The Turtles Are Coming...The Turtles Are Coming

It’s sunset at Ostional Beach in Costa Rica, and waves make it difficult to see movement. But my eyes adjust to the darkening sky and soon I notice dozens of small, black heads popping in and out of the waves. Slowly but surely the turtles are advancing our way. Scattered along a wide expanse of black, volcanic sand are dozens of mother turtles returning to the same beach where they were hatched. A true spectacle of nature, the turtle armada has begun.

A local expat "turtle whisperer" called hours before, breathlessly reporting, " The Arribada has started on Playa Ostional and you don't want to miss it. " Literally translated, Arribada means Arrival. No, I did not want to miss it.

Thousands of mom turtles traveling the world heard the call of Mother Nature and returned to the beach where they were hatched decades before.

During an Arribada, anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of sea turtles march heavily up the beach at high tide to conduct what can only be described as mass nesting. The migration follows a lunar cycle of 3-4 days before a new moon. Countless female turtles begin congregating offshore several days before riding the high tide in to begin their nesting march to the same spot they themselves hatched years before. Over the course of the next few days as many as 500,000 mother turtles will dig nests along an 11 km stretch of Playa Ostional. We chose to watch the turtles arrive at night instead of early morning. Having heard the worst, we did not want to chance witnessing attacks on eggs and hatchlings by predators. The law required a local guide and a villager named Luis helped us find our way along the black beach toward the nesting area.

I had read of their large numbers, but it was stunning to see in real life. Eerie even, to watch a never ending parade of mom turtles intent on their mission. Gaze fixed ahead, they silently and slowly made their way past in the search for a perfect nesting spot. Our own headlamps were useless. White lights are forbidden and official guides carry red lights on the beach to not disorient the turtle moms.

Luis, our guide, is part of a cooperative of over 300 families that watch over the turtles and try to protect them from predators. It's a tricky situation though. Turtle eggs are thought to be an aphrodisiac in the native culture and highly sought after by Tico (Costa Rican) men. The local village has an agreement with the government of Costa Rica that allows collection of up to 5% of the first wave eggs (can easily be 850,000 in a large Arribada). The later batches of turtle eggs are left to hatch and hopefully make it back to sea.

Each turtle lays 80-100 eggs

Local Culture Both Threatens and Protects

Local culture has it that since females lay large clutches of eggs three times a year and male turtles overcome great adversity mating in the rough and tumble sea, turtles are sexually potent. Turtle eggs are highly coveted and bring big money to the village. Called "poor man's Viagra", a Costa Rican man will eat 3 turtle eggs and expect to perform that many times the same evening.

As we watch, the beach becomes so thick with turtles dragging themselves up onto the beach to lay their eggs that we have to be careful where we walk. These are moms on a mission. Using their flippers, turtles dig a nest 2 feet deep in the sand, then position them self at the edge of the hole. Hatching of the eggs takes about 30 minutes. After laying a clutch of 80-100 golf ball sized rubbery eggs, the mom turtle camouflages her nesting site by flipping and pounding sand over the area. At the end it is impossible to say for certain where those eggs are hiding.

This little guy looks ready to take on the world

After 45 days in the sun warmed sand, those hatchlings will crawl their way out and try to make it to the sea before predators catch them. It is estimated that only one out of 100 hatchlings will make it back to that same beach 15 years later for their first round of nesting. That is a lot of future nesting for a turtle that could live to the ripe old age of 65+ years.

Tracking one particular mom, it took close to an hour from arrival on the beach, finding a spot, digging a nest, laying her clutch, then covering and tamping it down. She camouflaged so well, it was impossible to see the location of her nest, except by distinctive turtle tracks left in the sand. Otherwise, it was impossible to know that close to a 100 eggs lay hidden two feet below the sand. Her quiet frenzy was over, but she needed to return to her home; the ocean.

Tears came as I watched the specter of mom sea turtles dragging their exhausted bodies back to the sea. Each step was a struggle, a decision to go forward. Their bodies were exhausted and not designed for such terrain. Their flippers dig into the sand and pushed, inch by inch, towards the ocean. Worn out, the moms paused, gulped deep breaths and rested along the way back to their water home. Like most things in life, the final steps were the hardest and it took every last bit of their energy to collapse into the sea.

Hurry baby turtles! Hurry! Get to safety

before birds find you.

NOTE: It was difficult not to judge the cultural tradition of robbing nests to eat turtle eggs. As much as I detest the thought of anyone eating those eggs that turtle mom worked so hard to deliver, the bargain that has been struck between the Costa Rican villagers and "their” turtles insures that this grand spectacle of nature will go on into the future.

Ostional Beach - Site of the turtle Arribada