Last week we were at the sea turtle conversation project. Our time at Nuevo Bacuare started with a beautiful boat ride (which looked very much like New Orleans) which would take up to the super small town that awaited us. We realized just how secluded of a town we were to find ourselves in when we loaded our food for the next five days into the boat with out packs. Our group felt like we were on the set of “Lost” when we saw the beach- the palm trees went right up to the beach, which in and of itself was deserted as far as the eye could see.
The nights were spent patrolling the beach, in search of female sea turtles laying their eggs. Thankfully and to everyone’s relief, by the time we left everyone in the group had seen a leatherback sea turtle. Our time at Bacuare included sleeping in the mornings, playing “Crazy Games” on the beach, swimming and relaxing on the beach, playing volleyball, cleaning the beach of drift wood, and resting in the hammocks.
The local store owner was kind enough to give us a coconut oil-making demonstration, and a sea turtle talk to educate us about the easy things we can do to help save sea turtles. We learned that 80% of the sea turtle population has been lost in the past 20 years and if we don’t do our part to help save them, they will be extinct by the year 2025! Something as easy as buying ocean-safe sea food helps protect these beautiful creatures from extinction. We learned that how we spend our money is a vote and we need to be more aware of how our vote has been and will influence the world. Even I, a sea turtle lover, didn’t realize just how important they are to the balance of nature- if sea turtles become extinct, it will indirectly cause the extinction of fish (something that many sea creatures and humans alike eat and depend on)! Save the sea turtle…. save the earth!
Thanks for reading!
Becca Lee