Acapulco and Turtles

Yesterday was Acapulco, Mexico. I guess I took a day off and am posting this later than usual. Acapulco is located in Baja California. It is bordered by the ocean and mountains to the north and east. Excavations show that it has been inhabited for over 5000 years, some of the fragments of clay pottery, ceramics and bone are some of the oldest found in Mexico. It was discovered by the Spanish in 1521. Today it is a major tourist destination with high rise hotels lining the bay.

We had a shore excursion entitled "City Highlights and Baby Turtle Release". We met on the pier at 8:30, headed out about 9. The bus drove along the main road nearest the water. It is a row of huge hotels right on the beach. Once away from that bay, we passed by several others, one with huge homes. We drove thru a resort area which also had large hotels and golf courses. Our final destination was a wedding venue which is used by Campamento Tortuguero (Turtle Camp) to educate tourists about the plight of the sea turtles. The venue is right on the beach, has very nice restrooms, and a grassy area for chairs. Perfect place to bring in a large group. We were given drinks then listened to a talk about sea turtles.

There are several different species of turtles that nest and lay their eggs along the coast of Mexico. This group harvests the eggs and keeps them until they hatch, saving them from predators along the beaches. Once hatched, they are released to the sea. That same turtle, if it survives, will swim as far as Australia, returning in 8 to 10 years to the exact same beach to lay their eggs! Quite amazing.

After the talk, we went down to the beach. Each one of us was given a baby turtle to release. Their shell's were about 2" x 1 1/2", the flippers were almost longer than their body! They tried swimming in air as we gently held them. We were told to hold them close to our hearts so they would get to know us, kind hokey, but fun. We all put them on the beach at the same time and watched them scramble over the sand, headed to sea. The fast ones we were told, would most likely be eaten by predators, letting the slow guys make it safely. We were all hoping ours would be slow. One little guy headed straight down the beach, he wasn't going to get wet! We walked toward the water to follow our turtle until they disappeared into the surf. It was really fun. By releasing them this way, they have a 1 in 100 chance of survival. If they hatch and leave from the nest naturally, they have a 1 in 1000 chance since there are many predators that could get them before they get to the water. Great experience.

We were back at the ship by noon, had lunch then hit the pier again. We were going to walk along the beach but decided to take a taxi to the market instead. We were taken on narrow, back streets, wondering if we would really end up at the market! Our driver got out and guided us to a certain store. He received gas money for bringing us there. We shopped for an hr or so then decided to go back. It didn't seem like we had traveled too far, so asked for directions so we could walk. We saw the real Acapulco that way, narrow streets, tiny shops and restaurants and LOTS of traffic. Took about 15 min to get back to the ship.

We had a lazy day on board today. Elliot Fivel played a classical concert which was very good. Mel went, I didn't. We had Indonesian Tea today. The sweets were interesting, not great. I prefer the classic scone with clotted cream for tea, thank you very much. Show tonight was Livewire, a husband and wife team, he plays guitar, she plays violin. They were OK, better than the ships singers and dancers!

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