Turtles and why I question "Ecotourism"..

Bit of a sweet and sour entry this one. So its turtle hatching/laying season so when I heard the German film crew were back on island and staying right next to a turtle beach I decided to bum a lift over there. So when I arrived it was fairly late into the night but I managed to get my hammock set up with the help of the turtle guide (my arm was in a sling at this point). He then showed me a box of baby leatherback turtles he had excavated a few hours before my arrival that he was keeping over night so the other tourists (PeaceCorp Volunteers) could see them leave in the morning...

Are you thinking what I am thinking? Why the hell keep them over night for the benefit of a few people who will get a slightly better view in the morning. All the while the baby turtles are burning through their energy reserves and getting more stressed than they need to be. So yeah, as cool as it was to see baby leatherbacks it was a bit of a hollow victory. I know the eggs are protected from poachers etc and the "message" is spread but still.

Chilling on the beach around a fire and seeing the milky way was pretty cool as we waited for an adult female to come in and lay some eggs. Unfortunately the adults were a no show (I saw one from the boat the month before so I was not too gutted) but it would have been great to see one up close. One of the other things that pisses me off about the turtle programme here is the number of people who take selfies with the turtles or touch them while they are laying... NOO! Leave them alone you idiots.

Anyway after a few hours sleep in my hammock I was up at the crack of dawn to catch the sun rise. It was glorious!! And I did get to see the baby turtles go into the ocean. They are very adorable trundling across the beach to the sea. So not all bad but the naive approach of the "Ecotourism" at Rosalie Bay was a sore spot for me. 

Baby Leatherbacks

Sun Rise at Rosalie Beach

Fairwell little turtle!