By the beginning of day 2, the worries of the trip were long gone and the excitement of what was to come dragged us along. Despite Brian's battle in the night with a bad hamburguesa(though delicious on the way down), we were all ready to go in the morning.
After seeing and releasing the baby turtles the previous evening, we were excited to come into contact with some of the full grown sea turtles that morning. We took a ride in the back of a pickup truck 15 minutes to the quaint fishing harbor of Tehuamixtle (google it if you want to find our location (Mayto is the road just to the north so small its given no name on the map).
On a side note, the pickup truck rides were an experiencing in themselves. Every day the Camp Staff took us to different locations rather quickly in old trucks across bumpy dirt roads. We actually joked about feeling very Mexican at these moments as truckloads full of people driving everywhere in Mexico is extremely common. Something like this would be deemed very dangerous in the US, here you would be laughed at for such a notion, it is a necessity.
The town, we assumed, was home to no more then 100-200 people, a collection of families who made their living off the ocean and the handful of brave locals and tourists who made the long dirt road trip. At first, the excitement of the trip for us and the kids was tempered, as the entry to the small harbor contained a replica 20 foot Great White with teeth blazing. Other pictures around the port showed the Great White attacking the same sea turtles we were about to swim with. We wondered if we were entereing our very own Jaws movie! Despite this, we all agreed we were going in!
We took a 20 minute ocean boat ride around the harbor to an area in front o
f the camp beach. Here in a short period of time we found 5 large sea turtles. We weren't sure how we were going to swim with these wild creatures. They weren't in a cage much like our previous experiences with dolphins. We soon found out. We would come up to a turtle slowly, and the fearless environmental leader of the camp, Israel, would jump off the front of the boat on to the back of the turtle. He and the creature would dissapear below the water only to immerge moments later with Israel victoriously holding a large turtle in his arms. We all then jumped into the ocean and swam with the turtles. We took turns holding the turtles as one by one a student or teacher would lose hold and the turtle would dart away into the ocean. We had loved swimming with dolphins, but I enjoyed this even more as there was something beautful about being a mile out in the ocean, swimming with these great creatures, wondering if a Great White was about to attack!
f the camp beach. Here in a short period of time we found 5 large sea turtles. We weren't sure how we were going to swim with these wild creatures. They weren't in a cage much like our previous experiences with dolphins. We soon found out. We would come up to a turtle slowly, and the fearless environmental leader of the camp, Israel, would jump off the front of the boat on to the back of the turtle. He and the creature would dissapear below the water only to immerge moments later with Israel victoriously holding a large turtle in his arms. We all then jumped into the ocean and swam with the turtles. We took turns holding the turtles as one by one a student or teacher would lose hold and the turtle would dart away into the ocean. We had loved swimming with dolphins, but I enjoyed this even more as there was something beautful about being a mile out in the ocean, swimming with these great creatures, wondering if a Great White was about to attack!Joelle and Edan wanted to get out in the ocean so Joy jumped in the fridge
d water and another person handed down Joelle first. The moment her toes touched the water she started screaming to be pulled out. Not only was the expanse of the ocean overwhelming, it was COLD. Edan was next and his response was very similar. They were releasing the second turtle when Joelle and Edan jumped in and Joy tried to quickly coax them to the turtle so they could at least say they swam with the turtles. They also swam with a dog as Chata was swimming right next to them trying to get someone to let him back in the boat. Edan eventually did jump in, Joelle tried once more and the result was the same, back in the boat.
d water and another person handed down Joelle first. The moment her toes touched the water she started screaming to be pulled out. Not only was the expanse of the ocean overwhelming, it was COLD. Edan was next and his response was very similar. They were releasing the second turtle when Joelle and Edan jumped in and Joy tried to quickly coax them to the turtle so they could at least say they swam with the turtles. They also swam with a dog as Chata was swimming right next to them trying to get someone to let him back in the boat. Edan eventually did jump in, Joelle tried once more and the result was the same, back in the boat. We then went back to harbor and were given two hours to relax and enjoy. Their wasn't much to do other then swim as this remote town contained no tourists shops. W
e swam the waves with the kids and took turns napping on the beach. We also watched a fisherman pull up a 100 lb fish and fillet it on the dock. Later as we partook of an incredible feast of shrimp (fried, sauteed, cocktail, and ceviche) as well as fried and broiled fish, we couldn't help but wonder if this was the same fish we had seen filleted just and hour earlier. Here there was not menu, just catch of the day! This was confirmed as one man walked in with 5 lobsters in his hand and 30 minutes later the cook brought them out to him and his friends!
e swam the waves with the kids and took turns napping on the beach. We also watched a fisherman pull up a 100 lb fish and fillet it on the dock. Later as we partook of an incredible feast of shrimp (fried, sauteed, cocktail, and ceviche) as well as fried and broiled fish, we couldn't help but wonder if this was the same fish we had seen filleted just and hour earlier. Here there was not menu, just catch of the day! This was confirmed as one man walked in with 5 lobsters in his hand and 30 minutes later the cook brought them out to him and his friends! If this wasn't enough, we then embarked on a 30 minute hike to a co
mpletely isolated, rock strewn bay. On the wall of the bay we were led to a bat cave. Here we took turns heading into the cave. We were greeted by bats flying all around us as the flash lights disturbed their peaceful slumber. The kids were fearless, but on more then one occassion I (Brian) was found to be hovering in the corner of the cave! Joelle on the other hand was begging to hold the bats. She didn't quite get to hold it, but got to pet one.
mpletely isolated, rock strewn bay. On the wall of the bay we were led to a bat cave. Here we took turns heading into the cave. We were greeted by bats flying all around us as the flash lights disturbed their peaceful slumber. The kids were fearless, but on more then one occassion I (Brian) was found to be hovering in the corner of the cave! Joelle on the other hand was begging to hold the bats. She didn't quite get to hold it, but got to pet one. We then headed back to the camp to for a dinner snack and some down time before our night time excursion.
That evening it was our turn to go out on the 12 km 4by4 ride to find nesting turtles and recover their eggs. From 10 pm to 12pm we rode up and down the beach, flying over small dunes down the beach. The only light of the night came from our vehicles, the moon and the stars. While we failed to locate a turtle that night (only group to do so on the trip), we were treated to one of those very special evenings where the stars are bigger then you ever imagined. We stopped for a while just to stand and look. While there was some dissapointment over not seeing a turtle, the remote beauty of the beach and night made up for it.
Day 2 was definitely unforgettable.
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