Releasing baby sea turtles into the Pacific Ocean has been on my bucket list since I was a child! And I felt extremely blessed that Marriott Puerto Vallarta helped make this now adult gal’s dreams come true. We were talking about it for months and it felt almost out of reach toward the end of the summer and also my second trip to Mexico (early that month I took a Cancun birthday trip was the first week of September which I’ll post about soon). Just loading up that passport with stamps before it needs renewed again in fall of 2025! At some point when expired I will share my way too dolled up after a photoshoot passport photo, a complete juxtaposition from the previous year hangover tinged blue zombie pic. Certainly there must be a good passport pic balance somewhere and I will find it in the new year!
Each year from June to November, thousands of turtle lovers like myself come in droves to the beaches of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I highly recommend staying at the Marriott Puerto Vallarta because it’s literally seven minutes from the airport and one of the most active beaches in the area and has been for years releasing over 60,000 baby sea turtles each year. During this timeframe, female sea turtles, in our case Olive Ridley but also Green and Hawksbill species, make their way to shore to lay their eggs on the beaches. Since only a few out of a thousand survive, conservation efforts are underway at most Mexican resorts through the Nayarit government to help shield them in a sanctuary until they hatch. Then when each nest is hatched, the tiny hatchlings can be observed making their way to the ocean. With the murky Pacific Ocean full of crocodiles and stingrays, only the strongest or fastest will survive.
The olive ridley sea turtle, or Pacific ridley sea turtle, is the second-smallest species and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world however currently at a vulnerable or population decreasing status. Thus why these efforts are so important for the species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae!
Once upon a time, you could hold them as a guest of the resort however some Karen or Ken killed that fun by not following the rules so there is a strict no touching the baby sea turtles allowed rule. Even the biologist wears gloves nowadays to protect the baby sea turtles from human germs. The best time to see baby turtle release programs is from August to November but honestly it was hella humid in September so if you can wait ’til later, even better. Each night around sunset the Marriott Puerto Vallarta offers guests a chance to see the turtle release program in action as their predators are less active then. But we will start from the beginning of them being born on the beach!
We’ll start with the first night I saw momma sea turtles laying their eggs on the beach. I ran from dinner to experience this and called it my turtle watching table by the ocean!The mother is in a birthing trance and barely noticed us at all. The red light helps not to snap her out of it and keep things flowing naturally in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.You can literally see the baby sea turtles being born from the hole the mother dug with her flippers in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In just 2-3 weeks, the mothers return to lay more eggs.Biologist Diego Macedo starts collecting all the baby sea turtle eggs. He said they feel delicate like an egg but also a ping pong ball.A pile of baby sea turtle eggs covered in sand in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.A better view of the baby sea turtle eggs in the red light in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They are also slightly translucent.Diego makes sure he captures all the baby sea turtle eggs and collects them to bury them in a safer place.The turtle mother then begins stomping the sand with her flippers in a thump, thump, thump rhythm while shuffling her rump that ensures the eggs are covered. I wish I could tell her the babies are safe with Deigo but nature does its thing.Then in an instant, she is done and is the fastest turtle I’ve ever seen move on sand back to the ocean. The next night we saw three other turtle moms come lay eggs too. Talk about a popular birthing beach!The next day near sunset it was straight to visit the Baby Sea Turtle Sanctuary at Marriott Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This is where all those eggs come get reburied by Deigo until they hatch in about 45 days.Welcome to the Baby Sea Turtle Nursery at Marriott Puerto Vallarta in Mexico.Some info about baby sea turtles in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This is located to the far beach side of the Marriott Puerto Vallarta.Baby Sea Turtle facts in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Somehow their turtle radar just knows where to go to find home each season!Peaking inside the Baby Sea Turtles nursery in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Each nest is marked with a date and buried in order, oldest in the front by the ocean to newest in the back near the sand.Diego starts digging up this day’s hatchings and shows me one which I appreciated. I was literally bugging him most nights chasing turtles together asking way too many questions!From the fence seeing the pile of baby sea turtles was a dream! Occasionally one will die but this too is just natural selection as Diego sifts through them all carefully.On to the next nest as he skips one as nothing has hatched. With global warming, some seem to be hatching sooner! Netting and wires protect wildlife even the iguanas from entering which would love some turtle egg snacks.And soon he has a red bucket of Baby Sea Turtles in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! He rinses them off with water to wake them up first and there are usually about 400 or more in each bucket.And then brings them down to the beach at Marriott Puerto Vallarta, Mexico around sunset to release them.Diego, like most in the science field, is not a fan of endless photos and videos as he has work to do!Diego entertains guests with his factual information and explains what happens next.A guest giggled at me as I’m tracking Diego’s fast moving hand with my Nikon!He scores a line in the sand near us and tells everyone to not cross it as he soon dumps out the Baby Sea Turtles in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.Soon the Baby Sea Turtles begin their journey into the ocean in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They just naturally know where to go.Diego answers guests questions which usually reverts back to how many make it out alive?They’re off to a slow start at first.Then the tide starts washing them in!A pretty sunset in the mix too during the Baby Sea Turtle release in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.The following evening we were treated to even more turtles giving birth on the beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!We saw Diego on the beach again and ran to meet him with this sight! No red light this time but my cell phone did a great job capturing these real fast.At this point, I called Diego a vampire because his job requires him to do this all night long!Not one but three momma turtles gave birth that night! It was easier to capture the turtles than Deigo on the move. A group of us sat and chatted with him for a while before calling it a night. This is better than Netflix anyday!This turtle laid 120 eggs that night which is amazing, go momma! Soon the thump, thump, thump of the flippers and hole being filled and she ran off back into the ocean at that impressive top turtle speed. We need more of this pace and less rat race, ya’ll. I can’t wait to see more baby turtles next season!
