Just another day in paradise!

Just another day in paradise.    

Sparky and Max, our two island rescue-mutts and I wander down the sidewalk in the semi-darkness. 

It’s the early morning pee-walk-for-pets, the one that happens before I get to enjoy my first cup of coffee. 

I prefer to stumble along the seashore in the morning with the dogs off their leashes, but at this time of year, the beach is a minefield of mama sea turtles digging nesting holes. Some of the holes are four-feet deep, and sometimes the mama turtles are still in the holes.

Sparky and I are restless sleepers. 

Max and Sparky - checking out the turtle smells

He noses me awake well before dawn. Lawrie and Max, on the other hand, could sleep through a category five hurricane and an 8.9 earthquake. 

It takes both of us, Sparky and me, to wake up Max and convince him he has to go for a pee. 

He’s not a happy camper.

Lawrie's photo early in morning

The next fifteen to twenty minutes are a comedy routine of Sparky pulling me, and me dragging Max.
“Come on, Max. Walk a little faster please.” I exhort, followed by “Sparky, slow down. Wait for Max.”

Sparky flips me one of those looks, “Really. Slow down? He’s nearly motionless.”

“Well, Max is just not a morning guy like you, Sparky,” I tell him.  We continue our pull-drag pace a block south and turn to make our way back. Finally, Max is awake enough to pee.

Mama turtle - digging, digging, digging.

As we near our house I can see Lawrie standing in the street, waving frantically at me. “Hurry up!” He shouts quietly, trying not to wake up our neighbours.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” I am about to pick up Max’s hefty twenty-eight-pound body and run home.

“No, no problem. Unless you think a turtle digging in our yard is a problem.” He says with a happy grin.

Sparky watching from our upper deck.

“Come on boys, let’s go!” And surprisingly Max breaks into a run. Maybe he thinks I said let’s eat. The dog likes his food.

We barrel inside the house, scrambling to remove dog leashes and harnesses, but keeping the dogs locked inside. 

We discovered a few weeks ago that mama turtles don’t like being sniffed by inquisitive canines. 

The boys will have to watch with us from the upper ocean-side deck.

This photo has been shared and reshared on web.

And there she is, digging up the back yard. 

During the night she has wandered from side to side, front to back testing the ground before she finally located the deep sand at the bottom of the yard.

Lawrie had, uncharacteristically, woken up when I left with the two dogs and wandered out onto the upper patio to check our neighbours’ beach. 

A few seconds later - same turtle.

There is usually one or more fresh holes every morning. 

Instead, he spotted the mama tossing sand in our yard. He grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos without a flash, but it was still too dark to really see her. 

By the time the dogs and I had returned home the light was perfect for photos. We watched while she dug yet another hole, then moved along and dug another and another.

"What do you want in your coffee, mama?" Ken Jost photo

Familiar guests, Norma and Ken Jost, were staying next-door at MarVillaCaribe. They are also early risers and noticed the commotion in our yard. Ken took some amazing photos as well as videos. 

Eventually, the mama turtle lumbered down the path towards Casa Luna, and then turned right and headed towards the water.

And away she goes around 7:30 a.m.

We don’t know if she laid eggs, but we are watching and counting down the sixty days of incubation. 

Fingers-crossed everything goes well if there are eggs.

So, yeah, just another boring day in paradise. What did you do this morning?

Cheers

Lynda & Lawrie

Lawrie tidying up the beach.

~
Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Available as e-books on Amazon, Kobo, Nook, or iTunes.
Paperback copies available at Amazon, or on Isla Mujeres at Jenny Penny Beach Boutique and Casa Sirena Hotel.

                               
                            

Saving Lola, a giant sea turtle!

Julie Goth pouring water on stuck mama turtle.   

“Hey, Lawrie! There’s a sea turtle stuck between two rocks! Can you help me get her free?”

Rob Goth, our neighbor a few houses to the north of us on Isla Mujeres, stood in our courtyard shouting towards our upper deck. 

It was early in the morning and we still had our bedroom door closed with the a/c running. We hadn’t heard him shout, but the dogs Sparky and Max had. They woofed, and Lawrie opened the door to investigate. 

Julie, Lawrie, and Rob - how are we going to do this?

Then Lawrie yelled an explanation to me and took off, leaving me to scramble out of the shower, toss on clothes, and dash after him with my camera in hand.

When I arrived on the beach side of Rob and Julie’s house, appropriately named Casa de Tortuga, Julie was gently pouring water over the turtle’s head and Rob and Lawrie were discussing ideas to free her. 

The temperature was already a sweltering 30C but felt like 36C due to the high humidity, that’s 86 and 97 in the American temperature scale. 

Rob Goth, sun umbrella for turtle

The turtles can survive on land for short periods to lay their eggs, but the ladies always arrive after dark and usually leave by sunrise.

This poor mama was hot, and getting hotter.

She was tightly jammed in a crevice between a ledge and an enormous chunk of rock. 

Fortunately, she was in the upright position, not standing on her head. 

Lawrie suggested lifting her out by her flippers. I said no, that might injure the muscles in her shoulders, and then she wouldn’t be able to swim. (What do I know?)

Rob went back to their house for a small, red and white beach umbrella and a bigger bucket to pour more water over her. 

Rob Goth, hat for him, bigger umbrella for turtle

I zipped up to the street, looking for a local who might know the number for the Tortugranja, the Turtle Farm. 

Tony Gutierrez was passing by, I asked him if he knew anyone at the Turtle Farm, He said yes, and offered to drive over to tell them we needed help.

Other neighbors, Cesar Sepúlveda and Sylvia Leal supplied a bigger beach umbrella and another bucket. Their daughter Fanny pitched in with filling buckets of water and passing them to Rob. 

Visitors from Kansas City, who were staying at Vidrio del Mar, the Sea Glass House next to Rob and Julie's helped wherever they could. As did a guest from nearby Punta Piedra.

Fanny lugging water. Guest from 'Sea Glass House" 

Cesar hopped into the family golf cart and drove to the Turtle Farm looking for help, not realizing I had already spoken to Tony Gutierrez.

More people arrived, everyone curious and trying to be helpful. Some of the new arrivals took turns pouring the water over her head and body, hoping to prevent heat exhaustion. 

Lawrie and I both grabbed large coils of rope from our house. 

Cesar and Sylvia contributed flat tie-down straps used for holding cargo in place.

More helpers arriving

It seemed like forever, but in reality, it was probably about thirty minutes before the turtle farm employees arrived. 

They decided to lift her out by her flippers …. as I said, what do I know? (Yes, honey, you were right.)

The guys used the tie-down straps instead of the rope because the thin straps were easier to maneuver between the turtle’s body and her flippers. 

Success! She's moving.

Then Luis, Amado, and Emir lifted her, one on each side and one grabbing her shell behind her neck. The first attempt didn’t work, Amado asked for a hammer and chisel, thinking to chip away a bit of the rock. 

Rob reached in and suggested they give it one more try, poof – she was out.

Cheers erupted, everyone grinning like little kids at the circus. 

Turtle guys and helpful visitors - hold her for a minute

The mama started off but she was dragging a strap still attached to her front flipper. 

Three guys struggled to hold her back while another (Luis maybe?) undid the strap. And then she was off.

Amado escorted her to the water’s edge, waving farewell.

Everyone happy and turtle headed back to ocean

It was heartwarming to see so many people from Canada, the USA, and Mexico come together to help this one creature. 

The next day was Rob Goth's birthday and as he said, "This was the best gift I could have dreamed of."

A really big thank you to the Tortugranja employees from all of us.

As we headed home, carrying two really heavy coils of rope, I turned to Julie Goth and Sylvia Leal, “Hey, what’s her name?” I asked, pointing at the retreating turtle.

Amado escorting 'Lola" back to her home.

“Lola!” They yelled back.

From all of us, happy travels Lola, and for heaven’s sake, watch where you are going!

                ~
Later in the week Capt. Tony Garcia found another mama turtle stuck near Casa Coral. 

He was able to rescue her as well. Might be an idea for homeowners on the Caribbean side of the island to do a morning check for trapped mama turtles.  Better than letting them bake to death in the sunshine. 

~ 

Murder and mayhem. Romance and revenge.

Have you got yours yet?

Two entertaining series.  

Ebooks, paperbacks, and hardcovers are available on Amazon. 

An early morning chat with a mama sea turtle

Turtles mating in front of our casa

“Are you awake?” Sparky asks jumping on the bed and jamming his wet nose into my face. My eyes pop open. It’s early, not yet sunrise. 

The sky is still a dark grey, slowly lightening to a paler hue as the sun creeps closer to the edge of our world.

Max our newest rescue pooch can’t yet jump up on to our bed, so he settles for putting his front paws on the edge of the mattress. Max has a bit of weakness in his hind end from an encounter with a vehicle. 

Rescue pooches - Sparky and Max on beach near our casa

In a previous life he slept in the street and this last January was accidentally run over. He was patched up by the great folks at Clinica Veterinaria de Isla Mujeres, and fostered by fellow Canadian Sylvie Staines for a few months while he recovered, then we agreed to adopt him. He is gaining strength daily but he is still uncoordinated and frequently stumbles, landing on his face in a tangled heap of legs and feet.

“Can we go out, please? Pleeeaaase?” I can hear toe nails clicking on the tile floor as Sparky jumps off the bed, and both dogs commence the pee-pee dance in our dark bedroom.

Another mama turtle heading back to the ocean near our casa

“Okay, okay, just give me a minute.” I say as I blunder around in the gloom looking for clothes, house keys, and my wrist watch. I think about taking my pocket-sized camera but change my mind. What are the odds of seeing a turtle this morning? I think, a big yawn stretching my face.

The dogs and I parade downstairs, leaving Lawrie to slumber in air-conditioned comfort. I switch on the coffeemaker as I pass by, and open the door for Sparky and Max. The boys scoot outside and quickly discover the fresh turtle tracks in our neighbours’ yard, at Ronda and Bruce Roberts casa.

Sparky and Max investigating turtle nests

Noses to the ground they follow the scent from the yard to the ocean and back, searching. A mix of terrier and several other breeds Sparky normally has an amazingly accurate sense of smell, but this morning his is off the mark. 

I looked a little to the south of where the boys are sniffing and there she is, the mama sea turtle, about to tip over the edge of a three-foot drop onto the beach. I quickly stand in front of the turtle preventing her from using that route. 

2015 -  the turtle that Amy and I turned right-way up

Two years ago another neighbour, Amy, and I had to right an upside down tortuga who had flipped off of a four-foot drop. 

It’s a two-person job to get them turned right-way up again, and at this time of the morning there is only me in my caffeine-deprived zombie state.

“Okay, mama, how about you pick a different route.” I say to her, wondering if I have seen this particular turtle before, wishing that I had put my camera in my pocket.  She’s a beauty, long and wide, and healthy looking. Perhaps a Kemp’s Ridley, or a Loggerhead, I’m just not sure.

Turtle eggs dug up by another nesting turtle

The females, and only the females, do return to the same beaches year after year digging deep holes and laying up to one hundred and twenty golf-ball-shaped eggs. 

But in all honesty, unless you really study the markings and scars of an individual I think one magnificent mama turtle looks like another magnificent mama turtle, especially in the half-light of 5:45 in the morning.

Different night, similar turtle heading back to sea

I could have imagined it, but I thought I heard her hiss at me, for getting in her way. 

Keeping my fingers well away from her strong jaws I briefly stroked her smooth carapace, then she decided to move away from this strange creature. 

Turtling, or the hunting of turtles, was banned in Mexico and the USA in 1990 just twenty-seven years ago. 
This mama turtle could be old enough to remember the times when it was legal to hunt her species for meat, oil, shells or anything useable. She probably doesn’t have a great affection for humans.

Hatchlings in front of our casa in 2015

She slowly turned and found a slightly less hazardous route to the beach, while I trailed along beside her, making sure that if the dogs did notice they wouldn’t harass her. 

It is fascinating to watch the cumbersome progress of a full-grown turtle flippering her way across the sand to get back to the ocean, and once she hits the water she is as graceful as a ballerina.

When she was safely out to sea the two pooches and I turned back to the house.  Organizing two big cups of coffee with a drizzle of caramel on top, I woke up Lawrie and related my morning encounter with the tortuga.

Photo - Isla Mujeres al Dia Facebook page

During mating and nesting season, May to October, there is a good chance of seeing a turtle on the beach. 

I just have to get back in the habit of taking my camera with me when Sparky and Max need their morning pee walk. 

If you have the chance to watch a wild turtle please do it quietly, and don’t shine flashlights or cellphones on her. When taking photos don’t use a flash. She might abandon her efforts and off-load her eggs in the ocean; a bonus for the fish but a loss for the turtle conservation efforts.

Hasta Luego 

Lynda & Lawrie

Treasure Isla

Have you got yours yet?

$2.99 USD on Amazon e-books

Treasure Isla is a humorous Caribbean adventure set on Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the eastern coast of Mexico. Two twenty-something women find themselves in possession of a seemingly authentic treasure map, which leads them on a chaotic search for buried treasure while navigating the dangers of too much tequila, disreputable men, and a killer. And there is a dog, a lovable rescue-mutt.

May in paradise: What to do, what to do, what to do ……

North Beach - Playa Norte  L. Lock photo

It’s May in paradise and surprisingly there is still lots happening on the island, just at a slower pace.  

The weather is consistently warm, light winds and seldom any rain. 

In a few days’ time the Whale Shark season officially opens, allowing access to these beautiful forty-foot creatures as they leisurely swim and feed.  

My favourite Whale Shark photo - National Geographic

Misnamed, Whale Sharks are neither whales nor sharks, but fish with ginormous mouths.  They are filter feeders - sucking in a mix of macro-algae, plankton, krill, crab larvae, and small squid, then expelling the water through their gills, trapping the food against their scale-like dentils.  

They aren’t interested in eating the annoying critters that thrash in the water around them, faces squashed into diving masks, and words of awe bubbling to the ocean’s surface.   When I swim with these leviathans I lose my obsessive fear of the ocean, if only for a little while.  It’s amazing.

Sea Turtles mating at Punta Sur  L.Lock

Later in the month the giant sea turtles congregate at the southern tip of the island, enthusiastically mating.  The lineups for the available females are long as two, three or four males anxiously paddle along behind waiting for their turn.   It’s a pretty cumbersome business – with the smaller male piggybacking on the larger female.  I’m guess they are both probably pretty happy with the results because the process is repeated year after year.  A few weeks after fertilization the females will come ashore during the night and lay up to 180 eggs in a deep nest laboriously dug with her flippers.  If you are lucky enough, you can sit quietly nearby and watch the females lay their eggs.  Don’t touch or disturb them.  Just let the ladies do their difficult job, and then return to the safety of the sea.

Details for May 2016 Fishing Tournament

And for those of you who like a bit more action there is always deep-sea fishing, fishing tournaments, and just-plain-fun fishing.  On May 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd is the annual Torneo Internacional Pesca that features prizes like $350,000.00 pesos for first place (About $20,000.00 USD).  The second place prize is a pick-up truck. 

Third place, won by island friends of ours in 2013 is $100,000.00 pesos.  Other prizes include a boat and motorcycles.  Judging by the happy faces at the end of the day everyone has a great time hanging out with their buddies, drinking beer, and catching fish.  Winning a prize is an added bonus.

Happy fishermen!  

Most of our Canadian and American friends have returned to their northern homes, looking forward to catching up with family news or gardening, golfing and fishing.  We have settled into a less hectic routine, fewer parties, more quiet evenings enjoying a good book and a glass of wine on our ocean-side patio.  Ah, May, in paradise.  Our favourite time of year.

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

Boating racing to check-in before tournament deadline

Landscaping by turtles

Perfect turtle egg-laying weather

Yep, that’s what the title says: landscaping by turtles. 

I know, I know this is the second article in two months about turtles but this is turtle season folks!  

We are in the middle of the nesting season with possibly the largest number of returning turtles since the turtle farm came into existence about twenty years ago. 

Dozens of nesting holes

Hundreds and hundreds of the ladies are nightly digging up the beaches, creating four-foot deep holes on any small piece of sand on the eastern side of Isla Mujeres. The beaches look like a Bobcat earth mover has been at work, operated by someone like me, someone with a very short attention span.  “I’m bored with this hole, I think I’ll make another one over there, oh wait, that’s a better spot.”  And on, and on, into the night.

Sparky checking out the mess left by the mama turtle

A few weeks ago, around mid-night, Sparky our little four-legged alarm system woke us with a woof.  Lawrie and I popped out of bed to investigate the strange noise coming from our ocean-side yard.  It sounded as if someone was shoveling sand, preparing to bury a body.  (You can tell, we read a lot of murder mysteries and thrillers.)  

A quick flick of the flashlight and we spotted a large sea turtle deep in the bushes on the south side of the house, violently flipping rocks and sand.  We wanted to help her find a better spot, but decided that she had to make her own decisions about the suitability of the location for her nest.  In the end she abandoned the attempt and moved on to another place. 

More eggs dug up by another mama turtle

The downside of so much nesting activity is that many of the eggs are not being collected by the turtle farm for hatching in their predator-free environment.  I have recently seen at least six large nests that have been re-dug the following night by another mama turtle, scattering eggs across the beach, crushing the fragile spheres with her large body.  It’s unfortunate.  Presumably the turtle farm hatchery is filled to capacity.  The upside of the extra eggs is the crabs and birds are happily feasting on the embryos, increasing their chances of producing more baby crabs or baby birds.

Mayan Riviera - Sargassum seaweed (Daily Mail photo)

Beside the challenge of finding a suitable place to nest the mama turtles are facing another weird environment phenomenon this year – Sargassum seaweed.  Literally tons of seaweed have been drifting in mats of vegetation and washing up on beaches throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.  It is an unsightly mess causing problems in resort areas, especially the Mayan Riviera and Cancun.  The Sargassum seaweed is an algae that originates mid-Atlantic in the warm-bodied Sargasso Sea.  The reason for the problem is perplexing scientists and environmentalists everywhere.  The female sea turtles – in their strange turtle-logic - are typically reluctant to cross the piles of seaweed.  It’s probably an old-turtle-tale handed down from generation to generation by the older turtles to the younger turtles.  “Don’t cross the seaweed or you will die.”  This year the turtles seem to be getting over their fear and clambering over the accumulation of seaweed in their search for a nesting spot.

Tracks from the ocean through neighbours' yard into ours.

We have often wondered why the mama turtles seem to congregate on the eastern side of the island, instead of using the longer, flatter, and much softer beaches on the western side, the side facing Cancun.  

Is it because our beaches are more visible as the ladies arrive back at their home base?  Or is it just more expedient after mating to hit the first available beach, and off-load all those pesky eggs?  

The ladies expend so much effort digging in the rocky sand on the eastern side, I would think a few extra minutes spent scouting out a better location would be worth the time – wouldn’t it?  

As you can probably guess, we really enjoy watching the show in turtle season.  They are pretty darn amazing creatures. 

We wish you a long and peaceful life my friends.

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie