Hawksbills in the Mangroves

Nobody told the hawksbills that they don't nest in mangroves! Hawksbills are endangered so when people scoured the world for more populations, they were surprised to find this one nesting in an unexpected place. Thick mangrove forests stretch around Padre Ramos Estuary giving the turtles ample places to nest.

This trip was my second to volunteer with turtles. My first was with leatherbacks in Costa Rica. Most of the Costa Rica work was at night, wheras the hawksbills were seen at various times of day. The most fun was releasing hatchling turtles at night.

Also, the political and military problems one associates with Nicaragua were from decades ago. We travelled all over the north western corner of the country and met only friendly folks.
I recommend this trip.