Good Day from the beautiful Island of St. Croix!
I used to watch the Discovery Channel when I lived on the mainland, now I live it daily in my life here on St. Croix. This was a dream of mine and it could easily come true for YOU!
Just a couple of months ago for my birthday my husband and I went "Sea Turtle" watching on Sandy Point on the West End of the island. These arrangements must be made in advance as there are only a limited amount in each group allowed to go. We started out about 7:45pm and were not allowed to take anything other than some water and a lawn chair or blanket. We arrived at the location and met the other researchers near the protected site and walked single file to the beach. It was a full moon and was an incredible site once we saw our first turtle sighting. The turtle was on the beach and was already digging her nest for her eggs. Our research guides asked us to all quietly take a seat and watch while they explained the process. Once the turtle's nest was deep enough we were allowed to get closer and start watching the eggs as they were deposited in the freshly dug beach sand. This was amazing! The turtle struggled with the digging and made some incredible sounds as the digging was taking place. It was explained that these turtles go into a trance and didn't even know we were there. We were allowed to individually approach in front of the turtle and touch its head and feel its shell.
These turtles always return to the island that they hatched from. They travel as far North as Nova Scotia and then return back to St. Croix to nest. As we were watching this one, my husband and I were practicing our celestial navigation (as we are sailors) and we looked down on the beach below the North star and saw another giant Sea Turtle making its approach on land. These turtles looked as big as volkswagens (about 3 feet by 5 feet). We alerted the researchers and everyone so we would not disturb it as it made its nest very close to where we were. The full moon was incredible that night and allowed us to see everything more clearly. The nest was marked by the researchers with a triangulation method so the researchers would know exactly where the nest was so they can continue their research through the hatching process. This turtle also was re-tagged for future purposes.
Today my husband and I were snorkeling off one of the nesting beaches and snorkeled with two small hawksbill turtles that just swam along with us for several minutes. This is an incredible place we live here in the islands and we welcome you to come visit! We are a US Territory! No Passport Required! Call Kelli directly for information on St. Croix (340) 244.4288 or visit my web site: www.KelliBarton.com.
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