Miguelito

My 4th walk at La Tortuga Feliz to patrol the beach was with a really friendly guide called Miguelito. Okay if you know a little Spanish, I´m about to state the obvious. One of the guides had cancelled so the 8 and 9pm walks were combined.
Miguelito is a very cute old man, I think he's 64. He's about 4ft 10 and looks alittle like Yoda. That's Miguelito on the right.



We set off into the very dark night, with no stars to light the way. It had rained for a few days and the heavy clouds overhead looked ominous. The first week at La Tortuga Feliz was idylic weather, so it was quite a shock when the rains came. The only advantage of heavy rain, is a nice stolid beach to walk on.
To begin with I walked directly behind Miguelito, it's always best to walk in a line so you are sure the path in front is clear. I´m use to being smaller than the guides, so I can follow the sillouette of their heads on the horizon. But with Miguelito this was hard to do. We all stumbled about quite abit, but then Miguelito took a heavy fall, and then another and a third. I was really worried he break a hip or something, but he picked himself up and cursed alittle. I should mention here, Miguelito can't see very well, I think he may have cataracts on his eyes. It wasn't a good night for Miguelito.
We took our first break an hour later, but when we started to walk on Miguelito realised he'd left his flashlight on the ground, so he had to walk back. Often we got soaked by waves, stretches of the beach are narrow and it's hard to avoid the water.
What else could we want on this delightful night, yes that´s right, heavy rain. I was thankful for my Gortex jacket (thanks Mum and Dad), but my trousers were soaking. No one cared about the turtles at this point we just wanted to be indoors. Although the thought of a cold shower back at the project didn't help. Although after awhile I found the water was so cold, I started to think it was warm. That is until I realised I was just that cold!
We continued walking and falling in equal measures. At one point Miguelito stopped to throw away his shoes, as they had broken. He walked the rest of the way in sodden bright orange socks. It's surprising how much orange clothing exists on the island. I can only assume they are Paul's cast-offs. Although nothing can fit as Paul is at least 6ft 6.
Finally after four hard hours we arrived back at base.


waiting for the new arrivals


the new arrivals

Unfortunately after six 4 hour walks I didn't get to see one measly Turtle. But I still had a great experience at the project. It certainly takes a while to get used to living without electricity and hot water. I really missed being able to keep in touch with family and friends. I've overloaded on news today, I'm all up to date on Britney's breakdown.

The experience was certainly enriched by the people I met. Some had great advice for my trip to South Anmerica. While at times it was just nice to chat and hear opinions from different perspectives. It has been a fairly laidback 2 weeks, I'm now looking forward to the excitement of travel.