Lang Tengah Turtle Watch – Swimming with a Hawksbill Turtle – Day 3

I beat my fear of heights today. The volunteers and I at the Lang Tengah Turtle Watch Project went from Turtle Bay to Batu Kutching, a part of the island which is ten, maybe less, minutes away by foot from camp. The urge to make a new experience and the egging on of fellow volunteers finally gave me the confidence to jump into the water from what I think was a three or three-and-a-half-meter height. I had to jump out far because of the rocks directly below me, and the adrenaline rush ended up wearing me out by the time we had dinner.

The beautiful hawksbill turtle, Helan.

A minute after I jumped into the water and put on my flippers and mask, the camp leader, KL, yelled to come over. Directly below us was the most beautiful hawksbill turtle with a serrated shell and a stunning mix of different browns, yellows and greens. This one was known to camp as Helan; he apparently always swims in Batu Kutching. Those who knew how to free dive swam directly next to Helan and he didn’t seem to mind. I watched from the surface because I don’t know how to depressurize without getting a headache.

Coral in Batu Kutching, Lang Tengah.

I stuck with Helan after everyone moved on to look at coral and saw him rise up to the surface for oxygen, his little head sticking out of the water. I’m hoping I see more turtles on snorkeling trips!

Sliced hawksbill egg.

We did another nest check today for a hawksbill turtle nest, too. A ghost crab managed to dig a hole into the egg chamber and slice an egg open. Luckily the turtle inside was still alive, it was moving around in the egg. KL allowed for me to hold the egg and I felt there being movement inside. We are approaching a hatching of baby hawksbill turtles!

Panorama of Turtle Bay, Lang Tengah.

There was a lot of lounging around afterwards. We went snorkeling earlier than usual, and because we snorkel once a day most of us had bucket showers after returning to camp knowing we wouldn’t swim until tomorrow. Since dry season has hit us, too, there is a ration on bucket showers where the limit is one bucket per person instead of two. Rain hasn’t been filling the camp’s well and the priority is drinking water, not longer showers.

I had to rotate this image for formatting reasons. This is the vegetarian chilli with naan bread and rice.

Tonight was particularly lovely. Janell, one of two American herpetologists volunteering with us, made a vegetarian chilli with naan bread and rice.

Sebastien, another camp leader, and KL pulled out a projector and hung a white sheet over the kitchen’s entrance. All of us watched Racing Extinction (2015), a powerful documentary which left me speechless. If you’re looking to watch something that really makes you want to save the world, this is for you.

Watching "Racing Extinction" (2015).

I enjoyed my short Turtle Bay patrol and spent as much time as I could catching up on sleep. Because every night involves all of us waking up to go patrol the island at different hours, I wake up three or four times just from hearing other peoples’ alarms going off. So on nights where I only have to patrol Turtle Bay I can expect to be fully rested in the morning! Just before I fell asleep I read more of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. What a great day today was!

Thank you, Steemit, for reading my third entry about my time here on Lang Tengah! I’m hoping all of you are enjoying the content and pictures!