Sweet Little Turtles and a Rant

First, the Sweet Turtles When in Montericco I was privileged enough to release a sweet little one-day-old sea turtle into the Pacific waves. Next to the black-sand beach there is a turtle hatchery dedicated to preserving these little guys that have been hunted to the point of being threatened. The folks at the hatchery collect the eggs that are laid on the beach by hopeful turtle mothers. They collect the eggs to protect them from would-be human and animal thieves who steal them for food. They incubate and care for the eggs until they hatch and, at one day old, they are released into the Pacific. At sunset, for about a dollar, anyone can hold and release a turtle (the fee suppoorts the hatchery). I got my little guy and he was rearing to go. He would not stop wiggling and moving his little flipper-legs. We watched a gorgeous sunset and were finally instructed to release our turtles in the sand a few yards from the crashing waves. We watched as the little guys instinctively bolted (as much as a turtle can bolt) towards the sea...their little one-day old selves giving it their all. The volunteer from the hatchery explained that about 20% of the turtles would make it to maturity. The rest would be some creatures snack or meal. Now for the Rant As we were standing there waiting for the sun to go down, holding our precious little turtle friends, a young German man standing behind me with a group of 6 Europeans pops off with, "It´s so touristy here. I wish it wasn´t so touristy. Blah bñlah blah." I felt a mild anger rise. On the beach were about 100 folks holding turtles or watching. Of those folks there were maybe 10-15 westerners. Most of the folks who go to Monterrico are Guatemalans, the poor and the slightly better off. What was this young man referring to? My mind raced and I thought..."You arrogant little fuck. You want some isolated "authentic" experience using the "other" as a prop for your own little adventure narrative...here with all the little turtles and the relatively poor but gleeful Guatemalans, young and old, waiting to watch those little guys make a run for the great Pacific. Shut your pie-hole, watch the sunset, and release your precious little tortuga." See, I am not always sweet and cuddly. And a Nice Ending My internal rant only lasted a minute and then I was taking my own advice. The little guys reached the water and got pummeled by the waves. But they kept on charging and at last the waves took all the little turtles to the sea. I thought about all the hungry creatures that awaited them just past the break...and then I walked down the beach and watched the light wane.