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.  

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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.

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

A Night of Terror

Dawn - five minutes after six in the morning

Exhausted.  Her scraped and bleeding limbs drifting uselessly in the waves Teresa lay on her back unable to move.   Her mouth and nose covered by the shallow water she struggled to breathe.  She had lain in this painful position for hours. 

In the dark of the night Teresa had mistakenly stepped off a rocky ledge, landing hard on the beach below.  She knew she was in trouble, big trouble.  Dawn was breaking and soon the hot tropical sun would bake against her body slowly killing her if the lack of oxygen didn’t do her in first.  If she could just get one decent breath of air, perhaps she could survive a bit longer.  Just a little bit longer.

Turtle hole at top  right of photo - she flipped over here

A noise!  She heard a noise that sounded like two voices with a background of sharp and excited yips.   Trembling with fear Teresa again futilely twitched her limbs.

“Oh god, she alive!” shouted a voice.

“Awesome”, I exclaimed, “let’s flip her over!”

“How the heck to you flip a large turtle?” asked my neighbour Amy, with a bemused smile on her face.

“Carefully, very carefully!”  I laughed, set my camera down on the rocky outcropping, and ran to one side of the turtle. 

Shaking her head at the absurdity of the situation Amy released the leash of her young puppy Bosch and joined me.

“Okay,” she said, “on three.  One, two, three!”  And we flipped a large, heavy Loggerhead turtle right-side up.

Different tortuga - Gaspar helping her dig a deeper hole

With a flurry of splashing flippers Teresa the Tortuga struggled to turn around – paddling, pushing, soaking both Amy and I with a slurry of seawater and sand.   We were euphoric; laughing and shouting happily when the turtle managed to speed off into the deeper water, and away from her night of torment and terror.  I had mistakenly put my camera too far out of reach, and by the time I grabbed it and pointed at the fleeing tortuga she had gone.  Damn!  The three dogs, Amy’s two dogs Bowser and Bosch, and Sparky were very quiet.  They stared at the departing creature unable to comprehend how it would swim out that far, that fast. 

Teresa the Tortuga - swimming fast to freedom

Tortuga flipping is not my normal routine at five minutes before dawn.  Sparky and I usually do his first walk of the day at half-past six along the sidewalk to the gas station and back, fifteen or twenty minutes tops and then it’s time for morning coffee.  

This morning I woke up at half-past five and decided to head out early.  Because it is turtle nesting season I tucked a small camera into my pocket, hoping maybe, just maybe I would get lucky with photos of a mama turtle laying eggs. 

Tortuga dug this up - looking for the perfect spot

From mid-May to October the female turtles typically arrive after sunset and search for a deep stretch of sand, digging one, two or even three test holes before settling on a location and depositing over a hundred eggs.  





The turtles are normally gone well before dawn, however, occasionally a female will still be laying eggs at sunrise having spent too long searching for a perfect nesting site during the night. 

A bucket full of baby turtles about to be released

Before the creation of the turtle conservation program, and the Isla Mujeres turtle farm, the chances of a turtle egg hatching, and the new babies surviving were miniscule.  Dogs, birds, and humans all preyed on the eggs.  If the eggs did hatch then large fish and more sea birds would gobble up the delicious hatchlings as they dashed for the ocean.  Every year the Isla Mujeres turtle farm gathers the eggs, then raises and releases up to ninety thousand baby turtles.  It’s a wondrous sight.  

Wet and sandy Turtle Flipper

On this morning Sparky and I did our usual amble along to the gas station, and then I decided to walk back home along the beach.  About half-way home I noticed our neighbour Amy was out with their new puppy, Bosch, giving him a chance to have a morning pee.  Bosch was excitedly barking at something in the ocean so Sparky and I headed over to see what the excitement was all about.

As Amy and I stood discussing how sad it was to see a dead turtle, and wondering if she had been hit by a boat propeller the turtle twitched her flippers.  And that’s when the fun started.  By the time Teresa the Tortuga had successfully swum away our laughter had alerted Amy’s husband Luis that something was up.  He popped out onto their patio for a look, but the excitement was over. 

This is not the first time that one of our neighbours has righted an up-side-down tortuga.  

We can only hope that Teresa the Tortuga survives to return, again and again, to this beach.  

Sea Turtles mating

But, she will likely have an aversion to that particular stretch of sand where she back-flipped off a rocky ledge onto the sand below. 

While she was struggling to survive, her mate was probably drifting off-shore at south point wondering where she was, and why his breakfast was late. 

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

Night patrols

In the blackest hours of the night a silent intimidating figure sits on a coral outcropping at the ocean’s edge.  Cloaked in a black t-shirt, and dark pants he patiently waits.

What’s his story?

 

Ernesto digging out the baby turtles 

Ernesto (Tiega) Gomez Tur has worked for the Turtle Farm on Isla Mujeres for the last nine years, caretaking the giant sea turtles, and their hatchlings.  Turtle season coincides with the hurricane season, May to October.  Ernesto is one of the turtle farm employees patrolling the eastern beaches late at night, waiting for returning female turtles to select a spot to lay their eggs.  It’s a quiet, lonely job.  It’s also a job that gives him a great satisfaction.  His task is to retrieve the newly-laid eggs and transport them to the turtle farm to be hatched out in relative safety, away from predators: birds, dogs, and humans.

Ernesto when he was about forty-two 

Born on Isla Mujeres sixty-something-years ago, Ernesto had six brothers and four sisters most of whom are still living.  Married for fifty years to Teresa Gomez Heredia they had eight children.  The surviving seven children now have twelve offspring ranging in age from twenty years to a few months old.  Many of his two hundred or so family members - brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins - frequently gather to celebrate birthdays, weddings, Quinceaños, and other special events. 

When Ernesto was a small child he lived in centro (downtown) when there were approximately twenty families on the island.  Later when he was a young lad he remembers helping his father farm a tract of land in Las Glorias, growing vegetables and fruits without using any chemicals.  He nostalgically speaks about the abundance of fish, shrimp, lobsters, and conch in those years.  Fishermen were able to support their families fishing very close to home.  Unfortunately with more people, came a greater demand for seafood, and more fishermen that have dramatically reduced the supply.

Digging out more baby turtles

A cheerful worker, Ernesto has had a number of jobs over the years including operating a small boat between one of the local hotels, and the mainland: delivering hotel guests and transporting supplies.  With his strong singing voice and engaging personality the hotel guests would joke that riding with Ernesto was like being on a gondola in Venice Italy.

When I went to the turtle farm to chat with him during his afternoon break, he was busily digging up dozens of hatched turtles in preparation for releasing them.  The nests have signage indicating the area on the island where the eggs were found, the date the eggs were re-buried, and species of turtle.  He casually and competently dug thorough two feet of damp sand, sorting out the broken eggs, and placing the live babies in a big plastic bucket.  

 

Some of the babies waiting to be released

Taking up to sixty days to hatch out the babies’ first instinct when they reach the surface is to get into the water.   They scramble over each other.  They paddle their little flippers over the sand, trying to escape.   But, Ernesto’s big hand carefully scoops them up, adding them to the collection of three or four thousand that will be held for a few days until the next scheduled turtle release.   

Cookie bandits, and Ernesto,on right

When I went to chat with Ernesto, I brought a dozen large cookies with me as a thank you gift.  The strange thing is – at the end of our chat Ernesto’s co-workers had guilty grins, and cookie-crumb smiles.  The bag was empty by the time Ernesto thought to look for a cookie.   He laughed, a big smile lighting his face, joking with his cookie-stealing friends. 

He’s not such an intimidating figure after all.

Hasta Luego 

Lynda and Lawrie