Monterrico Sea Turtles

Last weekend Toby and I took the opportunity of having no classes on Día de la Revolución to do a bit of traveling to the Pacific Coast town of Monterrico (far south from us). Part of our motivation was to see a new place in Guatemala and the chance to see sea turtles. At one time there were 250 species of sea turtles; now there are only eight worldwide. Of those eight, three species are indigenous to the southern coast of Guatemala: Parlama Blanca (the Olive Ridley), Parlama Negra (the East Pacific Green), and the largest of the sea turtles, Baule (the Leatherback).

Both types of Parlamas nest on the beach at Monterrico, fittingly named Baule Beach, between July and December. The Leatherbacks, however, nest between late October and December. As of last weekend no Leatherbacks had been spotted...and sadly only 4 were reported last year along the 25km stretch of beach. This indicates just how endangered these creatures are. Another sad predicament of all 3 species of sea turtles are the hueveros that comb the beaches at night searching for turtles nesting in aim to steal the eggs. This practice is probably due to lack of jobs and education, and from the myth that Parlama Negra eggs are aphrodisiacs. The common understanding on the beach, is that the first person to the turtle has dibs on the eggs to do what they wish. Unfortunately, during our 4 hours watching and searching in the night, with our friend Mike from Boston, we were unable to spot any female laying eggs. Most eggs that are laid on the beach are probably sold as food, and the others are thankfully donated by tour guides and tourists to the CECON (el Centro de Estudios Conservacionistas) tortugario.

This is where Toby and I visited to check out where many bundles of eggs are "incubating" safely under the watch of CECON workers that protect from predators, human and animal alike. We also were able to sign up (Q10 or $1.25 donation fee) to release baby sea turtles into the ocean that Saturday evening. During the peak season, almost every night baby turtles hatch from their eggs and are collected into a holding pool where they await their release into the ocean the following evening. We were able to check out the little Parlamas Negras in their pool before releasing them later in the evening.

When we let them go into the thrashing waves on the beach of Monterrico, the waves tossed them back up onto the black sand beach where they camouflaged and attempted again to make it out into the open ocean. As we watched, we hoped and prayed they were the one out of a thousand that would survive into adulthood (possibly 100 years). And, maybe someday they'll return to Baule Beach to mate and lay eggs themselves.