Searching for turtles

Turtle searching, Majahuas Camp, Jalisco, Mexico

We’ve just spent a magical day and night at the Majahuas turtle sanctuary, 2 hrs drive south of Puerto Vallarta. Perched on a tiny isthmus between an estuary and the Pacific Ocean, it’s one of the top spots for turtle nesting, with up to 300 turtles a night coming to nest here in summer. We spent the day relaxing in the hammocks at the Robin Crusoe-like camp under the coconut palms and swimming in the crocodile-invested estuary (apparently safe in the day as the cocodrillos are out catching some rays and not thinking about hunting!!). Once the sun had set on the ocean and the beach was dark, it was time to do our first ‘patrol’ with Luis, the marine biologist working there to protect the turtles. We walked up and down the thin strip of beach in the pitch black with Luis’ expert eye searching for signs of mummy turtles coming to lay eggs or baby turtles hatching, and after about 20 minutes he spotted something in the distance on the beach…. a crocodile! It had recently died which meant the kids could have fun getting up close to investigate. Another walk and Luis said he could see another animal’s eyes shining in the dark – up close it turned out to be a racoon feeding on baby turtles hatching! We scared the racoon away and discovered a nest full of these enchanting palm-sized wrigglers! First we watched and kept them safe as they made their way up through the sand to the air, then we guided them down the beach to the ocean. We helped 27 of them to make it to the ocean and it was pure enrapture!

We didn’t see any female turtles come in to lay their eggs, but they were certainly there as we discovered a fresh nest which Luis dug up to reveal 73 soft and warm turtle eggs that we transported back to camp to put in a safer spot.

It was an enormous walk for the kids, with a lot of adrenaline walking through the dark on an isolated beach with strange noises, but we were enthralled! The night sky was spectacular and the experience was magical.

You can check out the campamento majahuas here: www.facebook.com/campamentomajahuas