The Pacific Coast

Posted on by greenbee

The road to the coast passes through a lot of steep mountains, and one area was still pretty rough from a landslide. The fancy bus, ADO, takes only 3 hours on a relatively new highway. Other roads may double the time but you see many more towns along the way.

Arriving in Mazunte, a delightful Spanish traveler and new friend, Irene, and I signed up for the release of Olive Ridley’s turtles from a nearby beach town just west, Playa Ventanilla.

To reduce predation from mammals, birds, and other wildlife, the turtles eggs are carefully dug up and transferred to this protected area. To help support the conservation work, raise awareness among tourists, and provide alternative income (in the past the turtles and eggs were harvested to eat), tourists can join in the release of young turtles the day they hatch.
We all lined up with a few babies in gourd bowls, careful not to touch them, and released them all at once.
I suspect such releases are controversial among conservationists but it was a beautiful few moments seeing them reach the sea.

Mazunte is home to a Turtle Conservation Center where another new friend, Stephan from Austria, had worked for two months twenty years ago. I’ll include some photos from there in a later post.

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