Turtle-hatching season in Aruba has officially begun, and guests are invited to witness this amazing experience at several places around the island.
Among the top spots where volunteers from TurtugAruba, the island's save the sea turtles organization, monitor and protect turtle nests is Eagle Beach, the widest beach on Aruba, famous for its soft, pristine white sands.
Guests at the Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort on Eagle Beach have a front row seat as leatherback hatchlings make their passage into the sea for the first time. Guests can monitor a live countdown to the arrival of the next set of hatchlings on Eagle Beach.
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Other turtle-watching spots include Boca Grandi, named after the wide, half-circle shape of the beach on the southeast coast popular with wind surfers, and Dos Playas, a main nesting spot for leatherback sea turtles.
Sea turtles were the first visitors to Aruba, long before paying guests. Four species of turtles nest in Aruba: the leatherback, loggerhead, green and hawksbill; approximately 80 eggs per nest are hatched from Aruban leatherback sea turtles each year. Incubation takes between 60 and 80 days.
Sea turtles return to the very beach where they were born in order to nest, using the Earth's magnetic field to guide them on their long journeys at sea. Sea turtles do not nest every year but do so every two to five years. Only one in every 1,000 hatchlings survives to maturity, and all species of sea turtles are endangered and need protection.
Sea turtles need dark beaches for nesting and for navigating their way to the ocean. Light can deter females from coming ashore to nest as well as lead newly born hatchlings away from the water and toward danger.
Guests are told to turn off their smartphone lights to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for turtles, according to TurtugAruba.
Correction: An earlier version of this article showed a land turtle, rather than a sea turtle.