After my story about a daring rescue of a baby whale off the coast, I am posting this photo of a sea turtle lounging in the ocean off shore from Tamarindo. Sea turtles nest all along the beaches near Tamarindo. This appears to me to be an olive ridley sea turtle, which are common in our area. The are the smallest of the sea turtles, although they can weigh 200 lbs. (45 kg.) and can be 2.5 ft. (70 cm.) long. They average 50 years in the wild.
They do not get a much attention as the very endangered leatherback tortoises. The leatherbacks nest on Playa Grande, which is the northern half of Tamarindo Bay. We have a nice view of Playa Grande from our condo at the Tamarindo Diria Resort. The beach at Playa Grande and the waters off Tamarindo are protected as part of the the Las Baulas De Guanacaste National Marine Park.
A major point of controversy is the issue of preserving the beach for the leatherback turtle nesting site on Playa Grande, as lights from houses or guest houses in the area can confuse or bother the turtles. During the winter months National Park rangers lead small groups out onto the beach at night to quietly, and in the dark, wait to observe the turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs.
On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are featuring photos of Uluru, which is also known as Ayers Rock, in the Australian Outback.
On our Viva la Voyage travel photo site this week we are featuring photos of Uluru, which is also known as Ayers Rock, in the Australian Outback.
Have you ever gone on one of the turtle watches? In answer to your question on my blog, I suspect it's particles of maple sugar in the steam that act like a sort of starch.
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing site. I'm so glad you were able to capture it.
ReplyDeleteBrattcat,
ReplyDeleteJulie and her brother and sister-in-law went out to watch the turtles, but they did not see any turtles that evening. I have seen sea turtles only out in the water, but not on the beach.
Nice photo! It seems this is the kind of turtle we have off our Atlantic coast...lots of problems with all the development and street lights confuse the babies, so volunteers work with them here, too, to make sure they get to the ocean.
ReplyDeleteahhh so special
ReplyDeleteI just read your comment on Olivier's blog re. the stolen chess pieces. Such a waste of good material on a thief! When in Mexico, I've helped release turtles to the ocean...what an experience!
ReplyDeleteSea turtles always remind me of the animated film Nemo...dude!
ReplyDeleteTurtles in the wild! You are lucky to get to see them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great shot. I hope they continue to protect this area.
ReplyDelete