Friday we had the opportunity for one of the most amazing moments I have had here. I received a call in the morning from Nicole....she is the South African woman who works here and her job is overseeing the sea turtle conservation project.
There is a certain species of sea turtles that come up the Congo River....the Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivaccea) and come ashore to lay eggs above the high tide line of the river on the beach near the gas plant. Nicole and Warren identify where the eggs have been laid and keep close watch on the nests to make sure they are safe and the turtles have the greatest possibility of hatching.
This year we are having a drought. I have spoke about the difficulties here when the rains come.....this is mostly related to finding food and the difficulties of keeping the roads intact. The rains should have started in December at the latest and we are now mid January and still only a two episodes of heavy rain and recently, not even sprinkles. This not only effects the casava crop which is the staple for the local population, but it has also caused the sea turtle eggs to hatch prematurely so some of the baby turtles were very small and weaker than other times.
Warren, the snake controller, met us at the beach with the turtle hatchlings to be released. They had hatched during the day and needed to be allowed to go to the sea quickly. As always, he first gave us an education on the type of turtle these were, the uniqueness of them hatching not at the sea but up the Congo river....and the immediate dangers.....birds and crabs....before the turtles even get to the sea. He also told us that only one in 1000 will live to maturity and be able to reproduce. We then took a few at a time, carried them to the high tide mark on the sand and set them facing the river. Several of the little turtles seemed to be confused and kept turning around and going up the beach rather than down to the water. Great care was taken to not step on any of these little ones as the waves carried some back to the beach several times before they were able to escape the returning wave. Then we watched these little heads come to the surface every few seconds to breath as they swam away. What an amazing time this was for us to be a part of this conservation project.
This year we are having a drought. I have spoke about the difficulties here when the rains come.....this is mostly related to finding food and the difficulties of keeping the roads intact. The rains should have started in December at the latest and we are now mid January and still only a two episodes of heavy rain and recently, not even sprinkles. This not only effects the casava crop which is the staple for the local population, but it has also caused the sea turtle eggs to hatch prematurely so some of the baby turtles were very small and weaker than other times. 
Warren, the snake controller, met us at the beach with the turtle hatchlings to be released. They had hatched during the day and needed to be allowed to go to the sea quickly. As always, he first gave us an education on the type of turtle these were, the uniqueness of them hatching not at the sea but up the Congo river....and the immediate dangers.....birds and crabs....before the turtles even get to the sea. He also told us that only one in 1000 will live to maturity and be able to reproduce. We then took a few at a time, carried them to the high tide mark on the sand and set them facing the river. Several of the little turtles seemed to be confused and kept turning around and going up the beach rather than down to the water. Great care was taken to not step on any of these little ones as the waves carried some back to the beach several times before they were able to escape the returning wave. Then we watched these little heads come to the surface every few seconds to breath as they swam away. What an amazing time this was for us to be a part of this conservation project.
There are times when living so far from our children, grand children and other family members can be very difficult....these are times when there is either a great celebration or sadness and we are too far to really be a part of that.....when we are concerned about health or a new baby is on the way.....a child getting engaged.....birthdays....but we are here and need to always look for what it is here that is our purpose for this time. It is so wasteful to live in a parenthesis of time......to wait for something in the future that will be more to our liking......seems grim, I know....just thoughts I'm having lately.....
