Nesting season for sea turtles is in full swing along Guatemala’s Pacific beaches, where from July to December, the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) comes ashore to lay eggs.

To raise awareness of this endangered species, the third annual Sea Turtle Festival will take place the weekend of Nov. 18-20 in Monterrico and nearby Hawaii. Events include lectures, workshops and activities for children, hatchling releases and nightly patrols in search of nesting females. All proceeds support area turtle hatcheries, which buy turtle eggs from local villagers–who would otherwise eat them–to nurture and release.

Other highlights include activities such as a beauty pageant, volleyball and beach soccer tournaments, a horse parade, and the area’s first surf competition. Live music, disco and marimba provide nightly entertainment in both towns.

The population of sea turtles nesting in Guatemala is unknown, but the odds are against the reptiles as only about one out of every 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings survives to reproduce. The vast majority of eggs are lost to human harvesting and consumption; destruction of nesting habitat also contributes greatly to the species’ decline.

Guatemala is one of the last bastions of turtle egg commercialization, having been outlawed in most countries of the world. Here the government permits the sale of turtle eggs, provided that 20 percent of the nest gets donated to a local hatchery. This system has been established as a compromise, allowing people to continue to do what they have done for generations while attempting to keep turtles from disappearing.

Monterrico, one of the earliest destinations on the coast to use tourism to promote and protect sea turtles, became the home of the first sea turtle festival. Grupo Gestor, a consortium for coastal development, recognized ecotourism as a solution to their problems of sustainability and lack of jobs and education; the group developed the annual festival three years ago.

Leading up to this year’s event, Hermanos de las Olas, the surf NGO putting on the surf tournament, has been offering three-day surf clinics in Hawaii, the final set for Nov. 11-13. Call Edgar Guillen at 5316-4637 for details and reservations.

Hotel reservations are highly recommended for the festival weekend, as it is projected to sell out. La Antigua Guatemala transport services provides daily shuttles to Monterrico and there are connecting buses to Hawaii. There are also direct camionetas from Guatemala City and Antigua departing daily.

photos by Iñaki Oliver

For more information visit:

http://festivaldelatortuga.info

http://visitmonterrico.com

http://hawaiiguatemala.com

(photo by Ana Patricia Forero)

Nesting season for sea turtles brings life, challenges to the Pacific coast

One of nature’s marvels unfolds nightly this time of year on Guatemala’s Pacific coast—a beautiful yet awkward ballet of emerging life that, within minutes of existence, is challenged for survival against natural predators.

And this is the second test. The first was whether the hatchling completed its incubation at all because of human predators.

Raccoons, opossums and some birds are among species that snatch up and eat sea turtle hatchlings soon after they break out of their eggs, which were deposited in sandy nests roughly 45 days earlier by mothers lumbering ashore.

Their little flippers scooting them to sea in an age-old, instinctive march, the tiny creatures are easy prey in these first defenseless hours between sand and surf.

The much bigger problem, which threatens the very survival of the ancient species, is posed by villagers along Guatemala’s and other remote coasts: nest robbers who value huevos de oro (eggs of gold) for food and mystical purposes.

Criss-crossed by numerous lagoons and canals, the Monterrico-Hawaii Natural Reserve is home to a variety of birds and reptiles.

“The sea turtle, which for hundreds of thousands of years has inhabited the beaches of Monterrico and the southern coast of Guatemala, is in danger of extinction,” explained Thomas Stutzer, director of the Fundación Eterna Primavera (Eternal Spring Foundation). “We want to reverse the decline of the sea turtle population on Guatemala’s southern coast.”

Stutzer estimates 80 percent of sea turtle eggs are stolen from Guatemala’s beaches and sold for consumption. “We need to convince the villagers and consumers that Guatemala is losing one of its most important natural treasures,” he said.

The Eternal Spring Foundation is organizing a long-term campaign to help save the gentle creatures, which this time of year are the center of attention at the Monterrico-Hawaii Natural Reserve.

“The sea turtle is one of Monterrico’s most famous attractions, which allows foreign and local visitors alike to have a unique nature experience—once when the adult turtles come to deposit their eggs on shore and another when the hatchlings go back to the ocean,” Stutzer said.

With the turtle nesting season at its peak, October is an ideal time to visit Monterrico’s ocean-front hotels and the Monterrico-Hawaii Nature Reserve, a 28-square-kilometer paradise that serves as a significant nesting ground for endangered leatherback and ridley turtles.

Visitors have a unique opportunity to watch and even help release the hatchlings from their nest under the guidance of local environmental experts (for a modest donation).

Criss-crossed by numerous lagoons and canals, the reserve is home to a variety of birds and reptiles and serves as a rest stop for wildlife migrating through the Americas. The reserve’s dense mangrove islands provide habitat for small fish while guarding the shoreline from coastal erosion.

The reserve’s main focus is the turtle-release program, and visitors during turtle season—August through January—are sure to witness a unique moment as hatchlings emerge.

For more information: www.festivaldelatortuga.info or www.arcasguatemala.com. To book your lodging, see www.visitmonterrico.com.

The 2010 Festival de La Tortuga is scheduled for Nov. 26-28… stay tuned for details

She sells sea salt by the seashore: packaging salt at the Sol y Mar factory

Guatemala produces unrefined natural sea salt which is much higher in vital essential minerals…and it’s inexpensive as well

Wars have been fought over it. Deer in the woods and cows in the pasture love it. Gourmet shops hold sophisticated human tastings of it in elegant surroundings. If you spill some and wish to ward off future bad luck, throw a pinch over your left shoulder. In Roman times soldiers were given a special allowance to purchase it.

It’s salt, and Guatemala’s salt is special indeed. It is not just special since it costs one twentieth of what you would pay in industrialized countries, but because it is an all-natural product. Consider these health claims for sea salt: “Unrefined natural sea salt is much higher in vital essential minerals (especially magnesium), having been in contact with the living ocean for millions of years … Good unrefined sea salt does contain all the minerals and micro-nutrients that are present in the sea (over 80 elements) that have been shown to support life and good health.”

And consider these comments from a 2008 salt tasting session in Oregon: “Humble salt is enjoying something of a renaissance, with gourmets singing the praises of artisanal salt they offer 85 varieties of sea salt, which include those with mild to intense salinity, with a touch of sweetness and with hints of unexpected flavors (like truffles). For your wedding meal … suggest featuring a trio of salts, delicate fleur de sel, a snappy flake sea salt and a smoked sea salt —at each table.”

Humble salt is enjoying something of a renaissance, with gourmets singing the praises of artisanal salt. 85 varieties of sea salt are available, which include those with mild to intense salinity.

Sol y Mar sea salt

The basic process to produce the sea salt is to create diked areas, lined or otherwise drain proof, to pump or haul salt water into them and to let Mother Nature’s sunshine do the rest. After the water evaporates, the salt dries it is pushed into mounds and then sold. The very large-scale salt works sell by the ton, but there are smaller cooperatives and individual mom-and-pop backyard operations.

Salt is a compound composed of sodium and chlorine, and different salts from different areas of the world vary slightly as to trace elements that might be present. A crucial trace element is iodine, which defends humans from thyroid deficiency or goiter. Iodine is so crucial to goiter prevention that where absent naturally it is usually added to salt. No problems here with Guatemala’s sea salt, which contains naturally occurring iodine in ideal proportions for human health.

Best of all about Guatemala’s sea salt is the price. If you visit the Sipacate cooperative, where artisan salt is packed by hand, the bad news is that your minimum purchase is a 25-pound bulk package containing 25 individually wrapped one-pound packages. The good news is that the 25 pounds cost Q14, or $.07 per pound. Your friends will thank you.

photos by Carlisle Johnson gmg988@yahoo.com

Expanding a salt flat production area