Still day 63 and 64 - TURTLES

As it got dark yesterday evening and we released the little tortoises near the water (with many good wishes that they wouldn't be eaten by predatory fish right away), we walked to the northern part of the beach. Today, two large turtles were sighted during the day, which might return at night to lay their eggs. We were not lucky enough to witness this, but as darkness fell, we came across more and more nests from which baby turtles were hatching. The reserve staff can't dig up all the nests. You are actually supposed to use red light only, because the turtles might mistake white light for moonlight, which they normally use to orient themselves. But by now it was pitch black and we were afraid of accidentally stepping on the little creatures. We helped the tiny ones fight their way out of their nests. They were still warm from the heated sand. Then we took them to the water, hoping that the large number would increase their chances of survival. Each of us assisted in the birth of hundreds. We hardly had an eye for the mesmerizing starry sky.

By the way, the two turtle species are called leather and olive bastard turtles.

Today was just a day at the beach, observing surfers and witnessing post-pubescent courtship behavior at the surfer bar in cloudless 31 degrees and gusty winds.