In Cancun it is possible to see female turtles going ashore to lay their eggs throughout May to October. Today all species of turtles are threatened or on the endangered species list. Several organizations, located in Isla Mujeres, and Riviera Maya, are trying to protect the Green Sea Turtles and Loggerhead Sea Turtle; which are commonly found in the region. When I went there for my senior trip, I was able to see the precautions the hotels were taking to help the turtles. During the nights, the hotels tended to dim the lights on the beach—or turned them off entirely—so that they wouldn’t disturb the turtles. Hotel staff were sent to walk along the beaches, so that if they encountered a turtles nesting they could fence off the area, or even move the turtle eggs further from the shore. I asked one of these employees why the mother turtles were laying their eggs so close to the sea. He told me that it was because the sand further up along the beach tended to be too compacted for the turtles to dig into, since people were constantly walking along the beach. It was an amazing experience to actually see one of these huge loggerhead mothers make her way onto the beach and watch an event that has been occurring for millions of years.
