When our hostel host told us he could organize a trip to a turtle sanctuary, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was all in. I wanted to see baby turtles! We set off early in the morning, our destination a little town south of Playa Huina (where we are now) called El Valle. Our host drove us by boat to Mutis where we got a ride in a tuk tuk to El Valle – a 10 mile drive that took about an hour because of the state of the roads.
Once we got to El Valle, we had another 4-5 mile walk to the turtle sanctuary. We were guided through the town and along the beach by our guide Kefer, an 8yr old local boy. His mom made him take us, but he seemed happy to join. After a short walk through the village, we reached the beach and it was absolutely gorgeous. So massive and undeveloped! One of the most beautiful beach walks I’ve ever been on.
We happened upon some luck on our long walk along the beach and hitched a ride about halfway through on a motorcycle with a flatbed!
We arrived at the turtle sanctuary where Pedro, the operator, showed us how they harvest the eggs from the beach and keep them safe until they hatch. The sanctuary workers go out at night when the turtles come in to lay their eggs, harvest the eggs, and re-bury them in the sand where they are safe from predators (humans, birds, other animals).
When the turtles hatch, they all hatch at the same time and communicate to each other through sounds that it’s time to get out of the sand and make their way to the ocean. That is where we had the opportunity to be a part of the process and set these baby turtles free! We went out with our bucket of baby turtles and set them off, one-by-one. They knew exactly what to do, straight to the ocean! It was one of the cutest and most incredible things I’ve ever seen, I almost cried. They just seemed so small to be entering the massive sea already! We watched them as they scurried towards the water and got swept up and tumbled through the waves. They all seemed so excited! These tiny turtles would grow to become 3-4 feet across and live to be 150 years old. Amazing.
Through some sort of turtle magic, these baby turtles will return to the exact same beach when they are old enough to lay eggs. And the cycle continues! It was so cool to see what the sanctuary does for the sole purpose of protecting the sea turtle population. It was truly amazing and I was so happy to be a part of it. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! And now I have baby turtle pictures and videos to cheer me up whenever I’m in a bad mood 🙂
Then, sadly, it was time to leave the turtle sanctuary. Since it was a long walk back, we ordered motorcycles to bring us back to the town where we would get back in a tuk tuk to take us back to the town where we would take the boat back to our hostel…whew! So, in my state of turtle euphoria and against all my better judgement, Alex and I hopped on a motorcycle driven by a local teenager. I sandwiched myself in the middle of Alex and the driver and held on for dear life. We made it back to town in one piece and I couldn’t stop giggling at the sight of the three of us flying down the beach together.
As we waited for our tuk tuk, we enjoyed a beer and explored the town a bit. What a beautiful day and such a highlight of our trip!!
Wandering Between Meals 
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