3:34 pm (van on a Costa Rican back road)
¡Buenas tardes!
This morning was extremely lazy. We ate leftovers for breakfast, then walked down to the beach and hung out there for a while. A little bit of surfing, walking around, shopping at the local stores, and reading on the shore made noon come pretty quickly. More leftovers for lunch (we leave tomorrow, so we've gotta get rid of most of our food) and then relaxing in the air conditioning during the height of the heat.
At 3 pm, a van picked us up from the apartment. We are now heading out to the turtles' nesting grounds. The ride is supposed to be about an hour and a half, so we've still got a ways to go.
10:01 pm (Casa la Chora)
We made it back! It was kind of a late night...
After eventually arriving at the grounds, we got out of the van and fairly quickly started walking to the beach. We waded across a tiny stream and arrived at the black sand beach where the turtles lay their eggs. There were lots of turtles, although I think there were more people at any specific moment in time. 😁
The turtles were big, but very slow and not dangerous. The guides explained the process of the egg laying, and also that the turtles always have right of way on the beach. It was a nice time of the day, too; the sun was very low so we didn't get burned, and it was just barely setting when we were leaving. Lots of pictures, too! I forget what kind of turtle it was... 😬
If a mother happens to dig up another mother's nest when finding a spot for her own, then she removes all the other eggs from the nest and lays her own. I think the other eggs provide somewhat of a distraction for vultures. These birds eat the eggs, so the mom can protect her babies by throwing the other eggs out into the open. Seriously, it's a everyone-fend- for-themselves kind of life.
This is a nest after the mother had covered it over with sand. She packs it down with the sides of her shell. We probably walked on several nests, and it doesn't hurt them at all.
Turtle tracks!
Around 6 pm, we headed back to the van and drove home. At the start of the drive, they gave us yummy snacks: a cold, fruity drink and some cookie-cracker things! The sunset was pretty, too!
Once back home, my parents and I got some dinner at the place we ate dessert at the other night, Mama Gui. I had grilled tuna with carrots and squash.
I wasn't used to the undercooked flavor of the meat, but otherwise the food was good! Their service was very fast. No dessert tonight, though. We were too full. 😁
Now, it's off to bed. Tomorrow we will pack up to leave for Liberia again, and maybe play on the beach a little.
¡Buenas noches!