I am actually quite an emotional person and today we filmed a feature that pushed me quite far...
We did have the morning free which meant a small lie-in, a swim and a tidy-up around the suite.
After lunch we filmed a short feature on tequila with resident sommelier Raymundo Vazquez. There are 150 types of tequila on offer ... I LOVE whisky and that will never change ... even after tasting premium tequila, I am not sure I can ever erase those memories of slamming cheap shots at University ... ah - some of the best days of my life ...
Until just a few years ago, turtles were on the verge of extinction in these waters due to hunting. Now hunting is banned and there is a proper release programme.
This eveniing we drove down to Neuvo Vallarta - just 25 minutes from the resort but still in Nayarit. I met with local vet Antonio Razo Perez and around 300 baby Olive Ridley turtles. Adult turtles stumble onto the shores and lay their eggs between January to September. These eggs take 45 days to hatch and the vet teams take the eggs and protect them from predators (racoons, birds etc) and then when they are born, release them into the wild - the SAME day they hatch.
Today around 300 were born and I got to physically release them into the sea. Of the 500,000 released from Neuvo every year, only 2% of the hatchlings will survive to adulthood.
Every one of the little ones I released today took a small chunk of my heart with them & all my hopes and prayers ... ALL my 300 babies will make it to adulthood, I just feel it ...
raymundo
babies
antonio and a basket of babies
sweet turtle ... heading into the big sea, all alone ...
