January 19, 2015 (round two)
A Late Night on the Beach

After the Morning Walk early in the day, it was time for some leisure. After a nice breakfast at Kike's (ham and cheese omelette and mango con leche), it was time to curl up in the hammock with a good book. I'm reading a bilingual edition of Rubén Darío's Cuentos y Poesías, discovering the soul of Central America's most celebrated poet. A world traveler who represented Nicaragua and Central America as a diplomat, Darío makes use of the Spanish language in a way that is complex and cosmopolitan, so it helps to have the English translation on the facing page.

Around 5:00 pm, the sun was nearing the horizon and the skies were starting to take on the vivid hues that signal the end of another day. It's a great time to go for a swim in the ocean. A group of us went down to the beach and jumped in, exalting in the warm water and the gentle waves. The sand on the bottom was soft to the touch and I was amazed at how far out I could go and still stand up. As the sun made its final descent into the distant horizon, we stood there transfixed. A feeling of disbelief came over me that I could actually be in such a beautiful place. And a feeling of sadness that I will have to leave this place in just a few days.

Sunset is the best time of day for a dip in the Pacific Ocean

After dinner at Kike's (chicken breast with spicy Tapatía sauce), we had a few hours before beach patrol. High tide is very late now, so our shift went from 10:45 pm to 4:00 am. I worked with Lindsay the biologist and we covered the southern end of Playa Grande. While walking along the beach, Lindsay and I compared notes about the Appalachian Trail, of which she has hiked the entire portion of the trail in Maryland. I've only hiked a few small segments of it, but she is determined to do the whole thing one day. I recommended Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, a great read about the AP and the through hikers who are strong and disciplined and crazy enough to do the entire trail.

We hiked down to marker #36 at the southern end of Playa Grande, then turned around and started back toward marker #21, the dividing line between north and south. A call came in over the radio from Jenell, another one of the biologists, about a baula at #21. She was there with fellow volunteer Alvin and they were waiting while the turtle dug her nest. The baula was right on the dividing line, but it was their turtle since they got there first. They were happy to share some of the duties with me though, so I stood by to be ready when needed.

We limit the number of people working a turtle to three; I'm not sure if this is a park service regulation or a Leatherback Trust policy, but Lindsay was fine with waiting this one out. Once the nest was ready and the turtle started laying eggs, Alvin laid down behind her and counted the eggs. I helped Jenell measure the baula and record the measurements on a data sheet. This was a fairly small turtle, just 131 cm along the ridge of the carapace. A couple of buscadores were in the area, so a large group of tourists showed up shortly to watch the whole process.

We left the beach at 4:00 am, exhausted but glad we had at least the one turtle for the night. I got back to the station and compared notes and stories with fellow volunteer Bill, while Laura and Sally were just getting up to go out and do the Morning Walk. For me, it was time to go to bed as another day dawned on Playa Grande.