Many Tortugas

On Thursday we went out on the boat to one of two sites. While putting out the net we caught our first turtle before we could even straighten the nets out. Then while measuring and checking tax of the first hurdle we caught there was another one. All together we caught for greenback turtles that day. Most of them were full-grown adults and all females. We worked really hard that day and everyone was sunburnt including me. But it was a wonderful experience.

After the four turtles we rested on the beach and had lunch. Every day for lunch we had ham and cheese sandwiches made by Marie. Her and her family run the beautiful cabinas where we were staying. She was such a sweet lady and a good cook. She even made sure we had cookies every day.

At the end of the day we were on the boats waiting for them to pull up the net. While they were pulling them up we caught a fifth turtle. But it got away. It was a very productive day and everyone had a chance to work with the turtles. When we got back to the wide cast center we untangle nets and put them away. That can be quite the chore and requires lots of patience. But by that point we were pretty good at it. I think all this hard work makes us into better people.

On Saturday it was back to the beach to catch turtles. After casting the nets we waited patiently on the beach. It was about an hour before we found the first turtle. After taking measurements, checking tags, and taking pictures we hung out under a tree on the beach. This particular beach had three small dogs that kept us company. We even named the smallest one Nugget. He was so handsome. While we were hanging out the others went to look for sloths along the beach. When they returned they looked up into the tree where we were all under and saw a sloth and her baby. They were over us the whole time. It was so cool to see them in their natural habitat. The baby was the cutest little furball. Peeking over mama to get a good look at us. I have some great pictures of the two of them.

After that excitement, a while later we spotted a humpback whale close to shore. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get watching these magnificent creatures. It was unforgettable. As I was taking pictures and video of the whales. Someone spotted an eel and ankle-deep water. I’m not sure what kind of eel it was but it was beautiful and curious about us as we were of it.

My it was so amazing to see these animals in nature. Not like at the zoo. This was the real deal and I will never forget these moments. I will cherish them forever and hope to return one day.

On our first day we rode bikes to the white cast compound. It was about in 2 1/2 mile bike ride that was scary. Because people drove so crazy. The weather wasn’t too bad because it was cloudy. Which made good bike riding weather that morning.

We had orientation when we arrived. During orientation they discussed then we would type of sea turtles we were going to be catching. We mainly talked about the Greenbacks and Hawks bills sea turtles. We discussed threats such as poaching, pollution, loss of habitat, disease, and climate change.

Next we went over how to restrain the turtles for examination. To restrain we hold around the shoulder of each front flipper, close to the carapace. While others support underneath the carapace. For the exam we measure the length and width of the carapace and plastron. This is the top and the bottom of the shell. Then check for tags and if necessary assist with taking tissue samples. If they are not tagged we help clean the flipper to prepare for tagging. We also measure the tale and the cloaca. The cloaca is the multipurpose whole used for waste and reproduction. Everyone has a job to do whether it’s measuring, restraining, charting info or taking pictures. It was hard work but worth it.

To catch the turtles (Tortugas) we went out onto the boats. There were two different sites that we went to. First the nets would be cast into the water. Then we would jump in the water to help straighten them out. After that we would wait on the beach until the boats brought one in. On our first day we caught three greenback turtles. There were two females and one male. The staff said that a male was rare to catch. Plus he had no tags; the females are already tagged.

In between turtles we hung out on the beach and took and all of the beautiful scenery. There was ocean, then mountains and above that beautiful clouds. It’s paradise.