Turtles basking in the sun

OK. I know this is cheating. Tamarindo is known for giant sea turtles and the nesting site for the endangered Pacific leatherback turtles on Playa Grande. So, where did I see these turtles stacked on top of one another to catch the warm rays of the sun?

Sorry, but they live in the water feature in the middle of the Garden Plaza Shopping Center. I hope you will forgive me for taking the easy way out and showing animals without the challenge of finding them in the wild. These turtles do have a large pond to swim around in, so their conditions in captivity are not much different than if they lived in the wild.

Fortunately, these turtles are only for decoration and are not part for sale. I have been in food markets in China and Africa where if you saw turtles like this in a shopping area, they would be for sale for food, not for people to look at for fun. Last year in Casablanca, Morocco my son and his girlfriend bought a turtle in a food market to save its life. They kept the turtle in her hat on a bus all the way to Rabat, where they let the turtle go free in the garden in the courtyard of the hotel where we stayed. The turtle was still alive several days later when we left.

This week we are showing photos of one of my favorite cities, Venice, on Viva la Voyage, our travel photo site.