Tag 63 - TURTLES!!!!

WOW! What an experience! Yesterday, we happened to overhear a conversation during breakfast where the word 'turtle' came up. That's how we met a young German couple who had booked a Tortuga tour for the same day. We were able to join them and in the afternoon, we went to the 'La Flor' nature reserve. There is only one ranger station and an untouched beach. No bars, no restaurants, no music!

This beach is one of two in Nicaragua where turtles come to lay eggs. They always return to their birth beach. One kind (name forgotten) comes individually, the other kind (name I have to look up) comes in the thousands in one night. The beach is guarded by the military among others. The little turtles need to be protected from human egg robbers as well as eagles and crabs. Therefore, as many eggs as possible are dug up and incubated in sandbags at the station. Hundreds of them hatch every day. Each of us carried a bowl full of them to the sea and released them into the water. But the best part came after nightfall!

I will write more tonight, I'm about to go into the water myself.