Peace love and "i like turtles"

It all started with a nuggle, but this time I doubled the nuggle and in that, doubled my luck. 99 turns on the bara bara river turned into one of the most memorable places I have ever seen, people I have ever met, and a birthday that I will never forget.
8ish hours on a speed boat(passing people who are traveling to their neighbors in canoes, a 3 man group who accidently took a corner too fast and ended up with their boat in a mangrove, and countless birds and other boats, we finally arrived in a place you can’t even imagine …….Although you might not have noticed as you approached full speed on the shore, crashing into waves as you roll out of the as fast as you can to push the boat onto shore so the high tide wouldn’t take it…losing a flip flop..and maybe a little pride.
But I noticed soon enough, and just in time. Hours I learned that only 1 in 1000 make it.(hatchlings of sea turtles) I spent the night before my birthday releasing ten little hatchlings into the Atlantic on a beach covered in Shells followed by a 2 hour hike/ walk. We trekked along the ocean…mosquitoes biting us so much and hard that I started to wish other pains on my body to distract myself…the air breezy and still at the same time….my body sticky with sweat and my hair thick from bathing in the ocean. It was an adventure to the site…I felt as if I was in a national geographic moment….yet the moment never came..and back on the return 2 hour hike we went to campsite because no turtles were visiting us that night.

The following day we got to spend more time with the passionate and wonderful people who are supporting the mission…Audley is a 78 year old man who has that compassion in his eyes that allows him to speak few words and you get more than a handful of thoughts..and Romeo has a smile that is given to all genuinely over anything and everything….These are the kind of men you’d feel safe and at home with in the matter of moments around them. We chatted, Audrey made me turtle earrings that he carved out of coconut by hand, and we all got to enjoy the day around the shells and thick waves of brownish blue.

The birthday was settling down after hammock time on the ocean shore…and there before all our eyes was a perfect sunset backdrop….i don’t think anyone could even paint clouds so clear and colors so pure…creamy yellow and teal and white with the creamiest of clouds just popping out all over the sunset sky…perfect time to bathe in the ocean…and enjoy our meal of chowmein and chicken.

We set out on the same trek to see the turtles…anxious to have one come in…not sure what the night would bring…I hiked most of the way with Romeo…we would discuss random thoughts and enjoyments…he told me that his 25th birthday was coincidentally one he would never forget. He went with lots of his buddies and enjoyed mobaruma…drank and ate all day…all of his friend and family together….i just thought of how much I felt the same way…..id never forget this…and just as we finished this conversation we arrived at the site. We all sat down and waited quietly….couldnt have your flashlight on at all really during the hike because it would scare the turtles…so we continued to sit in darkness, but the night sky had never looked so big and bright before….we lay down and looked in the sky for a seaturtle….Romeo told me that the milkway was thought to have some influence in where the sea turtles lay their eggs…as if in the sky it is was a nesting hole to show everyone that directly under it is where turtles would come and do their nesting…..crazy seeing it so bright and to be honest I think its true..just after he was done saying that a “turtle hopefully not a log” was spotted approaching sea..after 10 minutes of deliberation she finally made it to shore!!! Ahhh we just saw a turtle come into sea!! Everyone was so excited. We couldn’t have lights on so we listened by the side for all the nesting sounds she made, digging her nest, flapping to get up high enough on shore, picking a spot etc. All in all the process takes about an hour and half…and wow was it one the best of my 25 years.  I could go on and on and on about this experience, but it might get boring…so ill just leave it at the fact that I did a sea turtle angel right next to a sea turtle…on my 25th birthday after watching her lay her eggs…then a took the return 2 hour hike back and fell asleep happy and safe in the middle of nowhere…..at a place called Shellbeach…dreaming of leatherbacks and swimming in the sea.