garyandpearl

Ok, I make reference to the turtle club because our family loves the part of the movie, the Master of Disguise, where Dana Carvey dresses up like a turtle to get into the turtle club. Last night we didn’t have to dress up like turtles, but we went to the Turtle Rookery at Mons Repos ( French for “my rest”). We joined 247 other people to get a chance at seeing a marine turtle either lay her eggs or to see the hatchlings scurry their way to the ocean.

We arrived around 6:30 pm and waited for an “event” to happen, in which case volunteers and staff would take us to the beach to watch. In the meantime, we learned all about marine turtles via an education center and videos. At 9:30, our group of 50 was called to the beach. We walked in the dark until we came upon a Loggerhead turtle laying her eggs in a hole that she had dug out of the sand.

The virtue of the evening was patience as we took turns trying to get a view of the event without startling the turtle. She weighed about 250 pounds and laid around 100 eggs. Once she was done, she covered the eggs up and quickly returned to the ocean from whence she came. It was a long evening, but it was a fantastic experience to see this creature do what God implanted in her DNA to do. The scientists weren’t able to fully explain how she knows where to return to lay her eggs, but they said something about the turtle imprinting on the magnetic field of its birthplace when it hatches.

When we were waiting on the beach in the black of the night, I was amazed by how bright the stars were. I found the Southern Cross constellation amidst the countless stars. My glasses were covered in sea mist by the time we headed to our hotel at 11 pm, and it was great to fall into bed at the end of another full day!