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Releasing baby sea turtles into the ocean at Reserva Playa Tortuga in Costa Rica.

1/12/2017

26 Comments

 
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As our Costa Rica travels wind down, we are realizing how many things are still left on our Costa Rican bucket list. After spending nearly the last 2 years exploring this beautiful country from end to end, we still had not yet witnessed baby sea turtles heading out to sea...and this was simply unacceptable to me.


Costa Rica is a country that is all about ecotourism, and it is home to many nesting beaches for four kinds of sea turtle species: olive ridley, hawksbill, green and leatherback.


​Numerous local organizations help to preserve and protect these critical nesting habitats of the sea turtles. These organizations also allow tourists the rare opportunity to view the nesting turtles and the courageous and vulnerable baby sea turtles as they slowly but bravely head out to sea.

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Reserva Playa Tortuga is a turtle rescue center located along the southern pacific coast of Costa Rica, just before the entrance to the Osa Peninsula, near the town of Ojochal. A non-profit biological research and education center formed in 2009, Reserva Tortuga does important work for the sea turtles in the Costa Ballena area. To learn more you can visit their website: http://reservaplayatortuga.org/


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Noticing a post on the Reserva Tortuga Facebook page that they were releasing 55 baby olive ridley sea turtles into the ocean at 4pm one afternoon, and that it could be the last release of the season, we knew we could not miss this incredible experience.


​It was finally Turtle Time!


Playa Tortuga, where the baby sea turtles are released between July and December each year, is the closest beach to our house at Osa Mountain Village and is usually deserted.


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​But when we show up for Turtle Time the beach is packed with rental cars, turtle lovers, and selfie sticks. The roar of the waves was only matched by the excited chattering and shrieks as we all took turns admiring and delicately holding the precious baby sea turtles.

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We whisper to some, wish them luck and encourage them on their long, looming journey ahead into the unknown.

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​The volunteers and biologists at Reserva Tortuga soon collect all the turtles and place them back into the bucket. Excitedly, the small crowd mobs down to the beach, to watch the release of the baby turtles into the calm ocean waters.

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​Just as the crowd has mobbed toward the  beach, the baby turtles now mob toward the ocean, flipping and flopping and struggling to make progress toward the vast sea of freedom lying ahead.

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Some showed little patience for their slower neighbors ahead, and climbed their way over the turtle pile to the head of the pack, leading the way to the ocean.

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​Some were determined and didn't stop until they reached the water...

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​Some took it slowly, but cheerfully, and paused often to rest and admire the distance and struggles they had come in their short, hard life.

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Some were angry at this obsurd inconvenience...

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And some were just plain tuckered out and wanted to give up...
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​But they all eventually made it to the ocean, as we cheered on their determined little turtle souls. The moment they reached the wave line was a victorious moment for all, turtles and humans alike.

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​As we check another item off our Costa Rican bucket list, we reflect on the message of the experience, as we watch the turtles join the sea. 


From the sea turtles we learn that your speed through life does not matter, only your determination does. We learn to never give up, especially when life gets tough, because easier waters are just beyond the next wave. We learn to be at ease in our own shell. And we learn to enjoy each step of the journey, because the journey itself is the adventure.


​"Behlold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."
-James Bryant Conant

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26 Comments
Ivonne
1/13/2017 05:24:54 am

What an amazing experience this must have been and written so well that I can almost hear the crowd rejoicing as each and every little turtle finally reached the ocean.

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Kari
1/13/2017 06:02:53 am

Thank you so much Ivonna, thanks for reading :)

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Wendy
1/13/2017 09:18:24 am

Kari - Thanks for sharing this...wish we had still been there...what an experience.

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Kari
1/13/2017 01:27:17 pm

It will be one of my favorite CR memories :)

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Robyn link
1/13/2017 03:44:30 pm

What an amazing experience this must have been. Your pictures are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing!!

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Kari
1/13/2017 03:57:13 pm

My pleasure, thanks for reading!

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Jen Seligmann link
1/13/2017 04:21:30 pm

I love that such small creatures can teach us some of life's most important lessons. This looks to be a once a lifetime experience, something I hope to have myself someday. I remember watching an episode of Globe Trekker many years ago and the presenter was on the beach sending these little beauty's off on their big journey out into the ocean. It inspired me then and your post now has reinspired me to move this experience a little future up my must do list.

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Kari
1/13/2017 07:33:18 pm

You would love it Jen, it is so humbling and touching! I hope you get to have the experience also someday. Happy Travels!

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Daphne from Girlswanderlust link
1/14/2017 10:38:49 am

Wonderful experience! This post reminds me of the turtle release programme that I joined in Indonesia. Great time! =)

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Kari
1/14/2017 10:47:40 am

How cool, thanks!!

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Kelly | A Pair of Passports link
1/14/2017 11:12:30 am

What an incredible experience! Costa Rica is such an amazing country with all of the eco-tourism related things that they do. I am so happy you got to experience this, and hope I get the chance to one day too :)

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Kari
1/14/2017 11:37:26 am

Thank you so much, I hope you get to experience it too!

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Laura @ Grassroots Nomad link
1/14/2017 11:23:11 am

Incredible! I've always wondered how eco-friendly this really is, so I really enjoyed reading this. This is definitely something you won't forget in a hurry. Thank you so much for sharing :)

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Kari
1/14/2017 11:37:57 am

My pleasure, thanks for stopping by :)

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Kristy link
1/14/2017 11:27:03 am

Such beautiful photos and what an awesome thing to do! I especially love the photo of the turtle with the quote on it :)

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Kari
1/14/2017 11:38:20 am

Thanks! :)

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Leigh Suznovich link
1/16/2017 08:08:05 am

Oh wow, what an incredible experience!!! I would not have been able to contain myself at all, I squealed a little just looking at the gorgeous photos of the little babies.

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Kari
1/17/2017 07:28:13 am

Ha ha, me too :)

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Clarissa link
1/16/2017 02:43:19 pm

This is so amazing! I would love to do something like this - such an incredible experience <3 <3

-Clarissa @ <a href="www.theviewfromhere.is"> The View From Here </a>

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Kari
1/17/2017 07:28:37 am

It really was :)

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Megan link
1/24/2017 12:09:51 pm

Oh my goodness, they are so cute! That must have been such an amazing experience.

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Kari
1/24/2017 12:45:33 pm

They are THE cutest and it sure was :)

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Obligatory Traveler link
3/10/2017 07:09:31 pm

What an amazing experience! Really great pictures. May have to do this someday.

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Marie link
4/24/2017 08:29:24 am

what an amazing and heart warming entry about the turtle release!

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Laura link
9/6/2017 01:15:57 pm

I'm really interested to know how this works. I've just spent the summer volunteering at a sea turtle protection society in Greece, and am a little confused as to why the hatchlings are placed in buckets like your picture shows! Is this purely for tourism purposes? As in Greece the hatchlings aren't interfered with; they are able to make their own way to sea when they hatch. Do you know what happens to them during the in-between stage?

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Kari (Happy Coconuts Travel Blog)
9/7/2017 12:26:53 pm

Hi Laura,
You could probably contact Reserve Tortuga in Costa Rica for more specific info. As far as I know the turtle eggs sell for a high dollar amount on the black market and due to this they must be protected 24-hours/day from poachers all over Costa Rica. There are many volunteers who monitor the turtle nests and eggs constantly. I imagine when its time to release them they load them into the buckets and carry them closer to the ocean. There isn't much human interference once they have been released, at least in our experience. Pura vida :)

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    Kari Pinkerton Silcox

    It would be a tragedy to die, having never really lived. Which is why my husband Andy and I quit our jobs, sold our house and decided to chase our dreams. We moved to Costa Rica without a plan, and this is the story of our adventure.
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