Turtles

This morning, walking the dogs on the beach, I noticed the sand in front of me seeming to move.  It was a calm cloudy morning, soft and cool.  Hurricane Paula had sent us a rain that had cleansed things and the air and water seemed more crystal.  But the shimmering on the sand was not the sun peaking from behind the nearly transparent clouds.  My dogs started to run and then I realized it was baby turtles that had hatched a few minutes ago and were making their way to the sea.

“No!” I screamed at my dogs who, to my surprise, chose to obey me.  Lakra, my black and white girl cocked her head and looked at the babies crawling with their little fins.  Ama, my golden retriever mix, chose to follow them, more closely than I liked, right into the ocean.  She was swimming with them as they traveled out toward the reef, almost like an escort.  

There were about 20 of them as I looked up and down the beach toward the sea. I held Ama and every so often checked on Lakra.  She still had her head cocked to one side and was watching the babies intently.  We all did, actually, until the last of them pulled himself along the sand to follow his siblings into the soft warm waves.  This morning they were lucky. The water was calm and the clouds gave the turtles a little cover.  Yet, I could see their baby heads bob along the waves as they came up for air and then went back down, immediately, instinctively knowing what to do.  The sun shimmered on the water and I prayed that they would be ok.  I got nervous as a pelican flew closely over the surface. But he did not dip.  He missed them, thankfully and I looked out after them and imagined how they would do, all alone. I felt a bond with them.  I mean, if they could survive and find their way back to this very beach I don’t know how many years later to lay their eggs, I could certainly do the few things I had set out for myself.  I was amazed and humbled by these little beings and I kept sending them all the energy I could as I turned away from the sea to continue to walk.  My dogs ran ahead, forgetting the turtles quickly.  I could not.

I thought of the Sunday night before when I was at Playa Selva, the petite hotel where I work.  The little girl who is with a family renting there, came to tell me, “The crabs eat the baby turtles”.

“How do you know that?” I asked, amused by her direct delivery.

“Well”, she said and took a deep breath, “We saw lots of turtle tracks on the beach last night leading from a nest to the sea and then they stopped and we saw some crab hole and we found a baby turtle in there and we think the crab ate him.” 

“Really?”  I said.

She shook her head and said, “yes.” then took another deep breath before continuing.  “and we are going to look for turtles now with our dad and we will help them get to the sea.”

“That is great.” I told her smiling. 

“Want to come?” she asked me.

“Well I am waiting for someone but if you find them come back and get me, because I want to see them”, I told her honestly.

“OK”, she said and put her head-lamp on her head, turned it on and then ran to find her brother.

I watched her leave and then turned to see our new guests arriving.  I shifted my attention to them.

“Welcome”, I said, greeting them both. 

“You have been here before, right?” I confirmed. 

 “So you know about no toilet paper in the toilets, and how we use solar power so if you can conserve it will help us. And we compost”, I continued.  With everything I said they shook their head. Finally, I said, “Sorry to bore you with all that but I had to remind you.” I turned to grab a big plastic box from under the kitchen counter and continued, “And if you can put your food in this" I said opening the box for them and explaining, "We have lots of animals here in the jungle.”

Just then my little blond friend came running up the path out of breath.

“We found them”, she told me.

I looked at her, remembering our crab/turtle conversation.

“You did?” I said excitedly.

“Yes and you need to help us.  We think they are dead.”

“What?” I said, excusing myself from the guests.

“Yes.  The turtles are in there but we think they are dead.”

“Oh no.” my guest said.

I introduced them and then said to Ivy, “lets go see ok?”

“Yes, lets go”, my guests said and we quickly put their luggage in the cabana and followed this blond chubby little five year old to the beach, running to keep up with her.  Suddenly she stopped where her two sisters and brother were kneeling in the sand, close to the small dunes in front of the hotel. 

“There”, she pointed. 

“I can see them”, her brother Dubai said.

“They are moving a little but I am not sure they can get out”, her sister Iris looked up to tell me.

We got onto our knees and looked into the hole about the size of the half dollar.  It was sort of crusty on the edges as if it could break open.  And I looked inside and saw something that could be a turtle but I wasn’t sure.  I had never seen what a nest really looked like.  Normally here in Tulum volunteers take the eggs to hatch in incubators and release them to the sea when they are born.  So, in my five years here, I had never seen turtle born. I was nervous.

“Let me go ask Javier. He knows all about turtles.”  I told the group and then cautioned, “Wait for me to come back and be careful.”

“Tell our dad”, the other little girl, Lila, called as I ran up the path to find Javier, our caretaker. 

When I got to the hotel only Javier's wife Marie was there. I talked to her about it.  She smiled broadly and came with me to help. 

She looked into the hole and said to me, “Si Joanna Si”.  They were alright and then she said, “abrirla”, telling me to open it a little more.  So, cautiously, I moved sand from the top of the nest.  And I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There were so many little babies in there that I couldn’t count them.  Then they started to all crawl out.

“Let them come on their own and put the lights toward the sea”, Marie told us in Spanish.  I cautioned the kids to do that and to be careful where they walked.  The little babies, no more than the size of your palm, were starting to crawl everywhere.

The kids counted them and guided them to the sea.  I just kneeled there in the sand mesmerized. 

“Go little babies” I said to them. 

“Go” I whispered as I held one to gave him a little time to rest. 

“Stay strong”, I cautioned another.

“Be careful”, I told the next. 

I had a message of love for each one and then I started to cry.  I thought of each baby pulling itself along the sand and coming into its life so alone.  They hatch and go, no mom to hold them, no dad to put a bottle to their mouth or to give them a big warm hug.  They perform immediately or die.  I shivered to think of it and tears rolled down my face as I watched the last one enter the sea to be tousled by the waves and then by who knows what. I was inspired. 

And again this morning, I was encouraged in my life efforts by these little turtles.  These babies that show extraordinary courage.  Those that survive will come back to the same beach.  And perhaps these little kids who are now visiting, will come back to Tulum in 15 years and meet that turtle once again.  So, I reminded myself, miracles happen every day here in the magia of Tulum, Mexico.