Turtles!
Early this afternoon we returned from our overnight trip to see the giant leatherback turtles. Oh, 'tis a thing to behold, the nesting of the giant leatherback! If you've never seen a 1,300 pound amphibian dig a hole and lay a couple hundred eggs, really, you're missing out. As a representative of the Land of Trinidad & Tobago, let me be the first to invite you to experience the wonders of Grand Riviere during nesting season.
Our adventure began by meeting our friends Joy & Jim, and their friends and their respective younguns at Salybia Beach, about halfway to Grand Riviere. After a leisurely picnic (and our children becoming thoroughly coated in saltwater and sand), we loaded up and convoyed to Mt. Plaisir Hotel, our home base for the evening. "Rustic" is definitely a word I'd use to describe the place, but so are "charming" and "warm" -- and not just because the hotel rooms are unairconditioned. The staff was exceedingly friendly and helpful, and the fact that the turtles nest right in front of the rooms of the hotel was a definite plus. Besides, between the fan that the hotel provided in our room and the one we brought with us, we were more than comfortable in our accommodations.
The turtles wait until nightfall to come ashore, and so the beach is closed to everyone after 6 p.m. -- however, you can purchase a license for next to nothing to go onto the beach with a guide to see the turtles in action. Our guide was incredibly impressive, and filled us with juicy little tidbits to Amaze Our Friends and Impress Our Coworkers. Some examples:
- the turtles always return to the beach where they were hatched to lay their eggs. Most of the turtles at Grand Riviere swim as far north as Canada before returning to Trinidad;
- while the giant leatherbacks (usually between 700 - 1300 lbs) lumber slowly and clumsily on land, they are incredibly fast underwater, able to outswim whales or even sharks; and my personal favourite
- unlike terrestrian turtles, leatherbacks are unable to retract their heads into their shells -- the shells are pretty much just decorative.
Flash photography wasn't allowed, so some of my nighttime photographs are a bit difficult to make out; however, I'm pretty pleased with a few of the shots I was able to get.
The next morning, however, at dawn, the turtles were decent enough to continue their nesting rituals, and I was able to get some good daylight photos -- including a good one of Alex's reaction to the "cokies" (her inexplicable word for "turtles"). And so, without further ado, I present to you the following Quicktime video of our turtle adventure. This video is brought to you by my iMovie software, my Nikon D100, and The Beatles. It's a 3 minute video, so this one will probably take a while to download: perhaps you might want to click the link below, go make yourself a nice, hot cup of tea, and then return?
Seriously, it may take a little longer than usual. Sorry about that. If you do manage to make it through the download, let me know what you think.
Download grand_riviere_turtles.mov
Enjoy.
Loved the video clip!! And it only took about 30 seconds to load. So nice of you to share a part of your life, and your family with us. I just loved it!!
Posted by: Amber | Sunday, May 29, 2005 at 09:37 PM
Karen,
As always, the photos are fabulous. I am just amazed by the wonders that our country possesses. Trinidad is really a magical place. As I said before, your photos are reawaking a love that I did not know existed.
That trip sounds like a "must do" for both those visiting and those who live there.
Frances
Posted by: Frances | Sunday, May 29, 2005 at 11:12 PM
Lovely video, didn't take very long to download at all. The photos of the tiny turtles were my favorites.
Posted by: beckster | Sunday, May 29, 2005 at 11:18 PM
Great video, thank you for sharing it.
Posted by: Kathleen | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 12:06 AM
OK, now I REALLY want to trade places with you. You wouldn't mind being a childless lawyer working a million hours a year in cold, wet Seattle, would you?
Posted by: victoria | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 07:12 AM
The video was great. And it was quick to download. You have a great eye.
Here a link a great book to go along with your pictures. :)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=Kimo%20Armitage/104-1979091-3028755
Posted by: Robin | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 08:57 AM
Groovy -- thanks, Robin!
K.
Posted by: Chookooloonks | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 09:17 AM
Loved the video! It didn't take long to load up. And I love the music choice!
Posted by: Chickie | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 10:32 AM
The video was wonderful! No problems with the download. And you have convinced me to add Trinidad to my (already long) list of places I must see.
Posted by: Michele | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 10:59 AM
You truly live in heaven.
Posted by: Liesl | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 12:53 PM
Hi!
I've been lurking for quite sometime now...but as far as Alex's language thing..."Coqui" is the Spanish word for a type of frog. If Alex has ever seen the repetitive episodes of Dora the Explorer this may be where her new word came from...frog and turtles, both green..yada yada woo woo.
But more than likely, the girl is just a genius! She's beautiful!
Posted by: Courtney | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 01:38 PM
Courtney --
Happy coincidence, I think... Dora the Explorer hasn't made it to Trinidad yet. We do have a Dora the Explorer book that I read to her in both Spanish and English, but neither coquis ni ranas appear in the story.
Personally, I think she's just decided that "cokie" is far more exotic-sounding than "turtle," and is trying to start a trend.
Kid's got issues.
K.
(P.S. thanks for the kind words!)
Posted by: Chookooloonks | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 01:52 PM
Thanks for the amazing shots. I am a new reader to your site and I live it. Your family is beautiful and your home in Trinidad looks fabulous. I love blogs where I get to learn new and exciting things!
Thanks again!
~Amy
Posted by: Amy | Monday, May 30, 2005 at 09:34 PM
Loved the video clip...especially the last picture! I am so happy for your family. As you may recall, we adopted our son also and I'm a full time stay-at-home mom as well so reading your messages really brighten my day. I hope to visit Trinidad one day and I hope to meet you and the family. As I went through my "adoption experience" I was always encouraged by going to your website and reading your messages. What a blessing you have been to many people. Enjoy this moment in your life. Elijah is now 10 months old and what a JOY. I'll send you a recent photo. God Bless.
Posted by: Crystal | Tuesday, May 31, 2005 at 10:04 AM
What fun! Looks like an amazingly thrilling and relaxing time. No pictures of Joy? Give Little Alex a squeeze from her west coast family.
Posted by: Natastic | Tuesday, May 31, 2005 at 10:10 AM