I recently took an unplanned detour to Playa del Carmen, Mexico and am about back on course. I was visiting my daughter who lives and works there. I did maintain my focus on spirituality and boats/boating and would like to report on what I did and an adventure and its relevance to my focuses.
I spent the mornings and evenings with my daughter but since she had to work I was on my own during the day. I used that time to move my projects ahead. I learned Spanish, explored Ignatian spirituality, and spent time studying the plans for Agape and the techniques to build and use her. I had prepared for this work by carrying the resources to do it. In addition, I had the internet as a tool.
Every book about boat building I have read maintains that one should spend a lot of time studying the plans so this trip provided me with an opportunity to do that. Also, I tend to be both a strategic and tactical thinker so I had lots of opportunities to do this for my three projects.
The major "tourist" part of the trip provided what I believe was a chance-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do a Green Turtle ecotour. The main thrust of this blog is on my thoughts about this ecotour.
Almost two decades ago my daughter and I just missed seeing the sea turtles in action when we spent almost a week on the Canal de Tortugero in Costa Rica. We were there just after the season. Here are a couple of links to this area:
Canal de Tortugero Aerial Photo
Tortugero Information
But this time we traveled to Centro Ecologico Akumal where we got to see three major Green Turtle events. The Green Turtles are endangered.
I am reading a book "At Sea with God" by Margaret Silf that uses boats, boating, and voyaging on the sea as a metaphor for our life's journey. Reading this book influenced my interpretation of the turtle events.
First,we got to see the "launching' of some 30 or so two to three day old turtles. It is humans who have destroyed much of God's creation for our own greed and I believe that it is our responsibility as stewards to ensure that we don't completely destroy it. Hatching the turtles and releasing them at night helps to insure that they will survive.
Many of the turtles headed off in the wrong direction (away from the water) and had to be rescued. The lesson: No matter how hard you work if you are headed in the wrong direction you won't make it and will need some help. So we have to spend time making sure that we have the right strategy - that we are headed in the right direction. This applies to one's spiritual life, boat building, and voyaging in that boat. I am grateful for those who have helped me along on my journey and plan on being grateful for those who will help on the rest of the journey.
Here is a YouTube Video of a couple of Green Turtle hatchlings.
Second, we saw the birth (or didn't make it) of some 40 or so turtles. Their incubation place (called an egg chamber) is from 0.5 to 1.0 meters under the surface of the sand. In order to insure the survival of the turtles the marine biologist and his assistant hand dug out the hatchlings, took the data, and then launched them towards the water. The little hatchlings were working their flippers like crazy and often the sand would cave in on them and then they would either be rescued or emerge and then be pointed to the water. I see the hatchlings working hard to get out as the tactics we must employ in our projects (more specifically - my three referenced here) to make them a success. We must be vigilant and hardworking.
Despite our and their best efforts (as was the case for many of the turtles - including the one in the video) some don't make it. If we/they do make it - there will be hardships and setbacks.
Lastly, it was really a situation of serendipity or Providence that we got to see a mother turtle laying her eggs. The earlier wiki article describes how this happens and it was really an incredible experience to watch. Here is a YouTube Video of a Green Turtle Laying Eggs.
I did have the sense that we were violating the privacy of this turtle as we watched her depositing her eggs. The lesson for me in this is that often in life we will be doing our thing and there may or may not be others around just watching. Some may be helpers - others who might want to do us in. This happens at birth and at death and at the points in between. That is the way it is.
Earlier in the evening we had learned that Green Turtles can live to be 80 years old. As I watched the eggs plopping out of the mother into the nest I thought about that when I am long gone some of those turtles will possibly be still swimming around in the Caribbean Sea. That is, assuming that there are adequate people who are working to help them along.
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