Late last night, the four of us got on the boat to go with some guides to search for some sea turtles. As we were being shuttled through the forest in a single file line, images of New Moon came in all of our minds (You know, the part where they were leading all of the tourists to the dungeon). These thoughts left our mind as soon as we walked on the beach and the guide told us a sea turtle was nesting about 5 meters away. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures or video but hopefully we will be able to paint a vivid picture in your mind. They had us wait a little ways away while the turtle was digging the hole. They scare easily. As we were waiting, we saw several other turtles come from the sea, only to return again because they were spooked. A short time later, she had completed her hole, and we were able to go over and watch her lay eggs. We saw her lay about 10 eggs out of about 100. We were close enough to touch her, but of course we were not allowed to. She finished laying her eggs and began covering them. Once that was finished, she camouflaged the area by digging a new hole away from the nest, so that predators would be confused. As she was camouflaging the nest, she would take her front flippers and throw the sand behind her. A sea turtle actually threw sand on us! This is another experience we will never forget! If only we could see the eggs hatch! I guess we have to come back between November and December.
RSS Feed