As we trundled down the dark road, Savannah, Tom, and Ivan started wondering if we were taking them on a joy ride. Taking the piss as we call it in the UK :-)....but the road to Villa Del Mar is not paved and at dark time it can be really quite scary. Not to worry, we arrived at the villas at around 10:00 pm PV time. The lights were on, Peggy was there and we were all checked in to our cabanas in due time. We had brought with us a couple of coolers full of ale and cheese and wine and bread. After everyone was settled we met at the front of a cabana and tucked in. We were all of us very excited about the next days ahead..and what amazing days they were.

Since our last trip down and discovering the turtles and Casis` mission we felt compelled to do something. Something good. Something that would make a difference. So we pinged some people that we know and asked them if they would like to take part in a first step toward helping Casi. What we needed was a wildlife photographer ( Ivan ) , a videoographer ( Tom ) , some helpers to put up fencing and do the grunt work, ( Savannah and I ) and a project manager who would keep the ball rolling ( Michael ). Once schedules were sorted and flights were arranged, we arrived in Puerto Vallarta. We met Tom and Savannah at the areoport and Michael went off to secure the van. We would need this to transport all of our gear and the materiels that Casi had requested.  What he needed was shade cloth to cover the enclosures and steel fencing that would keep the dogs and other creatures out as his old enclosures were riddled with holes, as we would be building new ones. So at about 6:00 PM PV time we started down the road to Villa Del Mar.

The Hotel Mayto

We got to the Hotel Mayto around 2:00 and determined this was a good place for lunch and beers. It is a nice looking place, kind of square and sixties looking, with a pool and a restaurant and gift shop. The restaurant is nicely shaded and has both Mexican and American food. This is also the location of the official Turtle Rescue program in the area that is supported by the Mexican government. From what we would learn from Casi on our next trip down, the program is more of a tourist attraction so it seems. However we didn't the place so I can't really say what it was like. What Michael and I did get to see though, was whales! Breaching whales. There was a Mum and her calf. I felt really privileged to watch them playing in the sea. As for the hotel, the food was pretty good and the beer was cold. We didn't want to stop exploring the area, but we had to get back to PV as we were heading out for home the next day. Here is the hotel:

On the way back to Puerto Vallarta Michael and I decided that we would return. We had stumbled upon a beautiful place with the opportunity to do something really good. We decided to come back and help Casi with his enclosures, and his turtles.

On the road to Corrales

After leaving Penny and El Cielito, Michael and I decided to take the bumpy gravel road and try and get up the coast to Corales. There is a lighthouse there and from our sketchy little map, it appeared that we could go through Corales and then head east back toward Puerto Vallarta. So off we went. We discovered a beautiful beach, called Playitas. It is right next to the town. We hung about here for a little while and then headed back up the road. Our next stop was  going to be Corrales:

Here is a little map that shows the area we were traveling through:

Well, after hurtling along on the gravel road at a hair raising speed of 80 KPH, we arrived in Corrales.  You can see the seaside off to the left and it is beautiful. You then descend down a hill, cross a wee bridge, and are straightaway greeted to the sounds of Mexican music blaring from a very modern and blingy jukebox. We realised we had come to a dead end. The only way to hook back up to the road was to take a ferry round past the lighthouse. Since that was not an option we decided to turn around and take one of the other little roads that would go south then east. On the way out of the village of Corrales we provided some amusement to a group of school children who called out " Gringos!" as we rumbled past. We had a good giggle about that.  As for plan B to take a side road, that was snuffed out when one of the locals took a look at our hire car and said " You will never make it in that". Ok, plan C. Head back toward Villa Del Mar and go check out the Mayto Hotel.

El Cielito

The next day, Michael and I bid adieu to El Cielito. Before we left we got to know the manager a little more and found out her name is Peggy and she is an American. She is a fascinating women, who has led a really diverse life.  She was over the moon that we were English speaking gringos as most of the holiday makers that go to El Cielito are Mexican people. As Michael spent more time with her, he discovered that Casimiro has no help whatsoever, and that the turtles and the eggs are under constant threat from poaching and fishing. She also told us about the turtle program over at the Hotel Mayto and that they don't offer any real support either. After more chitchat we needed to get our skates on and get a move on. As per our little map, there were a tonne of interesting little places that we wanted to see.

A chance discovery

This is my first blog. I will be learning as I go along. Anyway, my blog is about turtles. Specifically sea turtles. To be honest, I never really gave much thought to sea turtles. I did dive with some in Hawaii many years ago, and every time I read about an oil spill, pollution, or some freak disaster that affects sea life, I get weepy and emotional when I see these wonderful creatures dying on beaches. My perspective on sea turtles has changed. Big time.  And it happened on a remote beach in the Jalisco province of Mexico. My boyfriend and I were holidaying in Puerto Vallarta, and just after New Years day we decided to get a hire car and go exploring.  After looking at one of those hotel booklet maps that had pictures and some highlighted roads, we thought hey, let's go south. After trundling along on the main highway we turned off at a town called Tuito. We then continued on through some awesome twisty roads, alot of gravel and dirt, and ended up at Villa del Mar. Not much to see in the village we decided to try and find a place for lunch and had another squint at the map. We saw this place: http://www.elcielito.com.mx/ and thought, what the hell..looks good. And it was lovely. Since it was getting late in the day, we decided to stay overnight in one of the cabanas. That evening we were told that a local resident called Casimiro rescues and releases baby Olive Ridleys on the seashore. At around 10:00 PM my boyfriend came running up the beach, up the stairs, and charged into the cabana. There were baby turtles being released on the beach and if I got my arse in gear, I could see them. I flew down the stairs, almost wiping out, and charged onto the beach. That night I got to release my first baby turtle. This is what they look like:

I was over the moon. My boyfriend, Michael, who is a fisheries biologist, ended up spending alot of time with Casimiro, the local turtle advocate. He learned that Casi is the only person on this beach that does this. And he does it alone.