Hello one and all!! I have several things to catch you up on. The past few weeks have been pretty busy. Although my daily schedule is very relaxed and not full of appointments, I still try to find things to keep me busy. On days when the heat is just so unbearable, we either look for water to jump in to or run to a friends house with AC. This place might be "paradise" but let me tell ya, I will not miss this heat!!!
On April 26, the social coordinators for this term (Katie and Stephanie) planned a trip to Levera Beach, which is on the northern side of the island. This was not just any ordinary trip to the beach. No, this was a very exciting and special trip!! We were going to see the Leatherback turtles lay their eggs!!!! :) It was such a cool experience. We left campus at 6PM with a group of about 60 people on two big busses and a taxi. It took a little over an hour to get up there. The turtles come in the middle of the night so we knew we would have to wait a while. When we arrived at the visitors center, we split into three groups. We were given some information about the Leatherback turtle.
Did you know??
- Leatherbacks can be anywhere between 4-8 feet in length
- Weigh between 500 and 2000 pounds
- They nest between March and July
- Can nest 5 to 7 times
- Incubation period is about 65 days
- Leatherbacks lay both real eggs and fake eggs to throw off an
predators who might get into the nests
After our briefing of the do's and don't while on the beach, we headed out to wait....
and wait...
and wait...
and wait...
Elora did very well. I figured she would fall asleep for most of it but I was surprised that she fell asleep soon after we got on the beach and didn't wake up until we arrived back to campus at 2:30am. I have such a great baby. :)
We waited on the beach for a couple hours. I know I fell asleep for at least an hour with E. Around midnight, our guides told us it was time. We made our way down the dark beach with only red lights glowing. Although it was very cloudy, the moon still broke through here and there. All you could see on the beach were dark figures moving with the red light glow. As we came around the corner, there before us were three large figures on the beach. While we waited for the "OK" to get closer, we watched as three more came up to begin their nesting. Talk about a moment that takes your breath away!! These massive creatures coming up out of the ocean, gliding gracefully across the sand, then flapping their fins to dig a deep hole. Ah-may-zing!!!!!!! We were given the go ahead to move closer to our turtle and watched as she dug and dug and dug until she knew the hole was deep enough. As the leatherback was laying her eggs, one of the researchers was catching the eggs and counting them at the same time. She would catch one and then show us what it looked like compared to the fake eggs she would lay next. Because it was so dark and the red light was the only light we were allowed to use, all my pictures were no good. There was an awesome photographer, who is an SO, that came along and got some really good shots. Check out the tagged photos of me on my FaceBook page. Pretty incredible experience!! I would love to be able to go back and watch the turtles hatch but we won't be back before the season is over. Perhaps next year. :)
The following weekend was my birthday. My friend Jessica's birthday was the day before. We had decided to do a party together on my birthday, May 5. Of course, it was a Cinco de Mayo themed party!! :) We had a taco bar and everyone brought something to share and add to the topping for tacos. We drank margaritas, played in the ocean, laid in the sun, and had a wonderful time with everyone. That evening, Matt took me to La Luna which is a resort that is right around the corner from our house. It actually sits on one of the beaches we regularly go to. La Luna has a happy hour every day from 5-7 but on Sundays, they have live music as well. They also make an amazing bailey's banana colada!!! ;) It was so yummy!!
My birthday and Mother's Day are basically back to back every year. This past Sunday was of course Mother's Day. It was my first time celebrating WITH Elora. Last year, we were still in Wilmington and we had just told our family we were expecting. Everyone still told me "Happy Mother's Day" even though I didn't feel like I was a mommy yet. This year, Matt took me to breakfast at a little French bistro on Grand Anse called Le Papillon. They sure breakfast, lunch, and dessert. I'd only been once before and knew it was very yummy. I got a croque madam and Matt got spiced French toast. Of course we tried each others and it was such a good breakfast!! Later that day, I went out to the beach with Elora and my friends Nicole and Jess. Matt had to do some studying because he started finals last Friday. We hung out for a good while and just enjoyed being in the sun and ocean. It was a great mother's day for me. :)
Like I said, Matt started his finals last Friday. He has had them all week long and his last and FINAL test of his FIRST full year of vet school will be this Friday!!! I am SOOOOOO proud of him and all his hard work this year. He has juggled being a full time student, husband and dad so well. Although he's crazy busy, he has found time to hang out with his two girls. :) I am excited for this first year to be over so we can hang out more often and not have to share him with SGU for several months. We fly home next Saturday, May 25 (Elora's six month birthday also), and oh what a glorious day it is going to be!!!! It is very strange to think that we will be introducing Elora to our friends there for the first time and she will already be six months old!! I am trying to get in the mindset that our day will be very long and therefore I don't need to be anxious or stressed out about time. There will be no need to rush around while at the airport because that won't make the trip go any quicker (unfortunately). I am very excited to get home. It has been a challenging and hard 10 months but the Lord has certainly grown us both together and separately. I'm glad we will be able to put this FIRST year of vet school behind us and begin looking at the next!! :)
A hui kaua...
