Have you ever been to a turtle release? It’s honestly one of the sweetest and most beautiful yet cruel things I’ve ever seen. The explanation soon above. First, a quick visit to the beach. Playa Bacocho is really long! I’m still of the opinion, that Playa Zicatela is longer, but Playa Bacocho definitely does compete in it’s length 😀
When I was there for the first time, I just thought to myself ‘How can one place have two such beautiful beaches with perfect water and such a bright sun on the horizon?’ Because that’s Playa Bacocho. You are greeted by pretty much a white sandy beach, a sea glistening under the sun, endless beachsight (as far as the eye can see for sure), a small palm tree backdrop on the far left, where there also is a hotel, and a small stone bay bordering the beach on the left. And hardly a soul sitting anywhere. A few people walking up or down the beach, a few in the water, someone walking his or her dog somewhere…. That’s it. I don’t think we have such beautiful beaches in Europe that on top are so unpopulated compared to their length and size. And so clean! Honestly. Just wow! And I’m not really a beach fan, but Puerto Escondido just had me.

Back to the turtle release. A friend from the hostel had asked me if I wanted to come along. Personally, I hadn’t planned to go to one because I thought to myself ‘Well, they release little turtles and then they run off into the sea… I don’t think that’s like super cool.’ Well, far fetched.
Like yes it basically describes what happens, but… if you’ve ever taken part or been to something like this, you know what I’m talking about.
First of all, how cute are these tiny little things? 😀 And how adorable is it when they try to climb out of the bowl? And then you’re not allowed to touch them because otherwise they’ll have a hard time out there in the big wide world and you always have to hold the bowl so that they can’t escape…
As I hadn’t registered, I didn’t have my own bowl and therefore only took photos. But it was great anyways. A kind of barrier is set up behind which people kneel down to release the turtles into the sand. They face relatively straight out to the ocean so that they can’t miss it. A few of the locals stand in front and try to stop the birds from eating the little turtles. Because yes, that is literally their favourite food. And you don’t know how fast these creatures can dart down to grab one of these cute little turtles. Like for real…. Well, you stand there, cheering the turtles to get to the ocean and swim, while the little ones sprint for their lives and you hope with every wave that they get swept away just so that they don’t get eaten by a bird in the water. It’s…. Extremely cute and beautiful, but also really brutal when you see how these birds simply see the turtle release as a kind of feeding time and can hardly be shooed away – and don’t get me wrong, the Mexicans really try everything to keep the birds away.

Yes or no? Playa Bacocho as well as turtle release: YES! Because…. It’s a piece of Mexico. And you’re doing something good by helping to guide one more turtle into the ocean (not too many of them – I don’t know how many – turtles survive…). And Playa Bacocho is also really beautiful, so 😀