{"id":3613,"date":"2019-03-17T22:16:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T22:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/?p=3613"},"modified":"2019-03-17T22:16:42","modified_gmt":"2019-03-17T22:16:42","slug":"slow-but-pretty-steady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/?p=3613","title":{"rendered":"Slow But Pretty Steady"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before sunset on a beach near Todos Santos, an\nart-filled town in Baja, Mexico, people gather to release newly-hatched turtles\ninto the Pacific. The program is operated by volunteers and depends on\ncontributions; hatchlings are released December 1 through the end of April. One\nnight Olive Ridgeley hatchlings\u2014the size of a silver dollar with flippers\u2014were\nsent on their way but Black sea turtles and Leatherbacks are also launched from\nthis site. This is a link to the program with a good video: http:\/\/www.todostortugueros.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the top of the beach in a plastic-surrounded enclosure all things sea turtle were explained before we went further inside to see an incubation nest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Digging incubation nest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then the babies were scooped into colorful plastic basins and carried (mostly by kids) down to the ocean. At a signal, the hatchlings were dumped onto the sand a few feet from the incoming tide.  The trip from dumping-off point to ocean took longer than I\u2019d anticipated –about twenty-minutes as some babies stopped, some got flipped over and had to right themselves or get help from a wave– and the flotilla, (the formal name for a group of sea turtles), doesn\u2019t move that fast even with instinct behind them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Hatchling in plastic tub<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, about fifty onlookers produced a lot of\nencouraging yelling, sort of a turtle Derby. As the man next to me said, our\npresence meant that birds weren\u2019t picking off the babies who are also prey for\ncrabs, certain fish, raccoons and feral dogs. Out in the ocean, sea turtles are\na treat for large sharks. It\u2019s estimated that only one hatchling in a thousand\nmakes it to adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As amazing as the release was, I was fascinated to learn that when they mature, guided by magnetic force the females return to the same beach they started from to lay their eggs. (Turtle sex takes place in the water.) Once the eggs are in the nest incubation takes about sixty days although sand temperature influences the length of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Goodbye and good luck!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sunset in Baja was gorgeous but watching the hatchlings\nmove from sand into open water made the evenings I went to watch even more\nmagical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food (and drink) in Todos Santos was terrific.  This recipe isn\u2019t entirely authentic but the\nend result is great\u2014and doesn\u2019t require plane fare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chicken\nQuesadillas <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2-1\/2 cups\nshredded cooked chicken<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\/3 cup salsa\n(bought\u2014not the same but no effort)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/3 cup sliced\ngreen onions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\/4 to 1\nteaspoon ground cumin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/2 teaspoon\nsalt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/2 teaspoon\ndried oregano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 flour\ntortillas (8 inches)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/4 cup butter,\nmelted<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 cups shredded\nMonterey Jack cheese<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sour cream and\nguacamole (bought if you wish)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a large\nskillet, combine the first six ingredients. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat\nfor 10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brush one side\nof tortillas with butter; place buttered side down on a lightly greased baking\nsheet. Spoon 1\/3 cup chicken mixture over half of each tortilla; sprinkle with\n1\/3 cup cheese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fold plain side\nof tortilla over cheese. Bake at 375\u00b0 for 9-11 minutes or until crisp and\ngolden brown. Cut into wedges; serve with sour cream and guacamole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Margarita: use blender into which you put ice,\nMinute Maid lime juice, tequila. Hit the button to crush all together. Ask (or\nYouTube) if you want to know how to salt-rim the glass. Ol\u00e9!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just before sunset on a beach near Todos Santos, an art-filled town in Baja, Mexico, people gather to release newly-hatched turtles into the Pacific. The program is operated by volunteers and depends on contributions; hatchlings are released December 1 through … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[543,542],"class_list":["post-3613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-guacamole","tag-sea-turtle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3613"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3623,"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613\/revisions\/3623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}