A diary of my experiences as a volunteer for Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society, in Matala, Crete, Summer 2003
Turtle Diary
Saturday, September 06, 2003
Red Beach - My Last Day (1.09.2003)
O and I woke early as the sky became light. We fanned the embers of the fire into life and breakfasted on a second helping of garlic bread, accompanied by butter-beans in tomato sauce, coffee and grapefruit juice before heading down to survey Red beach. Nothing unusual to be found; beech marten tracks running the length of the beach, crisscrossed with the snickerty tracks of Ghost crabs.
The survey complete we snorkeled for a while, the sea cooling us pleasantly as we drifted, watching shoals of fish flitting in the shallows. Small clouds of sand lifted and fell rhythmically along the ripples in the sea bed, driven by the circulating flows that form the incoming waves. Rays of sun played through the underwater world, swinging back and forth, refracted by the surface of the sea above.
It was almost 11am by the time we left and it was hot work slogging back up over to Matala, stopping off at the cave to pick up our gear. After a quick shower back at camp we treated ourselves to a cold Mythos in Zafiria. O read while I wrote my diary and uploaded a couple more days worth to the internet using one of the cafe's two net connected computers.
This was my last full day on Crete. Sadly O had to miss my leaving soiree, as he had to head over to Rethymno for a "Skill Share" meeting with the other Archelon coordinators. I sat up late with the other volunteers, listening to music and drinking cask wine at our camp table. We played backgammon and chatted well into the small hours.
So, my time in Crete in the Bay of Messara has come to an end, all too soon. I've thoroughly enjoyed myself - although the work has been at times exhausting, sometimes boring, in the main it has been thoroughly absorbing and truly rewarding, and inspirational on more than one occasion. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the natural world and the fantastic creatures that we share our planet with.
I'll continue to update this site; in a few days I'll be putting some pictures up, and I'll be reporting on the progress of the nests I helped to locate. When Owen returns I should be able to give an overview of the Sea Turtle's nesting activity this year in the Bay of Messara.
AB Beach with Owen (31.08.2003)
My last morning survey on AB and a quiet one. Just one nest hatched, ΦAjk14. We found two diverging hatchling tracks, neatly avoiding a pit dug unwittingly by holdiaymakers, directly between the nest and the sea.
Rock dog joined us halfway through our walk down the beach and stayed with us until we met foxy and bouncy dog (a young grey dog with more than a little whippet in him) on our return back to the van.
In the evening O and I headed up into the hills again. As tomorrow is my last day I wouldn't normally have to do any shifts, but we volunteered to survey Red beach as the cave we planned to spend the night at is in a valley just behind Red beach.
The night was heavy and humid, haze slowly turning into low cloud as the light of the sun faded from the sky. We detoured onto the cliff tops on the way up to the cave, clambering out on to a rocky promontory between Matala bay and Red Beach. We dumped our packs with great relief, sweat pouring from our bodies. I dug out two cold beers we'd bought at the bakery on the way up and we sat and cooled very slowly, listening to the surge of the sea far below. Lights appeared and disappeared out to sea as fishermen went about their nights work. In the distance the lights of Kokkinos Pyrgos and Agia Galini twinkled in the warm, moisture laden night air. In places the lights resembled the smoldering edge of a stubble fire, a reddish orange glow pulsating in beads of light along the cost.
Our beers finished we shouldered our packs again and headed down to the valley where the cave is. The warm damp air showed no signs of lifting and we were drenched again by the time we reached our camp for the night. As it was so still we decided to sleep on the flat terrace outside the cave. O made a fire while cleared an area to sleep on and strung up the mosquito net.
Later, as we sat enjoying a glass of local wine (bought earlier in the day in Pitsidia, the proprietor filling our plastic bottles from a barrel) watching the flickering flames of the fire, thankfully the oppressive humidity started to clear. We feasted on the best garlic bread ever made, the cuts in the bread filled with feta, olive oil, garlic, oregano and chilli, then baked to perfection in foil on a flat rock in the centre of the fire. We both drifted off, replete, under the starry sky.
CD Beach with Suzy (30.08.2003)
A quiet day on the beach today. A bat flitted around the cliffs at the start of C beach as we set out; later swallows dipped and dived overhead as the sun began to rise. At the river mouth the egret stalked as usual, taking flight as we approached. A large hawk flew low over the reeds, searching for prey.
ΦDwx12 hatched again today. An informed Australian family found two hatchlings on their backs and shaded them to the sea just minutes before we arrived. As we approached they came over and explained what they'd found. Three of them were visiting a relative who lives in Crete and they were due to fly back today; I think they were delighted to have helped "save some turtles" before returning home. They even donated their beach mats for us to use to make nest shading. I was touched by their kindness and interest in our work.
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
The Lost Nest (29.08.2003)
No morning survey for me today, but I did do some beach work in the evening. Owen and I went to have another go at excavating ΦAop13R. When Owen and Griet had first tried to excavate it three days earlier they couldn't find it. We suspect someone dug up the nest about 5 days after it hatched.
Sadly we couldn't find it either. We dug a hole in excess of 3m in diameter but found not so much as a scrap of eggshell. What happened to the nest will remain a mystery.
After digging we drove up to Kokkinos Pyrgos to do a light survey, which involves measuring the intensity of light on the beach as a result of human activities - for example, tavernas and streetlamps. This stretch is particularly bad, registering the maximum light intensity on our scale all along the new road and up to the end of D beach where a hotel and a few tavernas spill light out onto the shore. This came as no surprise, as the hatchling tracks from nests on this strip show massive disorientation problems.
CD with Owen and Julia (28.08.2003)
Last night was one of the hottest and most humid since I've been here. All surfaces were sticky to touch and my bedding was damp. As we set off for morning survey the smell of wild oregano and other aromatic herbs assaulted our senses, carried by the thick, moisture laden air.
Two nests hatched last night; 1 hatchling from each. Sadly neither made it to the sea. At ΦCmn11 we found one dead, and at the other end of the beach at ΦDwx12 the tracks looped round and round then disappeared amongst human and dog prints.
As we passed the little estuary that separates C and D beaches Owen pointed out the solitary egret that lives here, stalking along in the shallows, almost heron like in its gait.
Julia and I excavated ΦDgh2UM, the unmarked nest Cat found 10 days ago. The egg chamber was slightly to one side of the centre of the cage; intially we dug in every direction except towards the egss (of course). Eventually we found them though - a really successful nest. 70 out of 86 eggs hatched, the remainder all apparently unfertilized, and no dead hatchlings to be found.
Technically today was my day off, but I asked to go on morning survey anyway. As a result Owen and I had the rest of the day off. We dozed for a while then had lunch at Zafiria's, then walked around the cliffs towards Komos. We were treated to spectacular views of the wind and sea sculpted landscape. Slabs of dazzling bleached limestone slope down towards the north, the southerly slab edges pushed up by geological forces and formed into overhanging scoops by the wind. Wild oregano grows abundantly on the clifftops; closer to the sea, hollows in the rock are filled with salt crystals. Fissures in the slabs are widened by the sea to form breathtakingly deep crevasses, the sea surging deep below.
Swallows dived around our heads as we rounded the cliffs and the nesting beaches came into view. We descended to the sea and swam, then sat and soaked up the last hour or so of sun as it sank towards the sea. We climbed back up before it reached the horizon and dined at "Mystical View", a taverna perched on the cliftop. The food was excellent and we were well satiated by the time we strolled back down to Matala in the darkness.
Revelry ensued - tonight was Julia and Amy's leaving celebration, which involved a tour of Matala's loud and tacky bars. I only made it as far as the first, the infamous Tommy's Music Bar, where I drank far too many of the complimentary Raki's before staggering home exhausted.
Monday, September 01, 2003
CD with Cat and Julia (27.08.2003)
As I approached the second nest we had to check today, ΦCmn11, I spotted a hatchling under the nest cage, on its back. It must have emerged from the sand only to fall (or was possibly pushed by one of its siblings) immediately on to its back - a rough break after five days struggling up through 0.5m of sand. I pushed sand up underneath it, flipping it over on to its front. After a slow start it seemed to gain confidence, heading steadily towards the sea.
Julia and I sat by the nest as Cat shaded the hatchling down to the sea. The sun was just below the horizon as it started its journey, illuminating the low lying cloud in progressively paler bands of pink. As we looked towards the sea a kingfisher appeared, hovering above the rockpools, then plummeting into the sea as it spied it next meal. I realised that I've started to take these idyllic moments almost in my stride. Returning home to the city in less than a week is going to be quite a shock to the system.
It wasn't until we reached the end of D beach that we encountered more turtle activity. ΦDvw9 hatched again - seven more to the sea. Not so much luck for the four that hatched from ΦDwx12. Even though the nest is well shaded, the tracks went crazy around the nest; at some point they had made it about half way down to the sea, but then two had gone back up to the nest, only to be eaten by a bird or a dog, and the other two had escaped over the low stone wall we had built between the end of the shading and the sea. One we found dead; the tracks left by the other disappeared before reaching the sea.
The biggest problems the hatchlings have at this end of D beach are primarily down to the new road - the compacted sand and the bright street lamps along the back of the beach.
CD with Chrissie and Amy (26.08.2003)
We were a little late starting this morning; somehow we managed to leave the morning survey bags behind. I waited at Kalamaki while the others returned to fetch them, watching the stars gradually disappear as the midnight blue of the sky slowly began to lighten. Once it was bright enough to see I walked the end of B beach to save Owen and Griet some time, since they have an excavation to do once they've finished the survey.
Chrissie, Amy and I set off round the bottom of the low cliffs that separate B and C beaches. We passed a squadron of a dozen or more dragonflies, zooming around in formation like minature biplanes, yet able to stop, hover or change direction in an instant, unlike our clumsy man made machines.
In sector Cmn I stopped to study some faint tracks; as I looked up I realised I was only 10m away from ΦCmn11 - it must have hatched again. It took us a while to make a reasonable estimate of the number of tracks - the sand is very gravelly here and I'm sure we underestimated. At least 12 made it to the sea; one we found dead half way down, possibly attacked by a bird.
At the other end of the beach ΦDwx12 had hatched again. It had not been shaded on its first hatch 2 days ago, 12 of the 16 that emeged then were disoriented and lost. We normally shade nests on the 43rd day after they have been laid, the minimum incubation period - this nest had hatched on the 42nd night.
This time, though, the shading had done its job and all 6 tracks went to the sea, sometimes bouncing off the low wall of pebbles built from the end of the straw matting shading down to the sea.
After the survey I went for a long, relaxing swim while we waited for our lift home. The sea was dead calm today - first I headed out towards Paxmadia islands (so called because they resemble a huge bathing elephant, its trunk stretched out along the surface of the sea), then floated on my back, motionless, cradled and rocked by the ocean, the sun warming my face as I gazed up into the flawless blue sky.
53 Nests (25.08.2003)
I wasn't on morning survey today, but good news - another new nest on A beach.
Red Beach with Amy (24.08.2003)
All quiet on Red Beach today. Each time I go I secretly hope that this will be the day that we see hatchling tracks streaming out of an unmarked nest, but no such luck.
CD beach with Owen and Cat (23.08.2003)
Sunrise was particularly beautiful on CD today; the first glow of light a bloody orange, illuminating the scarified cliffs on the faces of the distant mountains, normall obscured by haze; then a bright pinkish orange started to creep down the mountain tops, catching far off tin or glass roofs making them sparkle like jewels. The light then shifted slowly through a spectrum, turning yellow as the sun first left the clutches of the horizon, casting the wind sculpted beach into sharp relief, then through to brilliant white as it moved higher in the sky.
As we crossed into the Miltary base we noticed the sea daffodils are starting to come out. In a couple of weeks they will transform the back of C beach, covering it with their delicate scented blooms.
Not much to report in the way of turtle activity. The wind was fierce this morning, at times causing us to hunker down with our backs to the wind to escape the stinging blast of sand. Hatchling tracks left last night would be very difficult if not impossible to see on a day like today.
At ΦDno10 we saw a hatchling head poking out of the sand. Owen brushed a little sand over to cover its head and protect it from the sun. It was very hot last night, perhaps the reason this one hadn't continued up and out into the night.
We spent a long time collecting large rocks and bits of concrete to keep the nest shading at ΦDvw9 in place, the wind ripping vicously at the straw matting we use to shade the nest fro the streetlamps on the new road.
We completed our survey of D beach and headed home for a welcome shower to try and remove the sand glued to our bodies.
ABCD with Owen (22.08.2003)
We set off from camp at 05:45 as usual for MS today and had only gone a couple of yards when we discovered we had a flat tyre. As we tried to remove the wheel, one of the wheel bolts sheared off, leaving us vehicle-less. The only option was to walk to the start of A beach, start the survey from there and walk all four beaches. I volunteered to go with Owen; Julia and Cat promised to explain the situation to Jodie and hopefully arrange pickup for us from the end of D beach at Kokkinos Pyrgos.
We raced up the hill out of Matala trying to beat the rising sun and avoid having to walk so far in its full glare. As we descended towards Komos the tops of the surrounding mountains began to glow pink as the sun, still hidden, crept inexorably towards the horizon.
Not much activity to be found on AB; one nest, ΦAop13R looked as though someone may have dug it up. There was a large depression in the sand and three out of the four corner stones we use to mark the nest had disappeared.
We stopped briefly to grab croissants to eat as we walked and a spinach pie for later; sustenance for a longer than usual walk and a possible hitch home at the end.
As we crossed from the end of B to the start of C beach the wind freshened considerably, whipping the sand up into our faces. Again not much turtle activity to be seen. Predictably we got stopped by the military - they always seem to turn up when there's a long morning ahead.
At the end of D beach we saw the only evidence of turtles on CD today; a couple of hatchling noses poking out of the sand at ΦDvw9. This is quite common - they spend around five days working their way up from the egg chamber, then wait just below the surface for the temperature to drop (indicating nightfall) before they emerge. They may well be on their way tonight.
Our walk this morning made me think back to what it was like in the early days of the Archelon project. Aparently the team at the start was just a handful of dedicated individuals who would do the survey just as we had just done, hitch back to camp and open the information kiosk. Things are much more organised and formalised now, with everyone assigned through a rota to do the various jobs, such as kiosk shifts, slide shows, cooking, maintenance, excavations and of course the morning surveys.
Thankfully Jodie managed to get the car fixed up and picked us up, sparing us a hot hitch home at the end of a long walk.
Relaxin' (21.08.2003)
Very chilled day today - my day off (we get one every 10th day). Slept in, then after breakfast added the picture you see on the right to this website. You can find loads more great turtle pictures in the seaturtle.org image library. Made a chip pan for camp out of chicken wire purchased (with much handwaving and mutual lack of comprehension due to my very poor grasp of greek) from the hardware store in Timbaki.
