On the Beach

I looked at my phone. It was 1:30 a.m. I was soaked. I turned on the flashlight and looked at my feet. They were ‘prunie’ from wearing wet socks. The tent was waterlogged from the heavy rains. I heard people stirring and a soft voice saying “turtles”. Janyn and Tracy were waking and I said, “come on let’s go, they’ve spotted a turtle”. It’s nesting time for Leatherback Turtles.

Earlier in the day we met the Saint Lucia National Trust employees. There were over twenty of us; Peace Corps Volunteers, Japanese Volunteers and friends. The buses were late and we became bored. Hence, I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could stand next to this statue and duplicate the profile. Do you think that’s disrespectful?


At last our adventure began, the two large four-wheel drive safari vehicles arrived, we piled in and headed for a remote beach where turtles come and drop their eggs.

After forty-five minutes driving on rough terrain we arrived at the site. The rough Atlantic Ocean water and darkened conditions are the preferred nesting grounds for these amazing Leatherback Turtles. We strolled along the two mile beach, taking pictures and enjoying the beauty. There were plenty of sand crabs. Leatherbacks have been nesting on this beach for years. We came across bones at one point. They looked to be bones of a Leatherback.


It began raining. When it rains here it’s not a gentle rain, but a hard rain. It was dark and they just finished putting up the tents which were getting a good soaking. There were two small storage sheds where we took cover and where dinner was being set up in the dark. We were getting soaked, but we were excited about the night ahead. We ate a typical Saint Lucian meal of rice, salad, macaroni and cheese and chow mein with BBQ’d chicken.


At the end of the meal everyone was called together to be briefed: no flashlights or picture taking until we get the green light. Maybe we will see a turtle and maybe not. Our guides work for the Saint Lucia National Trust and they are professionally trained to count the eggs that turtles lay as well as to educate people about the animals.
There will be three times to go out and walk the beaches, but if we choose to stay at camp they will come for us if one is sighted. We walked the beach and as we found our way through just the light of the moon we discovered two dead turtles, likely poached. Although there is security here with us, I think it was more for us and less for poachers.


It was 1:30 a.m. when the call came. We hurried to the extreme end of the beach. And there she was; in a watery hole. Knowing she couldn’t lay in water she moved to another spot, but it wasn’t perfect. She finally made a third attempt at a nest but decided that wasn’t perfect either. By 3:30 a.m. she decided to go back to the sea. Slowly, she moved from the sandy beach to the ocean waters, leaving large tracks behind her. She would likely find another beach or come back the next night.


Leatherbacks are the largest turtles on earth, growing up to seven feet long and weigh more than one ton. They lay approximately 80 eggs in each nest. This amazing turtle traces its evolution more than 100 million years and is currently endangered. I found this picture of a hatchling turtle on the internet -isn't it amazing.

As we left the beach that night, the guides expressed concern that she would come back the next night and into the hands of a poacher. There would be no security to protect her.

The next morning we packed up, stopped for a breakfast of Cocoa Tea and Bakes before heading back to Castries. This is just one of those experiences when I reflect on where I am and the things I’m doing. It is times like this that I remember how lucky I am.

(Thank you Melanie for pointing out the HUGE error I made on this post! Thanks to your comment, the error has been corrected!)