Today we had a free day today from the turtles rescue. We went out on a whale watching tour on the first day of the season. We were told in the beginning we may not see any because the season had just begun. We left on the boats at 8:00 am and by 8:10 we had already spotted our first humpback whale! We followed them for about an hour watching these amazing animals come up for air. We were so close we could hear the water being pushed out the blow hole. It was amazing!

Our third day in the water to catch turtles was one I will never forget. We watched the other boat drop the nets we use to catch the turtles and then set out on our first task of the day which was to straighten the nets in the water. So we jumped in the water and began straightening some of us on the top line and some on the bottom. I chose to help on the bottom line.

I was swimming along straightening the bottom line when I felt a strong pull. I looked up and about ten feet from me was a female adult greenback turtle already in the net. It was awesome to see one so close up in the water and how strong they are. I watched from the water as they untangled the net and brought her on the boat.

I know I get to touch them on land but something about seeing her in the water was so special. Also, being the only one around to witness it was amazing. Once on land I got to measure her and watch her go back to her home. She was the start to a very busy day! We caught 5 that day. Each one was special in their own way.

Today was day two in the water. We woke up to a wonderful breakfast with fresh fruit and a hot plate of eggs, rice, beans, and plantains. After a wonderful breakfast we headed off on our bikes to the turtle rescue and research center to begin our day catching, measuring, and tagging sea turtles. We took a short ride with amazing views to our beach for the day.

Once the nets were set we headed for shore to wait for the turtles. Once on shore we were greeted by three small dogs that were very happy to see us. Once on land we set off to find sloths that are known to be in the trees. Even though we did not find any sloths we did see some spiders, crabs, and lizards that are all pretty awesome as well not to mention the breath taking scenery all around us.

Once back to the beach we relaxed and waited for a turtle. We only caught one turtle but it was a hawksbill. One out of every five turtles caught are hawksbills. It was amazing to see a hawksbill up close. He or she was too young to tell the gender but it was most likely a female. Once the turtle was measured, tagged, and tissue samples taken we sent the turtle on her way back to the sea to continue to grow. Lunch was served on the beach and since no other turtles ended up in the net we pulled them up and headed back with another boat ride!