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Paradise Found
Or lost, or lost and found. I don't care, its the most beautiful place I've ever been.Terimakasih Borneo! You were such a great introduction to Southern Asia for me.
Over the years, I had heard so much about Malaysia, many travelers raved about its beaches and friendly people. But that never quite sparked my radar. And then a few planes fell out of the sky, and I was like, meh.
So it was only after I read an article about rehabilitated orangutans at a sanctuary in Sepilok that I really wanted to visit.
I did my standard Googling to see exactly where the hell Borneo was, I practiced how to say good morning, hello, thank you and goodbye in Malay, and most importantly, I watched comedian Bill Bailey do a UK travel program on proboscis monkeys and laughed myself silly for a rather long time. With that, I frantically dusted off my backpack and booked the first available flight.
I spent most of my time in Sabah, the Northern region, but one of the best parts of this trip (and there are too many to list) was visiting a turtle sanctuary at a protected marine park off the coast of the city of Sandakan. Located on one of three islands called Pulau Selingaan,
Cozy Cottages
Our digs for the week. Very basic but comfy it is only accessible by speed boat.
After forty-five minutes on boiling seas, you are dropped off on one of the most pristine beaches I have ever seen. The urge to just fling off all my clothing and wade out into the ocean and melt into the turquoise horizon, overwhelming.
In exchange for our stay in paradise, guests are expected to help out with turtle hatchery duties.
Sounds like a pretty descent gig, eh?
With no one around, we were told we can spend our days snorkeling, swimming, and sunbathing, however, it was suggested that we grab a nap in a hammock at some point because we would be up all night.
Done and done!
Our chalets were tidy and simple, with rattling air conditioner, a shower with a trickle of stagnant water, and buffet food in the dining hall that was nothing to write home about. I didn’t care, I was still about to go all "Blue Lagoon" upon this place.
Little cobble paths lead you to postcard vistas at every turn, while hermit crabs and lizards skittle underfoot. The coconut palms sway gently giving an illusion there would be a breezy
The Office
Chilling at the office as we wait for our night gig. reprieve from the sweltering midday heat. There wasn't.
We had an armed escort on the boat, and heavily armed policemen are present at lookout stations all over our island.
At first, I thought they were here for turtle protection, but after having Googled and finding out about a recent kidnapping of ten Indonesian fishermen, I'm realizing how extremely close to the south Philippines we are, which puts us at severe risk of being kidnapped by the Islamic militants Abu Sayyaf. Gulp.
I wasn’t really concerned for myself though, fat people are hard to kidnap. So after settling in, I donned my swimmers and snorkel and literally did a Jesus pose into the sea.
I've never swam in a giant vat of urine before, but I'm guessing this is what it would feel like if you did. WHY is the ocean so hot!!!!
Nevertheless. I dove out onto the corals of florescent purples, blues, greens, and oranges. Fish of every description floated up to investigate me, some with gigantic eyeballs, so we would have a stare down.
Amused for hours by the blue lobsters hidden in crevasses was I, and the gigantic rainbow clams
Back to the Sea
It seems to take so much for them to pull themselves across the sand and into the sea, but they make it. that would slam shut if you approached. There were sea slugs, urchins, conches, and Nemos guarding their anemones in every square inch of that bathtub.
I just floated in the shallows all afternoon while my skin pruned to level 'Sharpei.’
Yes, putting myself in imminent kidnap danger was not really part of my original travel plans, but what can you do. I'm already here.
The militant group had ramped up their threats, including asking for a ridiculous sum of money for their two Canadian hostages they plucked off a beach nearby.
I had time to reflect and walk around the island several times (not a feat, its small) and think about life and how fragile it can be. Two very vibrant women in my life have recently succumbed to cancer, and I too had a cancer scare in January. I felt like I needed to marinate in everything life offers. Hands down. No regrets. No do-overs. I already know how lucky I am to be on this planet, and I plan to explore every inch of it if I can. Threat of kidnapping or not.
As dusk approached, we all elect to go down to
Police Escort
We didn't realize how serious the situation was, but we needed a police guard for our stay on the islands. the shore and sit side by side on the beach to drink cold beers and excitably watch as the crimson sun falls into the sea. I play with the sand, a mixture of pulverized coral and tiny shells, it sieves through my fingers and feels beautiful. Little knats buzz around my head but do nothing. I have to admit, I am really enjoying the company of these particular Aussies, so sharing this particular moment with them was golden.
Now for the wait. All lights on the island have been turned off, so the shy female turtles will come ashore. It’s after midnight and we talk in hushed whispers, no one is sure what to expect, or if any will actually come. But they do.
Turtles! Turtles! Turtles! The rangers are yelling at us. We all jump up, but in the dark, you can’t tell which direction to run. My legs have fallen asleep, and it quickly becomes a Benny Hill skit as everyone is running in different directions and slamming into each other, some fall, some trip over an actual turtle, some accidently shine their torch into someone else’s face, temporarily blinding them.
Hundreds of turtles ascend
Coral and Shells
The beaches were pulverized down to lovely sand the island. I cannot believe how big they are.
The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is the largest on earth, with a circumference of a small minivan. They, and the smaller hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) lay their eggs here year-round.
The green turtle can live for a century and grow to 160 kg. They are endangered due to their eggs, which are considered a delicacy. The females come ashore to dig trenches in the sand and lay between 80 to165 eggs. The Hawksbill turtle around 100 to180 eggs per clutch. Approximately 600,000 eggs are collected each year on this island alone. Afterwards both turtles return to the sea.
All the confusion turns to seriousness as we start finding turtles that have hauled their huge bodies up onto the beach and are flinging sand around.
The Rangers handle the technical stuff, identifying the turtle mothers by their flipper tags and making notes on her current condition. Any new turtles are tagged and new stat sheets are created, the turtle is measured and poked and probed. Luckily, she is in a trance and has no idea what is happening around her.
We turtle rookies are in charge of
The View
The view from my cottage, looking out on the sea plucking up the eggs as she lays them, verifying a count between two volunteers, and gently placing each egg in a bucket, and that’s about it, we can’t be trusted to do anymore than that. In the excitement, I admit I lost count a few times and may have written down a bogus number, so they do have a point.
Each bucket of eggs is marked with an identification number and is walked up to the centre of the island where hatcheries have been marked out behind chain link fencing. A hole is dug and the eggs are delicately placed underground to incubate for the 50 to 60 days.
This helps protect them from natural predators such as lizards & rodents. The temperature of the nest actually determines what gender the baby turtles will be, so each bucket of potential girls is placed in the blazing sun, while the boys, under the shade of an old teak tree.
I’ve been involved in turtle conservation projects before and know one of the things scientists have discovered is that a turtle’s GPS is so fine-tuned it will actually crawl through jungle to pinpoint its exact hatching site. This is
Green Turtle Chaos
Hundreds of gigantic turtles drag themselves up onto the beach each night to lay eggs in the sands. a problem because the hatching sites are often located far from a beach. These findings are further proven true when we come across lost turtles bush-whacking through the jungle somewhere near the middle of the island. This unnecessary excursion is so exhausting for the turtle that some will actually die, so we are called upon to carry them back to a suitable beach site to hopefully lay their eggs.
No one tells you that turtles are brutally strong and their flailing flippers bruise us from head to toe as we try to help them. No one gets left behind.
As dawn finally creeps in, we all sit on the beach exhausted, like we've just been in a turtle war. We watch as the last of the females drag themselves back towards the ocean.
Where they go, no one really knows. I think this is what makes turtles so magical. They make a yearly appearance and then slip away seamlessly.
Best vacation ever. **(Sadly after I wrote this, one of the Canadians kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf was beheaded when their demands for his $8 million ransom were not carried out by our government. Sincere condolences to
Sunset on Turtle Island
The most beautiful day punctuated by the most beautiful sunset his family, RIP John Ridsdel. The fate of the other Canadian unknown at this time but it feels grim, the 10 Indonesian fishermen were released unharmed, and a couple from the USA had family pay their ransom, and they were released)
***(several weeks later the second Canadian was killed after his ransom was not paid by the Canadian government. RIP Robert Hall)
Update: a top Militant of Abu Sayyaf was captured in August 2020 and charged with countless kidnappings and killings, including the two Canadians.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Magnificent
I love every trip you go on and often wonder why I haven't done that. What a fabulous way to spend your life. Have you written other blogs on turtle conservation projects. I'll have to look back. Re-evaluation is good sorry to hear about the outcome for John Ridsdel. How long were you there?