First season turtle arribada in La Flor Beach
Arquimedes Hernández | Aug 23, 2013
A 20,000 turtles arribada is expected in La Flor; it started from wednesday and it will last about eight days.
During last night and early today, more than 2 thousand female Olive Ridley turtles have reached the Wildlife Refuge La Flor Beach to lay their eggs, located in the municipality of San Juan del Sur. This is the first arribada of the year. During this period it is expected that the number of turtles that arrive reaches 20 thousand, said Mario Rodriguez, delegate of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Rivas (MARENA).
According to Rodriguez, it is estimated that the number of days that could take this first arrival to double, calculating a total duration of eight days, possibly because in the month of July-when you start the season-not reported arrivals. In addition, he mentioned that today, around sunset and night, 6 thousand to 10 thousand turtles could arrive. Rodríguez said that after turtles spawn, they will collect their eggs to keep them safe and prevent looting in the spawn area.
For those who love nature, the refugee Playa La Flor offers tours during the arribadas period. The cost of entrance and guidance for international tourists is U$10 for adults and U$5 for kids; for national tourists the cost of entrance is C$50 for kids and C$100 for adults. There is also service for camping if you want to stay to enjoy the night; the cost of this service is C$500 per tent and you have to bring your camping house.
At this moment, the road to the reserve is in great conditions, and there is a new bridge that cross the river to ensure the low vehicle traffic. Besides the possibility of camping in the shelter, there are some hotels in the nearby beaches, and the town of San Juan del Sur is a few miles.
The birth of the hatchlings product of this first arribada will be within about 45 days, possibly for the first days of October. At that point it can be seen the emergence of several hundreds of thousands of small Olive Ridley turtles. To learn more about the place visit the following link: Wildlife Refuge in Playa La Flor that shows a complete profile on the nature reserve.
Translated by Cynthia Cordero