148 Babies!

So much to talk about, more than will fit in one blog, so I'll start with the stuff people really want to hear about. The 148 babies that I've helped make it safely to sea. I was trained on Friday (pretty simple really) and then had a shift from 6 p.m. to midnight that night. At 7:45 that night I was rewarded when I checked a nest in the hatchery (a nest is a rectangular piece of chicken wire covered in netting and pushed down into the sand over the area where the eggs have been placed) and discovered a bunch of squirming turtles inside. In total there were 30. We weighed and measured 15 of them (all that's required) and then released them on the sand and watched as they crawled into the sea. Then at 10:00 that night we had another nest hatch with 39. A great first shift.

But Tuesday was even better. I had taken a walk and when I returned at 4:15, the other volunteer was sitting beside a nest. One little turtle head was poked up out of the sand; I dubbed him Rocky because he was a fighter. We sat and waited and over the course of 30-45 minutes, 34 babies made it to the surface. And I got video of them birthing. We've been referring to ourselves as turtle midwives. Then just two hours later I checked a nest and saw one tiny head poked up out of the sand just like before. Again, I got to watch as 38 babies made their way into the world. It's so cool to think that they break out of the shell and then spend five days climbing to the surface. Such determination from these little creatures who are smaller than the palm of your hand.

I'm having my photos put on a CD today while I work on this, so hopefully when I post again later today I'll have some pics to share on facebook. Time, however, is limited. I have a bus to catch at 3:30 (and laundry to retrieve before that).

More posts to come about life in Gandoca . . .