Moving Parts: La Playa

Our days are filled with wonder and beauty, the kids, Sean and I find it easy to be here in the jungle. Here are some photo's of our days...

This is a common look at the beach. A survey of the break. Should I go out? Where should I paddle out? Where are there no crowds? High tide or low tide? Chest high or knee high? Okay, it's on. Let's go.

I love the tip toes in this one. She is trying to see what is happening behind the break. Sean has the advantage here.

Watching this sunset was an ongoing miracle.

Paul's birthday treat in Samara. Shaved ice with condensed milk, carmel or chocolate sauce with a sprinkle of malt. I did not have the pleasure of tasting this treat, but the delight was evident. Of course the cart and ice were imbued with the love of God. We had a great day celebrating with Paul under the big palm trees. Feliz Cupleanos Pablito!

After the new year we went to Ostional. It is a designated refuge for the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtles. We drove at night to meet our pool guy Oliver. He is a resident of Ostional and has the privilege of leading tours during the Arribada. This is when the turtles come to the shore to lay their eggs.

The beach was very dark, darker still because it is a black sand beach. We were only allowed to use red lights on our headlamps. The mothers are in a trance(which is good) and should not be disturbed. As the turtle we watched dug her nest, other turtles began to come up from the beach. There were at least a few hundred. The turtles washed ashore and you could see their big shells glimmering in the small moon. It was a brigade of sorts.

The eggs were finally laid in the hole and the sand was packed carefully down. She even made it look as if she had not been there. Quickly she headed back to sea. The whole process took an hour. Oliver told us her mate would be waiting for her.

It was spectacular!

Check out more info if you are interested:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/oliveridley.htm

Here are some pic's from another website:

Of course a small percentage of the turtles make it back to sea and grow into adults. Thea found this little one washed up in Guiones. The winds had been particularly strong for over a week, I imagine it was easy to get washed back ashore. We gave him a proper burial, but not before we wished that he would suddenly come back alive and we could keep him forever.

We also found this guy on the beach one morning, he was severely dehydrated.

After re-hydration took hold, we learned that he was really a machete wielding Costa Rican. We are going to have to bring him home, I hope he fits in.