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güéribo
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the historic eating of sea turtles
A unique article I stumbled across today at the online journal The Appendix, about the history of eating sea turtles in Baja. You can read the whole
article here.
"For centuries the Baja California peninsula was known as the Island of California, a mythical land populated by Amazons and griffins, covered in gold
and pearls. Sea turtles swam in the surrounding Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortés, and have appeared in written and oral sources over four hundred
years of the peninsula’s recorded history. Conquistadores, pirates, missionaries, whalers, and fishermen have, at different moments, relied on sea
turtles for sustenance, commerce, and medicine. These sea turtles have an important place, both pragmatic and symbolic, in the history of the mythical
“island . . ."
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blackwolfmt
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Cool soc history lesson. Thanks
So understand dont waste your time always searching for those wasted years
face up and make your stand and realize that your living in the golden years
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güéribo
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You're welcome. Interesting that early explorers starved rather than eat them, perhaps because they found them repulsive, or just didn't know they
were a food source.
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Bajaboy
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Still a very common delicacy in Bahia Asuncion...of course with a wink, wink.....just saying
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Cliffy
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Had fried turtle with Papa and family in Gonzaga in the very early 70s
It ain't bad.
Anyone remember the male rite of passage to lay one upside down, slitting the throat and drinking the blood as it spurted out? I do!
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bajadogs
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Quote: Originally posted by Cliffy  | Had fried turtle with Papa and family in Gonzaga in the very early 70s
It ain't bad.
Anyone remember the male rite of passage to lay one upside down, slitting the throat and drinking the blood as it spurted out? I do!
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No. I can't believe you admit to this perversion. Are you bragging?
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BornFisher
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Nice article, nice find gueribo.
Remember, when ordering turtle soup to always say "Make it snappy".
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güéribo
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Thank you, BornFisher. I must confess, I won't be ordering any! I did like the pun, though.
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güéribo
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Cliffy:
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bajabuddha
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Had the opportunity to eat fresh-water snapping turtle in Kentucky back in 1972. Toughest part was butchering the damned thing... no one had, so we
worked our way through it and cooked what most looked like meat (messy things!) It was spectacular eating. NO, it didn't taste like chicken; more
like beefsteak.
History has always had a different kant on who-eats-what. The Hisatsinom (Ancestral Pedro and his wife, Annie Zazzie) were a culture that fed the
turkey from the table and had dog meat for dinner on Thanksgiving.
Food is food. Now, the Tortuga/caguama is protected, and rightfully so, especially the eggs and nesting sites. It has become the issue of our
stewardship to the small orb we share that's shrinking daily.
If we could only find a proper way of preparing seagulls and pelicans... 
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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alacran
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I had it when it was still legal on the menu, at Casitas and Candil, breaded and soup, it tastes la veal.
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Cliffy
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No guts - No glory!
Machismo
Same with mountain oysters at roundup on the branding fire!
Ummm, very fresh!
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KurtG
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| Quote: Originally posted by alacran | | I had it when it was still legal on the menu, at Casitas and Candil, breaded and soup, it tastes la veal. |
Same here, that was back in the 70's. Also ate snapping turtle as a kid in northern Minnesota back in the 50's. Yes, dammit, I am that old.
In Bruce Berger's entertaining book "Almost An Island" a chapter about Earth Day with the Governor tells a good tale on this subject.
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Hook
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I had turtle at the Diaz compound at the Bahia, as late as the mid 80s, IIRC. I think it was a New Year's celebration. We were staying at the Villa
Vita.
It was fried and pretty tough. I was not impressed.
Apologies if this offends some, but I had or have any idea if it was illegal back then.
The good news is that turtles are making a strong comeback in the Sea. I see them often, out in the boat and one day counted over fifty sightings.
Nesting sites are being monitored and we have participated in one, Mexican Government-sponsored release of captured eggs that were then incubated in
an ice chest in someone's garage. The release turned into a much larger event than it should have been (thanks, Facebook,  ) as it was difficult controlling all the kids that were determined to get between
the turtles and the ocean. But it was good that it exposed so many young Mexicans to the beauty of sustaining these creatures.
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Whale-ista
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Thank you for an interesting link. I've posted a separate discussion about my own family history and sea turtle consumption in Baja.
It's painful to imagine how much has been lost when reading these accounts. How lovely to imagine beaches covered with sea turtles and lagoons full of
gray whales.
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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güéribo
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You're so right. I'm glad to know that the sea turtle population is coming back. The article presented an interesting history: from needful turtle
consumption by native groups, to overfishing and exploitation, to conservation.
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bajabuddha
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I have a cheery story to add to the thread; about 10 years ago while wintering in Bahia Concepcion one of the campers on our beach found 3 large
Tortuga in a mangrove swamp estrero about 400 yards south of our cove. They were obviously poached and bound for shipment after dark. The camper was
a newbie to Baja, but very insistent on trying to save them. Several of us huddled and came up with a solution; he (the guy that found them) drove
into Mulege and went straight to a Local businessman, very respected in the community, and one of them gawddanged enviornmeddlers when it comes to the
sea. He alerted the right people in PROFEPA and by that afternoon there were 3 or 4 Govt. vehicles on-scene loading these 150 lb. behemoths into the
backs of the trucks. It took 3 to 4 sturdy guys to lift each one onto the bed of the pick-ups, and we got to help.
The Officials talked to 2 different fish camps that "of course had no idea" where they came from, and gave them an incredibly stern warning that you
could tell they meant serious business. Plus, the area had been a bat-ray-carcass dumping ground for months and was a total mess; they made the
fishermen come over the course of a week and clean the entire area up.
The turtles were taken to Loreto for veterinary care and rehabilitation. About 3 - 4 months later I was walking past the business that made the call
for us, and the owner came running out of the store to grab me... took me inside and back into his office, and live on the internet they were just
releasing two of the three back into the sea at a Loreto beach, complete with TV coverage and a nice gathering for a fiesta of life, with the usual
speeches.
We were both very happy. I'm sure the turtles were too. 
[Edited on 4-5-2015 by bajabuddha]
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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Whale-ista
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hooray! thank you Buddah- I needed a happy story reminding me things are changing for the better...
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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güéribo
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Cheery indeed. Thanks for sharing! High five.
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monoloco
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The ruins of a sea turtle processing plant are still visible at Punta Lobos near Todos Santos, along with piles of carapaces. I've been told that it
was active well into the 70's.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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