Tunnels? ... and a Momma Turtle !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
arrived at the tour company at 8:30 ... communication is not a strong attribute on the islands. yesterday i asked about snorkel equipment; but was not informed that the waters were very cold and i could rent a wetsuit ...for $5 :( .....i asked them to have the taxi take me back to my hotel so i could get my OWN wetsuit that i had been hauling around w/me for 2months.
i started visiting with Helmut from Germany, who was/is fortunate enough to be volunteering for the Natl Park Svc here on Isabela. something i tried to do back in October, but got no where with my inquiring. he's been volunteering for 2months, which is another whole story.
we boarded a rather small boat with 8 others ... there was just enough room for everyone to sit :( ... we headed West around the island for about 40min.
stopping at another huge volcanic rock formation ...
arriving at a protected area with lots of lava rocks jutting out of the water ... common here ... we snorkeled for 40min or so. our Guide showed us a small cave where there were 2 white tipped sharks resting ....
also saw several turtles ....
the water was very clear .. that was nice ...
and the collection of the 'usual suspects' were there ... this is the BullsEye PufferFish, .... it was nice snorkeling .... but nothing spectacular ...
we left there and went to another similar place ... first stopping to look at these Blue Footed Boobies .....
and this cute Sea Lion, who came out of 'his cave' as if 'on cue' ...to say hi, ...slid into the water and proceeded to entertain us with his underwater acrobatics for awhile, ... i mean really, he was entertaining us :) ....
then we anchored and got out to snorkel ... we looked through this 'arch' at the Yellow Tailed SurgeonFish ... and then snorkeled to the other side ... i would not call this a 'tunnel' ....
on the other side, we snorkeled back under a smaller 'arch' .... i went through and back again and lingered behind and explored to see what else i could see while the rest of the group left ... i saw this Lobster ... something new today !!! ...
yeahhhh, ... he looked very 'bejeweled' ....
i saw this nice sized ParrotFish that hung round long enough to take a photo ....
then i looked up, and everyone was in the boat ... really ... that was it ? ... we'd only snorkeled about 15min :(
so that was the Tunnels ? ... back in the boat we had sandwiches, juice, watermelon, a cookie, and chocolate candy ... and then headed back home.
the Surf had really picked up ... it was a very shallow area, and there were huge waves (that you could surf on) rolling in. ... we had to get over or through the waves to get out to the open sea. ...everyone grabbed their life jackets and put them on, except me, i was talking when i heard Helmut yell at me to put my jacket on because this was dangerous, so i did. this was no easy feat for our Captain ... i trusted he knew what he was doing, and he must have, because he got us out of there. it seemed like a long bumpy ride home; but i got to visit with a nice lady from Kansas City.
so we were back ... i was disappointed because we didn't see any Manta Rays, like everyone else had :( ...hummm, is there a theme here, like there was/is with the Whale Sharks????
plus ... where were the Tunnels? .... i went back to the Tour shop where i booked and asked her .... i guess i have a different definition of 'tunnel' than they do ... :(
in the evening i was sitting outside. working on/fighting with, the internet, and Helmut stopped by. we visited for awhile, then he said he was going to get something to eat and then walk the beach looking for turtles. he said i could join him ... i ran upstairs and grabbed my headlight, that has a 'red' light on it, to be used so as not to disturb turtles while they are nesting. ...i was excited :)
it seemed early, i always thought turtles laid their eggs in the wee hours of the morning, because that's how it worked the only other time i'd seen them, when i was in Australia. but he said, the Tide was in and this was the time.
if you remember, the first day i was here, i walked the beach and saw those sticks marking turtle nests. that is Helmut's 'doing' ... he's been marking them since he got here ... how cool is that? and so we walked ... not too far down the shore, he spotted new tracks ... we followed them, (in the dark, with the aid of a 'red' light) and he narrated where the turtle had come ashore ... and went up an incline .... tried out a spot that was too heavy with grass and roots .... back down the incline, then followed the bank of sand ..... and .... there she was ... digging her nest ... @!!!!!!!!
we left her while she worked, and walked further down the beach for about an hour ...
when we returned, she was laying her eggs ....
it wasn't too long before she started covering them up ....
we waited, while the mosquitos feasted on us :( ...
amazing laborious work for her. she was very conscious of moving the sand over the eggs with her back flippers expertly, and then compacting the sand .... over and over again ..... resting every minute or so. after about 30min, she started using her front flippers as well, moving the sand back, and then moving slightly, to compact it under her ... this went on for another 30+min .... as we continued to swat at mosquitos ... but our discomfort was nothing compared to hers !
this was her nest when she finally finished ....
she started for the shore ... the Tide was going out, so she had a much further journey back to the sea than on the way in ... poor girl ... she would crawl a few steps .....
then rest ... doesn't she just look 'flat-out' exhausted ??????????
she was literally dragging herself along the sand towards the water ... and then resting again ... it was grueling to watch :(
even when the waves finally washed upon her, she still couldn't move ...
resting again, ....
until the next wave came in ....
even at this point, she wasn't strong enough to swim ...
finally ... a wave engulfed her, .... and i couldn't see her any longer ....
i was so relieved .... and to think she'll be back again and again .... they do this 5-6 times during each nesting season !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ....
these are some of her tracks from the nest back to the sea ....
she couldn't even go in a straight line ....
we pretty much walked back in silence ... my head full of my own thoughts .... i don't think i could endure watching that night after night ... i was emotionally exhausted !
.... but so grateful to have been able to experience another wonderous feat of nature ... think of it ...... some facts:
>> ... this is the SAME beach where this turtle hatched
>> ... she struggled into the sea as a tiny turtle and traveled and survived out there in the sea for 20-50 years before becoming sexually mature
>> ... never returning here, .... until she becomes sexually mature enough to lay her own eggs ...
>> ... and she returns to the same beach, (usually within a few hundred yards of where she herself hatched) ...
>> ... she struggles to the beach up to 6 times each nesting season, laying around 100 eggs each time, (1 in 1,000 survive) .....to assure that her species continues to exist...
>> ... in between each egg-laying activity, she does not eat
>> ... this process is so depleting to the female that there are usually 4 yrs between nesting cycles, in order for her to be strong enough to undertake the process again
incredible .... ! ...how can you NOT be excited to see one in the water ....
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