Sea Turtles

Today we drove up to Laniakea Beach - unofficially known as "Turtle Beach". Turtle Beach is not advertised and there are no signs to let people know they are near it. I wouldn't even know about it except we had some friends visiting in January who told me about it. I looked it up online and found directions. The directions read, "When you see a bunch of cars pulled over on the right side of the road, that's it."

The reason for all this secrecy is to protect the turtles who come up on the shore to hang out and sunbathe. Scientists do not want people to interact with the turtles in any way. People are not to feed the turtles, touch the turtles, or even get close to the turtles. In other words, stay away. Leave the turtles alone!

So of course, we had to go see them.

There are volunteers there who put red ropes in the sand around the turtles. You can see one in the background of this photo. No one is allowed to cross the red rope.

There were three turtles sunbathing in the sand when we got there.

Then, while we were standing there, a FOURTH sea turtle emerged from the waves and slowly made its way to a sunny spot.

This sea turtle weighs over 200 pounds and is about 35 years old. Volunteers document each turtle, what time it came up on the shore, what time it leaves, and any issues it appears to be having. They see the turtles so often they have named them and recognize who is who by their markings.

I was so excited by the whole experience, I filled out an application to be a volunteer.

I hope I get accepted!