14th August - small and big sea turtles and a boat trip to the caves of Keri.
In the morning, suddenly I see a small crowd of people on the beach, near one of the markings that indicate nests of the Caretta caretta sea turtle. Now hurry up for the camea!
Mostly, the sea turtle hatchlings are leaving the nest and the sand during the night and immediately run to the sea. Sometimes, especially when they are disturbed by touristīs noise, they are irritated and do that during the day. The problem is, that they are orienting themselves by the light - usually the moonlight reflected on the waves, but now being the sun - so they donīt find the sea. Additionally, they dry out in the heat.
Still covered a bit by the sand ...
Waiters of the Sea National Park of Zakynthos (most of them being volunteers!) ask the people to make a corridor for the turtles to get to the sea.
Making shadow to protect them against the sunlight and the drying out.
Usually, after about 10 minutes, the waiters give up. They dig a hole into the sand, cool it a bit with water against the heat, ...
... and put the animals, carefully together with sand to avoid touching them ...
... into the holes, and cover them with sand agian. The place is marked for protection and to be able to look afterwards if they got it to the sea. In the morning, the tiny traces of the fins are indicating thet, as well as big fin traces indicate the places where the mothers have made the nests.
Would you carry the hatchlings into the sea, they would drown, because they have not learned to make use of their fins.
In the afternoon we are fetched in the by a bus in Kalamaki to bring us to Agios Sostis near Laganas where we enter a small boat.
View over the large cove in direction ...
... of Kalkamaki and our hotel (to the right behind the rock).
Bizarr rock in the sea near Agios Sostis.
Soon after the start, the Captain discovers a sea turtle. After a short time waiting, it dives up. It is one of those that have got a transponder by the biologists, to spot it wherever it goes.
With these transponders, the biologists have found out, that the turtles which make their nests in Zakynthos, are going around all of the Mediterranean, from the Adriatic sea to North Africa.
We are now sailing around Marathonissi ...
... and an offshore rock ...
... and stop for a while for bathing in near a cove on the island.
Beautiful caves.
We continue our sail to the caves of Keri. From this viewpoint, it is easily discernable why this island has got the name "turtle island" - the contour indeed has the shape of a turtle.
Rock door ...
... at the caves of Keri.
Bizarr beach rocks ...
... and crystal clear turquoise coloured water.
The view goes over the whole cove of Laganas to the Vassilikos peninsula.
We approach the coast ...
... for another anchorage and swim.
We are not alone here.
Another rock door.
Sailing back now.
Marathonissi
On the walk back from the bus stop to the hotel it is chirring extremely loud near our ears, so we stop and look for the author. Ans indeed, Thomas discovers the well camouflaged cicada.
