way down to the tortugario. Peering down into the hole we saw two baby sea turtles pacing in circles at the bottom with their tiny little flippers. The nest was beginning to hatch.

Don Juan, the head of the tortugario project, told us that each nest held up to 100 eggs. When the baby turtles hatch the first thing they have to do is dig their way out of the heavy sand. If we stayed and watched, he continued, we might get to see the new turtles begin to poke up out of the sand.

We happily volunteered to take responsibility for one of the monitoring shifts that night to check-up on the little turtles. Waiting for midnight to come, we swung in the hammocks, told stories and tried to avoid the persistent mosquitos. Finally, the time had come. There were the two baby turtles, still pacing in circles and beneath them, just beginning to surface was a little head and part of a flipper. The babies were on their way, but there were many more still waiting in their eggs. We went to bed happy and wondering what we would find in the morning.

By the next afternoon the entire nest still hadn't hatched. In the early morning hours Don Juan had released the few baby turtles we had seen in the nest, but now he was worried about the rest. If it took them too long to dig their way out of the sand, ants and worms might start attacking them. He decided it was best to give them help by carefully digging through the sand and pulling them out one by one. Our friend Jameson did the job and slowly the red plastic tub began to fill up with sleepy turtles. Fifty-seven in all!

We waited several hours to release them because the turtles needed time to wake up. They would need a lot of energy to survive their first journey into the sea. We released the baby turtles at sunset. It was so exciting to see them quickly drag themselves across the wet sand with their little flippers, leaving winding trails behind them on the beach. And then, there they were at the water's edge, facing all the dangers, adventures and pleasures of the underwater world of the ocean.

"Goodbye tortuguitas!" we called out to them. "Good luck! Don't forget to come back!"

Click on the television above to watch a mini-video of the baby turtles!