Saturday was our day off and we were once again surrounded by nature! Kel was awakened by a phone call, reporting that a loggerhead turtle nest was hatching! She raced to the beach to see how things were going and found at least a dozen tracks leading to the sea. As we began gently excavating the nest, we found some hatchlings were still digging their way out. Because of the human impacts to the beach, we carefully collected 11 turtles and placed them closer to the water line (but not too close as we were told they need to feel the temperature change of the sand as they approach the sea). It was amazing! After sunset, Janan and Cat helped with the night-release of those turtles that hatched in the daylight in a bucket. There were 15 baby sea turtles being released, and each of us was given a sea turtle to watch scuttle across the sand towards the ocean. We got to hold them and put them in the dry sand and then we watched by starlight to make sure each one made it to the water. We are crossing our fingers that at least a few survive!
Earlier in the day, Cat and Kel did something else out of the box; rather than swimming with the dolphins, we were swimming with the Caribbean reef sharks! There were four sharks gracefully swimming around the coral, seeming to ignoring our presence. Although every once in a while they would swim around us, perhaps to get a better view of the strange snorkelers that were swimming with them. It was a fantastic experience and it was wonderful to observe another aspect of Bimini’s oceans. It also fit well with DCP’s newest Squidoo page: Sharks and Dolphins. Click here to check it out!
Until next time,
Cat, Janan & Kel