Todd’s Mum had relocated to the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica back in the early 2000’s. We were long overdue a visit, as we hadn’t seen Dian since she stayed with us on the boat in Greece back in August of 2019. It was a good opportunity to see her during the Costa Rican rainy season, and it was 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the boat in Georgia!
The property was located on a beach on the west coast. This stretch between Jaco and Quepos is a nesting zone for Lora and Green turtles. Loras nest twice a year, and it turned out that the second hatch was underway while we were there.
Turtle eggs and baby turtles are hunted by dogs, cats, birds, fish, rats, raccoons, and man. Apparently, only 10% of the eggs make it to adulthood, so they need all the help they can get!
On this beach, Victor has undertaken the busy work of collecting the eggs before they are eaten, placing them in a secure hatching grid at a depth equal to the front flipper length of the mother turtles, and releasing them upon hatching. He has been doing the work voluntarily for six years, with the help of other volunteers and donations. It’s quite an undertaking and a real labor of love!
M’a Dear, was wonderful to share this amazing project with you! Another factoid about the project: Victor releases about 14,000 per year, even with only +/-10% surviving, the turtles return to the beach on which they were born. In the “old days” I would see mommy turtles laying their eggs once or twice a year, and thankfully now it is a very regular occurrence!
Of course, most wonderful was just having time with you and my darling “boy” to hangout, cook, laugh and get caught up on celebrating Christmas, Bdays etc! Besos, abrazos forte y mucho amor,
da mom
What a beautiful story about Lora and Green Turtles and you even had a hand in releasing some! I’m sure it’s a unique experience. You two are so lucky to have the opportunity to tour the world the way you do. I love hearing about your adventures, keep them coming 🤗.