Part 6 - Helping out the 'locals'
Early one morning, the dynamic duo of Erica and Erica met at the edge of paradise (a.k.a. just outside the dining hall) and decided to walk along the shore looking for signs of life. Previous night walks had unearthed evidence of sea turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs, and we were excited at the prospect of seeing one for ourselves. To our amazement there was a turtle right at the bottom of the stairs!
There was also a man there, holding a plastic bag and a machete. We didn’t really know what to make of it, but we approached the turtle slowly and took pictures, marveling at such a wondrous sight. The man watched us silently, and after a few minutes walked away. Wadel caught up with us a little while later, and warned us the guy had been hanging around the area, taking eggs and killing the turtles. In Costa Rica the people are allowed to harvest a certain percentage of eggs, but killing the adults is definitely illegal.
Click to viewThe dynamic duo had just saved a life! And what a beautiful life it was. Gabe, Thai, Mau and one of the hotel staff joined us on the beach to watch her finish laying eggs and make her way back to the safety of the ocean.
Costa Rica is a magical place.
