Drum roll please! We have our first turtle…a green! On our second night on the island we came across a green female nesting on the beach. She dug several huge body pits before settling down to lay her eggs. The whole group was out there – nine in all – and we got to watch the whole process. It was downright amazing. To begin with, she was huge: about 4 feet long and so powerful. She effortlessly flung sand and bits of shrubs ten feet behind her. That night we had a nearly full moon and pretty clear skies. If the summer goes anything like this, it’s going to be pretty special.
I don’t know if I’ve explained what we do on the island, but we’re basically out there walking along the beach, searching for turtle tracks by flashlight and listening for one rustling around in the bushes. When we find one, we take a bunch of data on her size and species and tag her so she can be identified later. So far we’ve had two “half nights” on Buck, just working until midnight or so. Tonight will be our first full night, working from 6pm to 6am. Hopefully, we’ll see some more turtles. One thing I’ve come to realize about this job in the week or so we’ve been here is that you spend a lot of time on the beach by yourself. I think I knew that before coming down here, but it’s another thing to actually experience it. If it’s a clear night, the stars are amazing, and sitting on the pier under a full moon with nothing but the sounds of the waves to interrupt your thoughts is something everyone should experience.
Saturday was our first day off and we took full advantage of it, borrowing a car and touring the island. We swung around to the East End first, taking the North Side Rd to Point Udall. This is a beautiful winding drive along the coast with a lot of switchback turns and sweeping views of the coast. The scenery reminds me a lot of Belize: lush and hilly with scattered houses and goats and horses grazing on the side of the road. Point Udall is a really cool little monument marking the easternmost point in the United States and also a great overlook spot. We’re determined to make it out there at sunrise to be the first people to greet the sun!
We headed back west from there on the Southshore Rd and visited the St George Botanical Garden. If you’re ever in St. Croix, stop at this place! It’s a beautiful place to spend a peaceful, relaxing afternoon. From there, we headed to Frederiksted on the west coast, a sleepy little town that I guess gets pretty touristy in the high season. There was a huge cruise liner docked when we got there, but it was gone again before we left by dark. Most of the restaurants along the boardwalk were either closed or outrageously expensive, so we headed back to Christiansted for dinner. We drove back by way of Carambola, through the rain forest area, but it was dark and we couldn’t see much. We had a super full day and got to know the island a lot better, but there’s still so much we want to see. But with almost 11 weeks left, I think we have time. Soon come…
Sounds amazing!
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