Quintana Roo is like all the states of Mexico, it can be experienced in so many ways! This time we were in two very beautiful beaches where we were able to dive with huge sea turtles and we also learned what is being done to protect them.
Lots of life in Akumal!
Akumal is one of the quietest places in the Riviera Maya, 37 kilometers from Playa del Carmen. It is preferred by lovers of tranquility, diving and of nature.
During our stay we stayed at the hotel Villas of Akumal, where the staff has been given the task of caring for and protecting the turtles that come out to spawn on the beach. They have posted notices indicating the place where their nests are, so during the night we decided to walk the beach to see if any turtles came out to spawn.
Already in Playa ...
From Akumal We went to Carmen beach for Diving in a place known as Turtles, where they told us that it is possible to see numerous specimens.
Playa del Carmen is located 60 kilometers from Cancun, it was formerly a Mayan village called Xaman Ha. Today it is one of the most important tourist attraction centers in the Riviera maya.
The dynamics of the beaches on the Quintana Roo coast is very high, the passage of tourists, the destruction of mangroves, water pollution, as well as the noise and lights of the hotels affect the nesting of sea turtles, So the best way to protect them is by spreading environmental education and linking communities to participate in conservation.
Pro turtles! Xcaret in favor of turtles
From June to October, through the temporary exhibition of sea turtles, Xcaret contributes year after year to education for the conservation of these millennial inhabitants of the planet. The temporary exhibition of sea turtles shows visitors the phases of the protection program for these chelonians, as well as the difficulties they face for their survival. With this, ecological awareness is generated and above all, they are shown ways with which they can contribute to the care of this species.
Parallel to this exhibition, Xcaret since 1993 develops the Initiation Program or Head Starting. This consists of keeping in captivity, each season, an average of two white turtle nests, for a period ranging from 12 to 15 months of age. The main objective is to increase the population of juvenile turtles that may in the future be recruited as adult turtles and reproduce. So far more than 2,000 turtles juvenile white. In the months of January and February of each year, they are released on the beaches of Xcaret with the participation of visitors and local schools. Without a doubt, this activity is one of the most attractive in the season. In addition, there is an environmental education program for visitors in which the importance of the conservation of sea turtles throughout the year is explained. Further, Xcaret sponsors the marine turtle protection program run by Flora, Fauna y Cultura de México, A.C.
Flora, Fauna y Cultura de México, A.C.
It is a non-profit civil organization that has a program for the protection and monitoring of beaches along 120 kilometers of coastline, distributed in 12 nesting beaches that are protected through five camps on the beaches: Aventuras dif, Xcacel , Xel-Há, Kanzul and Cahpechen.
Among the activities to be developed are:
Night patrol in which nesting females are detected, which are measured and marked; and if necessary, the eggs are transferred to a protection pen.
Daytime surveys on beaches where there are no camps, where the nests are identified, the eggs are marked and analyzed to see the stage of development in which they are found to calculate their hatching date.
They carry out awareness talks, beach cleanups, school visits to nesting beaches and the Sea Turtle Festival, held in Tulum every end of the season, where they do a massive release of offspring. The Protection program is supported by various institutions such as: Xcaret, Xel-Ha, semarnat, seduma, Fundación Bahía Príncipe Tulum, Hotel Nueva Vida de Ramiro, Energizar, Honda de México, dif, cesiak, Se Sian Ka Reserve Directorate 'an y Servicios Corporativas SC
Photographer specialized in adventure sports. He has worked for MD for over 10 years!
