Upon awaking this morning, all of us here at Playaviva had a pleasant surprise.  During the night, the eggs of the most endangered turtle in the world had hatched.

Laud (leatherback) or as the locals call them “garapacho” turtles are the most treasured in this area. They can grow to be two meters in length and weight up to 1200 pounds. They lay eggs only once every four years and do not start reproducing until they are at least 10 years of age. Which makes every egg very precious.  Their eggs are much larger then the more common varieties. All the baby turtles were healthy and strong as we released them to the sea.

Shortly after, while we were eating our breakfast the whales came to visit. Barley 15 meters off shore we witnessed a large mama and baby whale glide past the coastline directly in front of playa viva.

All in all, it was an amazing morning.