BajaNomad

OUR TRIP TO THE TURTLE SANCTUARY IN LA RIBERA

Udo - 9-22-2013 at 11:21 AM

Jana and myself had been dreaming about this event for the last few years.
We, as well as many Nomad members, had envisioned a turtle hatchery to be something like an incubator at a poultry farm, complete with heat lamps, enclosed shells, and some sort of a building that housed the farm. Many of us who spent a portion of our lives on a farm know what we had to go through to nurture the little farm animals that were born, and we had to be there to help along the moms.

What we encountered at the hatchery was totally the opposite:
A simple 30 meter X 30 meter fenced enclosure and markers that resembled grave markers at a cemetery.

Below are my photos of the sanctuary, and the trip surrounding it, thanks to my good friend, George Bergin (Osprey), from La Ribera, who pulled some strings and got us to the sanctuary, and thanks to Dave Thornton for loaning us the quadrunner.

The Kawasaki quad that Dave Thornton loaned to Jana and myself.



The sign designating the turtle sanctuary
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The markers depict the day the turtle eggs were buried, the number of eggs buried, expected hatching date.



The eggs are placed by the tortugeros in order of burial. The earliest burials in the front, and the later ones in the last row.
The two netted circles are from the earliest burials and are formed in such a way that no predator can enter the newly born turtle nest. The turtles are enclosed in the cage, until the tortugeros come by on their daily routine and transport the eggs by hand (in a large basket) to the water for release. Once in the water, however, they are still at the mercy of other marine life. At least they don't have to fight off the onslaught of seagulls who feast on the turtles as they make their way to the water.





Extra supplies for future nest burials
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Standing beside the hatchery are myself, my wife Jana, and George Bergin



Jim Moore, who runs a B&B in the jungle behind the nest, escorts us to the hatchery



Dave Thornton (dtbushpilot) was extremely generous to loan Jana and myself his Kawasaki quadrunner, so we could make the 8 mile run to the hatchery via the beach. He was also extremely kind to let us stay at his wonderful and scenic condo in Buena Vista.

Condo view looking south


Condo patio view looking north


Condo bedroom overlooking the calm seas


Condo view from the living room


Condos' living and dining area


Condo's kitchen and wi-fi area


We also spent some time visiting with Dave and his wife Jill at their new "two bedroom mansion"
One of his TWO garages


Dave and Jill's infinity pool


The house has several decks: The view from one of them looking north


The view looking south, which includes one of the three dining areas.


His well stocked bar!


The dream kitchen
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Jana and Jill discuss the day's events in Jill's formal dining area.


Their living quarters


Dave and Charlie (whom stayed at our place in BA) canning some freshly caught yellowtail
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Dave prepared some fresh sushi and served it on his terrace dining area.


Lunch at La Paloma restaurant with George and Lynda Bergin


Afterwards, George took us on a guided tour of part of the local mountains. He pointed out the trees that actually break rocks into pieces by purposely growing between the rock's cracks.


Jana and myself needed to go to La Paz to sign some papers at a Notario's office and ran into a large thunderstorm. Yes, we had to cross this torrent as well in our little roller skate rental car. At least we did not get washed out to sea!





Jana and myself celebrating our anniversary at Palermo's restaurant (on the La Paz malecon). Superb quality food and presentation. Thank you Jesse for the recommendation (Tres Virgenes is closed on Mondays)


We ordered shrimp a-la-mojo de ajo, and chipotle lobster




Champagne is tough to open on a very humid day!


Champagne, local cheese and crackers, on the condo's deck, and overlooking the calm Sea Of Cortez...what could be better?


What a way to start the day with a superb sunrise!




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BajaRat - 9-22-2013 at 11:31 AM

Looks like a real drag Udo, and you must have really suffered through those langosta size shrimp.. yum !

[Edited on 9-22-2013 by BajaRat]

Udo - 9-22-2013 at 11:50 AM

Thanks, Rat...the price husbands have to pay for keeping romance in a marriage!

Ateo - 9-22-2013 at 12:02 PM

That arroyo was flowing!!! Surprised the rental made it!!!! Thanks for sharing.

Udo - 9-22-2013 at 12:09 PM

There was a major applause from the spectators watching from the other side.

My trick was to watch for ten minutes and see what speed work best with the least amount of splashing. I was also watching the path the previous vehicle took so as to avoid rocks and shifting sand berms.

Mulegena - 9-22-2013 at 12:52 PM

Very nice trip report, Udo.

Fascinating, the turtle hatchery. Question, please: From where are the eggs collected, how and why? Certainly the mama turtles know where to best incubate their clutch.

I like that you, too, forded a river. I did so two weeks ago on my way south, a bigger stream with big-honkin' rocks, btw. Traffic was held up about an hour in each direction; a road grader appeared but wouldn't tackle the job and left, so a passenger on a bus got out in the water and moved some of the rocks; the bus was first to cross. I watched for 15 minutes or so then ventured forth in my little pickup. We did just fine!

Osprey - 9-22-2013 at 01:25 PM

If I may: Looked like about 90 nests incubating that day so about 9,000 eggs. The Turtle Group people ride their quads up and down the beaches just for a few miles either side of La Ribera, follow the tracks to the nests, dig them up, return to the nursery, dig a hole, put the eggs inside, place the marker and go back out looking for more. It's hot, hard work and if they didn't do it a lot of the nests would be robbed by people and animals, some would be flooded out by bocas and tides.

Takes 50 to 60 days for the eggs to hatch and when the day comes, they dig them up and protect them as they are released in ways mama couldn't manage. The mamas lay one to three nests each season so the work never stops from June to January. The babies that survive the rigors of life at sea return when they are 15 years old to lay their eggs on the same beaches.

Had a ball with Udo and Jana just showing them part of this interesting area.

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Udo - 9-22-2013 at 01:29 PM

To answer your question, Mulegena:

The eggs were collected from within a 20 mile area, both north and south of the sanctuary. The tortugeros also rode up and down the beach with a variety of atvs, and collected each set of eggs separately.

Yes, the mama turtles do know where best to lay their eggs...they in fact, swim the sea for many days to "sense" where best to lay their eggs. But some of them miscalculate the high tides, and that is where the tortugeros come in.

On my way to the sanctuary, I probably saw over 60 nests. Many were marked by tortugeros with sticks in the sand. Others were not.

Here are some of the egg nests Jana and I rode by: In this nest site you can see at least 8 sand dimples, and you can also see how close we came with the quad (inadvertently) by our tire tracks.




This is a more recent one, since the turtle's tail mark was still visible in the sand.



This is what the nests look like as they are laid in the sand by the moms.
We saw several dozen of these nests (unmarked), and one HAD to be careful not to run over one of the nests as we rode by at 25 MPH.


This nest was invaded by a terrestrial predator.
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Not to confuse a pet's burial site with a turtle nest.


Here is one of many marked nests:
On edit: Notice how close the high tide water line is to the nests!


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MMc - 9-22-2013 at 01:31 PM

Udo, thanks for sharing. The whole trip looks pretty cool, turtles, people, digs. Looks like good times.

Udo - 9-22-2013 at 01:36 PM

Had it not been for George Bergin's connections and Dave Thornton's lending us his quad, this may not have happened.

The other alternative was to have George drive us to Jim Moore's house and we all get on his little atv to the incubation site.

jbcoug - 9-22-2013 at 02:27 PM

Thanks Udo,

Great job sharing with us. This experience should go on my bucket list. Appears you and Jana were reasonably comfortable during your stay. It's nice to have good friends in the right places.

John

David K - 9-22-2013 at 02:40 PM

I am so happy that you share these with us... awesome job with the photos, and doing that is still 'tax free' here on Baja Nomad!

Is dtbushpilot's irrigation set up working? :lol:

Beautiful area... Baja rocks!

monoloco - 9-22-2013 at 02:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Udo
Had it not been for George Bergin's connections and Dave Thornton's lending us his quad, this may not have happened.

The other alternative was to have George drive us to Jim Moore's house and we all get on his little atv to the incubation site.
Or you could have come to Pescadero and driven a rental car to within a hundred meters of an incubation site.

Udo - 9-22-2013 at 02:49 PM

Mil gracias for your insight, George!

Even though this event happened two weeks ago, it becomes impossible to remember everything everyone had said.
In previous years, when I was interviewing people for a story, I carried a cassette recorder to refresh my memory.

Thanks for making the week such a memorable one for the two of us.
...and again, my sincerest apologies for addressing your lovely wife, Lynda, as Jana, on Facebook.
BTW...addressing this to Nomads, my Facebook page has ALL the photos taken on this trip. Posting photos on Nomad is a time-consuming task, and therefore many photos do not get posted.
Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
If I may: Looked like about 90 nests incubating that day so about 9,000 eggs. The Turtle Group people ride their quads up and down the beaches just for a few miles either side of La Ribera, follow the tracks to the nests, dig them up, return to the nursery, dig a hole, put the eggs inside, place the marker and go back out looking for more. It's hot, hard work and if they didn't do it a lot of the nests would be robbed by people and animals, some would be flooded out by bocas and tides.

Takes 50 to 60 days for the eggs to hatch and when the day comes, they dig them up and protect them as they are released in ways mama couldn't manage. The mamas lay one to three nests each season so the work never stops from June to January. The babies that survive the rigors of life at sea return when they are 15 years old to lay their eggs on the same beaches.

Had a ball with Udo and Jana just showing them part of this interesting area.

[Edited on 9-22-2013 by Osprey]

[Edited on 9-22-2013 by Osprey]

[Edited on 9-22-2013 by Osprey]

[Edited on 9-22-2013 by Osprey]


[Edited on 9-22-2013 by Udo]

DianaT - 9-22-2013 at 02:57 PM

Looks like you had a really good time---that is a good thing. Also great to see the work being done for the turtles. Thanks

BajaBlanca - 9-22-2013 at 04:00 PM

What a fun trip. Thanks so much for taking the time to share. Posting pics is not easy.

@dtbushpilot: The furniture looks awesome!

BajaLuna - 9-22-2013 at 04:24 PM

This thread about the turtle sanctuary made me happy, this is awesome work they do! Hail Hail to all the turtle helpers! I must get there one day!

Udo, thanks for sharing your pics, I loved seeing the area down there, the beaches etc, one of these days I'm going to go see this beautiful place! So glad you had a fantastic getaway for your anniversary. Happy wife happy life!!

Aww yes living in the moment, good food, good friends, romance and Baja, it doesn't get much better than that!!

And thanks for sharing the info about the turtles, Udo and George, very informative!

TMW - 9-23-2013 at 10:35 AM

Wow this is really interesting, thanks

Udo - 9-23-2013 at 02:26 PM

The point of this trip report is about the turtle sanctuary, yes.

But the other point is the establishments of Nomad friends throughout the Peninsula...
That is something that can't be substituted

Having friends in Baja is as good as family can get, and many times even better!

That is the reason we, as Nomad members, should make it a point to let members know where one of us will be, and to make it a point to visit with members while in Baja.

My first trip to visit George, was about 10 years ago, and I went 90 miles out of my way to visit with him and Lynda.
Their friendship has been incalculable!

Same with Dave and Jill, and Shari, and so on!

[Edited on 9-23-2013 by Udo]

This is what they are protecting against

durrelllrobert - 9-24-2013 at 10:40 AM

Mexican poaching turtle eggs that sell for up to 15 pesos each:

cliffh - 9-24-2013 at 02:29 PM

Great report, makes us home sick, be home mid oct. thanks Cliff

Udo - 9-25-2013 at 07:26 AM

DT still had three workers coming by every day, David, so he still has much work left.
I did not notice any drip irrigation when I was there.
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
I am so happy that you share these with us... awesome job with the photos, and doing that is still 'tax free' here on Baja Nomad!

Is dtbushpilot's irrigation set up working? :lol:

Beautiful area... Baja rocks!

Udo - 9-25-2013 at 07:28 AM

NICE photo Bob!
Yes, this is one of the reasons that there are tortugeros taking the eggs to the hatchery.
Quote:
Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Mexican poaching turtle eggs that sell for up to 15 pesos each: