Day 9 comes to an end

Hello! This is the Bris. (Falk and Naumchik).
Before leaving for our turtle excursion last night we learned about the leatherback sea turtles that migrate to Costa Rica to lay their eggs. We learned all about their migration patterns, how many eggs they lay, how big they are, and that they are an endangered species. The turtle expert, Bebe, told us how they have been tagging the turtles to monitor their patterns. They also monitor the condition of the oceans in relation to how they affect the turtles. The el niño (warm water) and la nina (cold water) phenomenas cycle through every few years, and the nina conditions are best for the turtles. Once we had our turtle intro we jumped in the bus and drove to the beach. It was pitch black by the time we got there at 8, and we all quickly ditched our shoes and splashed around in the water. Once the turtle experts came we got down to business. We had to be really quiet so we wouldn't scare the turtles, and could only use red flashlights because regular ones are too bright. Right away, we spotted a turtle trail and followed it to find a female Olive Ridley ready to lay her eggs. We encountered a special circumstance: this turtles back flippers were compromised by a run in with a boat. So it was difficult for her to dig a hole for her eggs. Instead of bringing the sand out of the hole she could only push it around, so Bebe got on her stomach and helped scoop the sand out for the turtle. Once the hole was complete, the female went into a trance to give birth. She ended up laying 133 eggs, which is an amazing amount for her species. After she layed her eggs we collected them and relocated them to a safer position (away from crab holes.) In the new hole we put a special thermometer, allowing us to monitor the eggs through out the gestation period. After the hole was covered up and nest marked our eyelids were drooping and fatigue was upon us, it was time to go home.