Olive Ridley Turtle; Turtle Egg Thieves; Storm Damage; Bats and . . .

August 23, 2008, a very interesting day for me, one of those rare memorable days. As with most days, I started my morning around 7:30 am, and as usual I went outside to greet and feed the dogs. They always are happy to see me in the mornings. Today there was a promise of rain with an overcast sky and a light breeze blowing in from the southwest. We haven't had rain in five days, so rain would bring welcome relief from the heat. The dogs fed, I started to do some chores when barking dogs drew my attention. I walked outside to see what disturbed the dogs and down by the rocks I could see two men walking up the beach. At first, this was not surprising because tourists in Tenacatita often take short walks on the beach, but even from this distance I could tell that these guys were not tourists. I got my binoculars and checked them out and sure enough it was dos hombres deTenacatita. This was strange because I've never before seen these guys walk the beach, and the way they were walking back and forth across the sand seemed as they were looking for something. I thought it all innocent and lost interest and got back to my chores when a few minutes later the dogs started barking again. I walked outside and the two guys were by my gate looking at something on the ground. I walked out to them to see what was going on and they pointed out a turtle nest right by the gate that had been partially dug out, and lying on the sand all around the nest were about a dozen empty turtle egg shells. It was obvious the dogs had done this damage. At that moment, I remembered hearing them barking during the night, but I just assumed it was raccoons, or other dogs they were barking at; now, it is obvious it was a turtle.

I should mention that yo conozco (I know) these guys from Tenacatita, having seen them in town and having spoken to one of them several times. Anyway, one of the guys knells down by the nest and begins to excavate it. He digs down a short ways and I see many more eggs down in the hole and I am relieved the dogs didn't eat all of them. I was glowing in this good news, when el hombre pulls out a half dozen eggs, sets them aside and fills in the turtle nest; he then gets up, folds up his shirt, and in go the turtle eggs. I am dumbfounded; I thought these two guys were truly interested in saving turtles and that's why they were out walking the beach this morning, but they were up to no good – thieving Olive Ridley turtle eggs, and endangered species. Before I could formulate any simple Spanish sentence to protest, they said adios and started walking up the beach. Since they weren't headed back towards Tenacatita, I knew they were looking for more nests. I stayed out by the gate and watched them and sure enough they found two more nests, which they excavated and took eggs from each nest. As they walked quickly back towards Tenacatita, I could see they each had a shirt full of eggs. I was shocked, I was pissed, I felt outrage at them; and I felt angry at myself for saying nothing to them. I felt helpless to do anything about this. As a foreigner in a foreign country, in a small pueblo, I didn't know what to do; I was concerned about reprisals if I was to report them to the police, so I ended up doing nothing. Maybe my concerns were unfounded? I only hope that my watching los malditos while they were on the beach reduced the number of eggs they took, but I don't know this to be true.

Olive RidleyTurtle

It was now about 10:00 am and the weather was quickly changing. A hard southwest wind began to blow and a heavy rain began to fall. Within 30 minutes the wind was howling and blowing a heavy rain in horizontal sheets. This was not just a rain shower; this was a real storm. Again, I hear dogs barking, but when I walk outside I find my dogs huddled on the patio staying dry. I checkout the beach with the binoculars and I see four local beach dogs, the black labs, standing over and barking at something large on the beach. From my earlier experience with the turtle thieves, I guessed it to be a turtle. I quickly grab the camera, throw on my hat and run as fast as I can through the blowing rain and sand. As I got close to the dogs, I holler and wave my arms and the dogs run off frightened (they've never seen me run, which must have freaked them out!). I got to the turtle, but it was not moving; in fact, its head was stuck in the sand, but it didn't look hurt. After a few seconds of no dogs barking the turtle lifted its head, but when it saw me, it once again stuck its head in the sand. I quickly moved away and behind the turtle where it could not see me and immediately the turtle started to laboriously walk up the beach. It was a slow, difficult task and she had to rest several times during the short trip.

The turtle crawled until it was a ways above the high tide-line and then she began to excavate a nest, again a very laborious task. Nest excavation began with the turtle alternately sweeping its front flippers forward and its rear flippers backwards, and with each movement the flippers would scoop out sand from around the turtle. It was humorous to watch the turtle push her head into the sand to hold herself in place as she excavated. This process lasted about 10-15 minutes and ended with the turtle sitting in a rear-sloping depression in the sand about the depth of the turtle. It may have been longer than 15 minutes, it was hard to tell because the turtle took several rest breaks and time disappeared for me as I was mesmerized by what I was observing while being buffeted by the rain and wind. After a rest, the turtle began to dig out an egg-cavity. This time she used her rear flippers to alternately reach down and scoop out sand to form a hole in the sand approximately 12" in diameter. I was amazed at the flexibility and agility of the turtle's flippers; she would extend each flipper straight down into the hole and then bend it into the shape of a shovel to scoop out sand and throw it off to the side. As the egg-cavity got deeper, she would lean further back and continue to excavate. When she could not reach more sand, she leaned her rear-end into the egg-cavity and within a matter of few seconds the eggs were laid. The egg-cavity must have been about 1.5' deep and taken about 10 minutes to excavate, which also included several short rest breaks.

A reverse process was used to fill in and cover the nest. First, the turtle filled in the egg-cavity by using her rear flippers to scrape sand into the hole. When this task was completed, she used all four flippers to pull sand into the nest. Several times the turtle repositioned herself to be sure the entire nest was filled with sand. Her final actions were to rock back and forth and side to side to pack the sand down into the nest. The nest does not refill completely with sand, so there is always a telltale depression that gives the nest away. Also, each turtle leaves a well defined trail from the ocean to the nest, so nests are very easy to find if you know what to look for. By now, totally soaked, I was ready to head for cover, right after the turtle made it back into the ocean. But to my amazement, she headed further up the sand and began to excavate another nest! I decided to go dry up and come back after a while to see her go back into the ocean; and as I started back to the house a car with two Mexican couples arrived. They all jumped out and as we passed, I mentioned the Tortuga, but this was not news to them; it seemed that everyone knew that the turtles had landed. The two couples walked out to the excavating turtle and stayed out there in the wind and rain for over an hour buscando
la tortuga (watching the turtle); and, they did not take a single egg.

The storm builds, screens blow off, and a bat comes in . . .

As the day wore on, the wind and rain increased. This was a big storm, reminiscent of the tropical storm Sharon and I went through a couple of months earlier. I was sitting in the screened room watching the storm and the ocean when all of a sudden one of our large screens partially blows off and is flapping in the wind! I rush over and try to put it back in place, but the wind and rain are to strong, it's like fighting a full sail. It eventual blows off and the frame is all twisted, but still in one piece, so I set it inside for another days task. I walk back into the (partially) screened room and just as I get there another screen is flapping in the wind. It went inside with the first one. This was a bummer. We waited six months for these screens and after only three weeks two of them are down (The two screens on the south side). The problem was that ½ inch screws were used to secure them, which were much too short. Of course, I replaced all the screws with longer ones.

At sunset, I went to close the kitchen door because with no screens there is no insect protection. I was standing in the 'screened' room watching the sunset when a bat flew in. I immediately closed the kitchen door to keep the bat out of the house. I've experienced bats in my houses several times through the years, so I knew if left the bat alone it would eventually find its way out. I should mention that the screened room also has security fencing around it with openings smaller than the bats wingspan, so I knew it would be a little tricky for the bat to work its way out. After flying around the room, swooping by my head several times it finally banged into the metal fencing and fell on to the low wall, and crawled through the fence and flew off.

The Stranger

August 24; a stranger comes up wanting to know if I'm interested in selling my pickup, camioneta. He is disappointed when I tell him I already have a buyer, but we chat. I mention the turtle egg incident and he knows the two guys I saw taking eggs and tells me their names, Chester and Shorty. Chester has been in jail several times for stealing eggs, but is now law abiding and left alone by the police because he keeps and hatches turtle eggs and releases the baby turtles into the ocean, although everyone knows he also sells eggs under the table. I've been told that releasing baby turtles directly into the ocean increases their survival versus their having to make the trip from the nest across the beach to the ocean. The stranger didn't know if Shorty had ever been in jail, but he knew that the cops were aware of his activities. The stranger also mentioned Bicycle Man, a well know local turtle egg thief. (Names were omitted and changed to protect the innocent?). I should mention that the stranger spoke excellent English, but lives with his family in a nearby pueblo.

Olive Ridley Turtles (continued)

September 8; today is day three of an off-shore storm bringing us rain, wind, and big waves. During a break in the rain, I walked up the beach, which is always exciting during a storm. Today, there are giant waves, reaching 20 feet or higher into the air, and that come crashing down in thunderous piles of water, suds and foam that runs all the way up to the vegetation. Now I know how the beach debris gets so far up the beach!

During my 45 minute walk (one way), I came across seven turtle nests that had been excavated and only partially refilled. I refilled each one. I assume eggs were stolen from each nest. On my walk, I followed bicycle tire tracks that lead to each excavated turtle nest; the tire tracks stretched far up the beach beyond where I turned around. On the walk the dogs also attempted to dig up a couple of nests. I also found five nests that showed signs of baby turtles digging themselves out of the nest. It is no wonder turtle populations are so low considering the heavy predation they endure on their nesting grounds.

September

September has come in like a lion, with one storm after another and each bigger than the previous. Everyone has been telling me that September is the rainiest month and so far it has lived up to its reputation. Today, September 11, is only the second sunny day so far this month. The vegetation is responding with a burst of lush green growth and many plants are just now beginning to bloom. White and yellow butterflies fill the air sharing the blossoms with hummingbirds and a multitude of insects. The young of many species are now out on their own, making their own journeys, like the baby turtle digging their way through nests of sand, running down to the deep Pacific and an uncertain future.

September has been a very quite month with virtually no tourists here in Tenacatita. We are between seasons, with the summer Mexican tourist's home at jobs and at school, and the Americans and Canadians still up north planning their mass arrival in January. These days, no one walks the beach, except me and the occasional local. No one drives up the driveway, except the local kid on his motorcycle; he likes to check out the ocean for a few minutes and then he zooms off. I drove through Tenacatita yesterday and it is empty except for the restaurant owners and their employees busily cleaning and repairing and preparing.

I'll be going north to Oregon in a week, and I'm expecting culture shock, after being here in Tenacatita for three months. It's been an awesome experience for me and, hopefully, a time of personal growth – only time will show. I have been through many challenges and had lots of laughs; I was treated kindly by the fun, warm people of the local communities; and, the Pacific Ocean, this beautiful beach, and all the shore life have been inspirational and given me a tranquility I have never before experienced. As Arnold said "I will be back".

Life in Paradise?
Recently in an email, Sharon wrote, “So how does it feel to have your house in paradise”. She was referring to our bungalow here in Tenacatita. Also recently, a friend Sylvia published a piece in her blog (http://admiralfox.blogspot.com) titled Country Living is Not for Wimps. Sharon’s statement and Sylvia’s blog got me thinking about what paradise is and if I really live in paradise, as Sharon alluded. I’ll begin by describing my version of paradise, how it looks and feels to me. My paradise has lots of open spaces with nature dominating; forests and meadows everywhere; beautiful beaches and rivers abound; wild animals roam freely, and the sky is filled with colorful singing birds. Rain falls from a beautiful cloud-filled sky, which has a daytime bright sun and a nighttime moon and stars. So far it sounds like earth, but here is where I diverge from reality, because in my paradise nature is benevolent and there never are wild storms, droughts, or biting, stinging creatures.
On a more personal level, my paradise includes my lover, and together we explore the depths and heights of our relationship. We have True Love since we practice the four elements of love: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and freedom*. My family and friends are close by and we visit often, love among us brings us comfort and we find joy in each other’s company; and conversation among is of high priority because it helps us gain understanding. My Lover, my family and my friends bring me peace and love.
That is a simple version of my paradise. Now to the question, “Do I live in paradise?” Obviously, from my description of paradise, it is clear I do not. Sure I have a house on the beach in a beautiful setting; a very tropical, beautiful place. However, I have unbearable heat and humidity; the storms and rains come as they please and at whatever intensity suit them. Here on this beautiful beach nature does not feel benevolent, rather there is a toughness and rawness to her. If you make a mistake in this paradise you may be swept away by an ocean undercurrent, heat exhaustion is very real possibility, maybe a scorpion bite awaits; or at the least mosquitoes will bite you, repeatedly. Certainly during the winter months Tenacatita feels more like a tropical paradise because up north it is raining, snowing and freezing cold; but even then, as Sylvia states “. . . it sure comes with a creepy, crawly, stingy, windy reminder that there is probably no such thing as paradise”.
Again at a personal level, I could not call this paradise. I am happy here, it is peaceful and I have nature close by and all around; there is a consistency and simplicity to life, punctuated by the ocean waves and tides, and the sunrise and sunset, which set my daily rhythms; everyday is the same, but new and different at the same time, there is always something new to learn. But I am alone here and loneliness is my constant companion; no lover, no family, and few friends. Conversations in English are far and few between and my Spanish conversations are generally no more than a few paragraphs in length and even then there may not be total comprehension. A couple of Mexican guys do come and visit and spend an hour or so with me in Spanish conversation, and I’m glad of this; and, let’s not forget I have three dogs that are real companions and sticky by me no matter what, even after three injections.
I am realistic, and I know, as do most adults, that there is no paradise here on earth; we humans, or at least most of us are not capable of finding paradise here on earth. There is too much hurt, anguish and pain in all our lives for us to ever feel like we live in paradise, regardless of our surroundings. After all, paradise is more than a place that provides comfort and beauty. It is much more! It is having paradise within us; love and peace must flourish within us to live in paradise. There is a saying, ‘that wherever you go there you are’, so our hurt and pain comes with us wherever we go.
I guess my response to Sharon’s question, would be . . . No this place is not paradise. It is only a place, special in its own magical ways, as are so many places all over the world. No, cariño, I’m not in paradise.
*From the book, True Love A Practice for Awakening the Heart, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Internet Problems Continue

Sorry, but I could not get a single photo to upload. Again here in Miguel Hidalgo the internet is slow, slow, slow.

Betty is Sick

Betty has always been skinny, but when I returned after being away for a week, I realized she was very skinny. Since she is still a puppy, about 9 months, she has always been full of energy and loved to chase crabs, lizards and birds off the beach. Now she watches the lizards run by and her head can hardly get keep up with them, and when we go for a beach walk she now is always way behind and we catch up with her on our way back. So today I took her to the vets in Miguel Hidelgo and got her some medication. The medication consisted of two pills given to her in the morning with her food; no problem for me, easy to do. The remainder of the medication was in a vial which had to be injected into the inside of her leg muscle for three days running. Man, this is a beach dogs not accustomed to getting injections; and, I'm not experienced at giving injections to a beach dog. The first morning I decided I needed help so I loaded Betty into the cab of the pickup and we drove to the vets where he very easily gave her the shot. The second and third mornings I nervously and awkwardly gave Betty the injections. Now we wait.

 

Summer Vacation Ends

Sunday, August 18, was the end of summer vacation for students here in Mexico and they are back to school, parents are back to work, and what a difference this has made here in Tenacatita. The beach and restaurants are empty, there is very little vehicle traffic, and the place is quieter, not that it is ever noisy. Tenacatita will stay this empty with only the locals here until November when the Americano and Canadiense snowbirds come down for the winter months.

 

American Stork

Across the road from Casa Liria is a mangrove swamp and immediately adjacent to the road is a shallow marsh. There are always birds feeding in the marsh or perched in the surrounding trees. The other day, I observed a dozen or more Wood Storks along with groups of Snowy and Great Egrets feeding in the marsh. As you can see in the picture, these large wading birds are mostly white, but what you can't see is their black under-tail and outer wing feathers. The Wood Stork with its large wingspan of 5.5 feet is impressive in flight with their black and white contrasting colors. They also have long black legs ideally suited for wading, with featherless dark gray scaly heads and necks. Storks have extremely large beaks which they use for probing in mud and muck for food, such as crustaceans, snakes, lizards, amphibians and other small creatures. They build nests of stick platforms high in trees and generally nest in large groups of hundreds of pairs. The Wood Stork gets part of its name from inhabiting freshwater, brackish, and salt marshes that often are wooded, as is the marsh across the road from me. If you read my last species account of the Black Vulture, you will remember that the Wood Stork and the Black Vulture are closely related. They also have the noises they make in common which are grunts, croaks and hisses.

Internet Access a Challenge

For me, accessing the internet is a big chore. I drove to the internet site 2-times before I found it open. I drive to the internet site in Miguel Hidalgo, a 15 minute drive, becasue it is open most of the time and they have good computers, and they have the fastest intenest around. Also, I can use my laptop. That's not to say it is very fast, becasue it is not. The internet service in Melaque is much faster, but it is a much longer ride there just to use the internet. One day here in Miguel Hidalgo the machines were on fire and I was able to go through all my emails, respond to them, post my blogs and upload pictures. It was a magical day. Today, unfortunately, it is the opposite, when i could only open a couple of my emails, and I could not respond to a single one. As for the blog, as you can tell I was able to post, but I could not get a single picture to upload.

Betty hiding during thunder storm!

The storm

A large, intense storm rolled over this afternoon. It came from the south, the direction from which our storms come. It was quiet, no distant rumbling to warn me, I heard only the sound of the surf on the beach. I was absorbed in my work, mindless of the approaching storm from the south. Suddenly I notice it is dark. I raise my head look around, turn south to see a sky-full of clouds; black, dense, ominous clouds quietly and quickly rolling in from behind the sea rocks. Before I could move there came a bright flash and loud boom that startled me into a run, and instantly I am inside the screened-room. The storm comes alive, throwing down lightning bolts all around me. I see a strike in the ocean close to shore and right in front of me; the lightning sizzles and crackles as it splits a path through the atmosphere, and instantly, the thunder boom comes which explodes and rolls loudly through the sky. The intensity of the sounds shakes the house violently and everything inside rattles. I want to run and hide, but I am thrilled by the incredible display of nature; the raw power of the lightning shooting all around me. The lightning and thunder comes frequently, is close and all around. I know the risk sitting here in this open room, and every time there is a strike and boom close by my body tenses, I feel my chest and throat tighten, and I have a strong desire to run inside. Yet, I sit frozen in place and watch and listen with my entire being.

Jiggle Key to the Rescue

Are any of you familiar with what a jiggle key is? I first learned about jiggle keys during a 30-day stint on a grand jury in Portland, Oregon. Jiggle keys are used by car thieves to break into cars. A jiggle key is any old key of the same make as the car you want to break into. Often the key is slightly filed down to round-off the edges, so it more easily fits into the lock and gives you some room to "jiggle" the key. Old Nissans and Toyotas were the easiest to break into with a jiggle key (I learned this on the grand jury not during my youth in NY). Anyway, during my stay in Vallarta I meet Joe Santana for a morning walk around the soccer field; well, I don't know what I was thinking, but I set the truck keys in the ashtray and thought to myself, 'they will be safe here'; jumped out and locked the door! Once I realized what I had done, I mumbled a few words under my breath, but decided to walk off the frustration with Joe. After the walk Joe and I walked to a breakfast place and passed two locksmith shops within a block of each other. Wow! So after breakfast we drive in Joe's truck to the locksmith, pick him up and take him to my truck. The locksmith comes with a helper and a large bag full of tools, enough to take off my door, which I hope he doesn't have to do. We get to my truck and the locksmith gets out and walks to my locked pickup; he reaches in his pocket pulls out a bunch of old keys, picks one out and sticks it in the lock and jiggles it a few times and unlocks the door. It took less than 1-minute and cost $200 pesos! Expensive, but the cost of a good maestro is priceless.

David and Lindi, our first renters!
This past week, we rented Casa Liria to friends of my daughters, Dave and Lindi. They got married on a Saturday and the following Sunday afternoon they landed in Puerto Vallarta for a 6-day honeymoon. They were a sweet, young couple and I wish them all the luck in the world in their marriage and future endeavors; and thanks for staying in our bungalow! I drove to PV and meet them at the airport and took them to get their rental car and shopping at Wal-Mart. I then guided them out of town, because it can be confusing, and sent them on their way to Tenacatita. They arrived rather late, 1100-1130 pm, because they spent some time lost in Tenacatita. They asked for Mario's house, but I don't think anyone was able to help them. They finally looked carefully at the map I had given them and they found their way, which was a short 2-minute drive from Tenacatita. Casa Liria is easy to find during the day, but at night is hard to spot even though it is right off the road.

Baby Crabs

Today I was amazed by one of God's creatures, the land crab, I wrote about them in an earlier blog. I am still being amazed by these small, alien-looking creatures. While cleaning up some sacks of trash that were sitting in the screened room, I noticed a lot of tiny spider looking creatures all over the garbage bags and on the wall. I thought this odd; spiders don't typically hang around in large groups unless it is a hatch when a web can be filled with hundreds of baby spiders. This was not the case here, there was no web. I got my reading glasses so I could get a better view and realized they were not spiders at all, but baby crabs. They were no larger than a pinhead, but I could see their tiny beady eyes and miniature claws, and they scurried around sideways, like crabs do.

Beach Bum (part 3)

Living here on the beach I get to feel and experience the continuity of life that I feel when I spend time outdoors. I do spend lots of time outdoors here in Tenacatita with the vast, never-ending ocean and the beach that stretches forever. Behind me is the dense mangrove swamp with the river that feeds it, and a panoramic sky filled with fast moving clouds is the umbrella for all this splendor. There are times when I experience the 'eternal moment', and all seems right and perfect. Here on the beach, I sit still long enough to allow my mind to think thoughts of love, life and death; about the continuity of nature and life. I experience the knowledge that today and tomorrow and the days after that, that the wind will continue to blow, the storms will come with rain, lightning, and thunder; the waves will crash on the beach, wash the sands away and re-deposit them somewhere new and in a different configuration; and all the earth's creatures will continue to march forward in our individual, species specific dance.

Dump Dogs
The other day I went to the dump and while unloading the truck a female with two pups walked up and laid down right under the truck. The dump is on a south facing hillside and there is little to no shade on the road and the female dog was panting heavily with the squealing, hungry pups at her heels. I found a container and emptied my drinking water into it for them; all three drank thirstily. The female dog looked pretty hungry and I figured she would get food from the garbage all around, but as soon as I drove off dozens of Black Vultures flew over to the garbage I dumped, so there was no way the dog was going to out-compete all those large scavengers. Mexico is a tough place for dogs!