Sasee Magazine

It was hot, very hot, but nothing would have pulled us away from the sight unfolding before our eyes. This was a gift, one of those magical moments in time that everyone would love to witness, but never have a chance to see.

We were in Aruba on vacation a few years ago and, just after we arrived, we threw on our swimsuits and headed to the beautiful white sandy beach. Strangely, there were fenced-in areas wrapped in orange tape, protecting multiple turtle nests, up and down the shore as far as we could see. With any luck, we might get to witness a turtle hatching during our tropical vacation.

Everywhere we went residents were abuzz about the successful work being done by various groups of volunteers who encourage and protect beloved sea turtles. A total of sixty-five nests proved that keeping the beach free of debris, and by removing umbrellas, boats and jet skis at night, combined with community and tourist education, made for a successful turtle nesting season.

Dedicated volunteers patrol the beach early each morning from March through September, hoping to see a path where a turtle dragged herself up on the shore, dug a twenty inch deep hole, laid about a hundred and twenty golf ball size eggs before mounding the sand over her nest and heading back to sea. You can bet this is where the term, “fertile turtle” comes from!

Leatherbacks, Hawksbill and Green turtles all make their home in the tranquil waters of this south Caribbean island, but, like turtles everywhere, face environmental challenges due to waterfront development. Commercial lighting from the resorts presents one of the worst obstacles, disorienting the turtle and sometimes causing a false crawl, meaning she leaves the scene without laying eggs. The babies, who are directed by the moonlight reflecting off the ocean, get confused by the lighting versus the moonlight, and head in the wrong direction, hence the bumper sticker, “Sea Turtles Dig the Dark.”

For those of you who don’t know, sea turtles are amazing creatures. Females return to their own birth place, after traveling thousands of miles for the first thirty years of life, just to give birth in the same place they were born. How’s that for a built-in GPS? The eggs hatch six to seven weeks later, but very few of the hatchlings actually live to maturity due to hungry birds and other predators. It is deplorable that only one in 10,000 sea turtles ever make it to twelve years of age. That is why communities all over the world have worked diligently to assist in protecting the habitat of the sea turtle, including Myrtle Beach where our state parks have, in recent years, had a multitude of nests. However, more work needs to be done to help this endangered species. As a matter of fact, today, right here in Myrtle Beach, as I am writing this article, a dead sea turtle washed ashore caught in a crab trap.

As a scuba diver, I have had some of the most beautiful turtle encounters. In St Croix one swam right into my wide spread arms as if he was accepting a hug. In Bora Bora a very young turtle ate vegetation out of my hand that was slipped to me by the dive master. Hawaii’s friendly critters wanted to follow our dive tour as if they were one of us, and a turtle in St. John swam along with me for almost a half hour as if I was his mama. I never seem to lose my excitement for them.

As a kid, I had several little green turtles that were housed in little plastic bowls with attached palm trees. I once had a turtle named Forest that I found in a lake when he was no bigger than the tip of my pinky, and seven years later I kept him in the yard in an old bathtub. Even now, I feed thirty-four of them nightly from a deck over looking the lake behind my house.

But this experience in Aruba was like no other, because amidst the hot sand and scorching rays of the tropical sun, a turtle nest was rumbling loose from its mound. All the little hatchlings were scrambling to the surface and brushing the scratchy particles of sand from their little faces. Lifeguards alerted volunteers, and work began placing barricades to keep the little fellas on the right path to the shoreline.

Forty-seven of them surfaced through the white, silky granules as if to say, “Hey, where am I?” and “Who are you people hanging over us?” It took three hours for them to slowly parade, in all their glory, to the salty water. Yet, the work of the volunteers had just begun, for now they had to dig deep and check for the survivors who may not have been strong enough to make their way through the mound. In addition, they had to count all the eggs and record the numbers who did not survive.

Eight runts, as the young weaklings are called, were given minor assistance with a man-made trench in the sand to the ocean. However, as the volunteers explained to us, they cannot give too much help to the little turtles because it is important to build up strength in those tiny legs before they hit the water so that they can withstand the tough currents and rough waves ahead.

My husband and I stood at the scene with about thirty other tourists representing many different countries, which was obvious from the unfamiliar chatter around us. Everyone was glued to what was happening, skipping lunch and casting aside all plans made for that day.

One at a time, the tiny runts scooted towards the water and like clockwork the surf knocked them back up on the shore. This went on for over an hour and, no, I wasn’t the only one trying to hide my tears at this agony of defeat, because no matter where we live in this great big world, all of us, at one time or another, have been on the bottom, striving to beat the odds to come out on top. The struggle was personal and too familiar for all of us.

Finally, each determined turtle made his way successfully into the ocean. The entire episode was exhilarating. But there’s one precious thing I learned from this beautiful experience that will stay in my heart as long as I live – although the onlookers were multi-lingual, their “Cheers and Tears” were the SAME language as mine.

As we left the scene to go about our respective evening plans, we were all forever changed by these underdogs, the most endangered of THIS endangered species.