So, I have just got back after a fantastic family holiday in Mexico at the Catalonia Riviera Maya in Puerto Adventuras. We as a family are platinum members of the Exclusive Travellers club so we got so spoiled and even had our own pool as part of our suite, an actual bed on the beach by the lagoon and a personal butler! I had a wonderful time snorkelling in the lagoon, trying all the Mexican food, laying by the pool and meeting new friends.
This is my third year at the resort and I just love it the staff are so friendly and helpful, and the resort is beautiful. My favourite part of the resort is that it protects the natural wildlife, so you have free roaming Iguanas, Agoutis, Lemurs, Raccoons and so much more. Puerto Adventuras has a conservation area and I’ve been lucky to find these amazing animals in their natural habitat. This year I didn’t take my camera as I just wanted to relax and recharge my own batteries after working hard on my GCSE’s.
During my stay I went out with a local sea turtle rescue at Xpu-Ha beach during the night to release newly hatched baby sea turtles back to the ocean. I can’t describe how utterly incredible this whole experience is. The charity relocates sea turtle nests to their safe property where they bury them for the two months and when they hatch, they quickly release them to the ocean. Only 1 sea turtle out of 1000 will make it so they really need this help. They told us how sadly the eggs and the large females are poached particularly whilst they are vulnerable and laying their eggs.
We stayed patrolling the beach until the early hours of the morning and watched 3 females dig their nests and bury their eggs safely. As the staff were there, they can safely remove these eggs to be safe at the rescue centre. If they don’t find a nest until the following day, they then have to leave them and mark the nest with a marker. When the females come up the beach and make their nests they must not be disturbed or they will go back to the sea but once they are laying you can then check their health, see if they have tags etc. When the females come up the beach and make their nests they must not be disturbed or they will go back to the sea but once they are laying you can then check their health, sea if they have tags etc. I felt so privileged to be sat next to this amazing creature and be able to make sure her eggs would be safe
The charity was founded by our guide’s grandfather when he was just 12 years old and he is now in his late 60’s. This is a massive project for their family as the turtle season runs from May to September. This is when the turtles will lay their nests with the September nests hatching in November so that’s a lot of months patrolling the beach every night until early hours of the morning.
I have also been out with the charity in 2017 and will be going again next year. They have invited me along in the day next year as well so I can see the centre and help out this will be amazing.
Oh, and when I returned home, I found out that I had achieved a grade 9 in Photography (an A**) and a grade 8 in Art (an A*) so all my hard work paid off! So proud of this achievement especially as I took these in Year 10 and have another year left.
Hope everyone has enjoyed their summer
Love Charlie
Kommentare