On the morning of October 15th we woke up at 4:15 am to get to the aiport for an early flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan--the old capital of borneo desteroyed during WWII. We arrived safely (although our luggage didn't) and immediately hopped on our first boat to Turtle Island- a turtle sanctuary working desparately to stop the exctinction of turtles. There used to be over 30 species of turtles, however, due to poaching and other human actions only 7 remain. Two of which lay their eggs on the beaches of this island--the green and hawskbill turtles. We reached our deserted island, as only 50 people are allowed on the island at a time. Luckily enough they we passed the test :) Although the afternoon was filled with swimming in the Sulu Sea and even snorkeling, the true excitement comes after sunset. No one is allowed on the beach after sunset, as the rangers are patiently waiting for the female turtles to begin laying their eggs. During an intense game of Bananagrams, our guide yelled for group 1 to head to the beach. As fast as I've ever seen the Kirley family move, we were sprinting out to the beach to catch the action. We were able to witness an amazing sight as a female green turtle laid 120 eggs right in front of us. The ranger safely removed the eggs from the predator ridden beach to the guarded sanctuary. The final stage of the night found us back on the beach releasing the one month old hatchlings into the water. Only 2-3 inches long, we immediately fell in love with the cute bunch of baby turtles and cheered as they scurried into the water. We hoped that with our praise and good wishes, more than the projected 1-4% baby hatchlings would survive their first night in the water. The entire sequence of events left me speechless as the night came to an end--truly a memorable experience!
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