Sandy Island, a very small island off the coast of Carriacou, is a special place. The water is crystal clear and the sand is pure white. The reefs are all protected and the fish are fantastic. But what I will always remember are the baby turtles we āsavedā.
We were walking down the beach and came to the tip of the island. There was a small sand dune like lump of small weeds and sand keeping us from the other side of the island. I decided to give it a go and made it to the other side without any difficulties. If you can imagine, the ocean was blocked off. A large wall of coral had been pushed up onto the beach so only a few small trickles of the sea was reaching the sand. And this spot was the home to a nest of turtles.
The baby turtles were high on the list of cutest things Iāve ever seen in my life ever. But but but, the problem here is that there was no possible way for these lil guys to get past the coral and they couldnāt see the ocean in the other side because of the sand pile. Weāve been told by a friend that the babies need to reach the ocean or water on their own before humans touch them or else their sense to go to the sea would be lost forever. Not wanting to ruin some turtles lives, we waited for them to reach one of the few pools of water and then scooped them up. We carried them over to the other side of the island (which was a 30 second walk) and placed them high up on the beach. While in Grenada we were fortunate enough to experience a mama turtle give birth to 50 turtle eggs and see a hatchling crawl out of the ground. We were taught there that the babies build up their lungs and strength on their journey to the ocean from their nest. So we watched them waddle into the water and swim away. We watched about 20 lil ones return to the sea.
There is something magical about turtles, watching a three inch baby make its way into the sea is truly amazing. To have the perseverance to waddle into crashing waves is something I hope I can bring into my own life. To keep going even when the road is difficult. Push through the waves and swim away.
There is a very small chance for most turtles. Even though there is no certainty that any of those turtles are still around today, itās a nice thought knowing that we tried. We tried to do the right thing and help these guys have a chance.
-Heidi
(Iām trying to get caught up and up to date so donāt mind the blast of posts that will be coming soon…!)