Turtle Watching and Enchiladas

When arriving on island and getting the chance to meet some awesome locals I have heard many times that I needed to go see the sea turtles, and last night i FINALLY got that chance. I will recap the night for you:

Ten of us piled into a bus and took the hour long ride up to Sauters, a rural area on the north tip of the island. Now i know what your thinking, the island is only 20 miles tall and it took us an hour to get there? Yes, it did. Welcome to 180 degree turns on the sides of cliffs. :) We arrived in Sauters where one of the volunteers lives. We have 4 and a half vegatarians with us, so we typically eat alot of veggie stuff which is totally ok with me, but when i heard Jacq say she was making us enchiladas for supper i knew i was in for a treat. Im used to the fabulous Del Rio beef enchiladas that make my mouth water, but we have two Mexicans in our group, so i knew they would put up a fight. We feasted like kings and queens off black bean enchiladas, hummus and veggies, salsa and MAYBE a little rum. As Peace Corps volunteers it comes natural to make due with what we have, so when there was only 5 forks and 7 plates for 12 people in all...we busted out the wooden spoons and pan lids...of course for the males! It was delicious!!!

After supper we decided to head to Levera Beach where the turtle watching takes place. Every year in April the sea turtles of the Caribbean Sea come ashore to lay bury their eggs in the sand so that 70-90 days later they will hatch and new little turtles will join the great big sea. This is one of the most amazing things i have ever seen...hands down. These massive creatures venture so far out of their homes to come ashore and lay anywhere from 90-130 eggs. We got to see the momma dig her hole 4 ft in the sand and then for over 45 minutes labor out over 100 eggs, then bury the sand over them and decend back into the ocean. It was incredible to watch these giant creatures gasp and dig all while tons of people were watching them and researchers were helping.

Turtle watching is hands down one of the things i suggest everyone to see in their lifetime. It puts into perspective just how amazing our marine life is and how much we must protect it.

Tomorrow our EC 81 group is participating in the Diabetes Foundation "Pump It Up" walk across town. Im excited to get out into the public for a good cause!