Turtles and the return of Gen

Gen relaxing at a 5 star hotel

 Enough of weddings now and back to life in Borneo which I believe is what the blog is supposed to be about... or is about me?  I'm not sure about that question. Anyway Gen is with me starting the round of second visits from my dear children. She arrived on Tuesday after a great week in Sri Lanka and is now with me until next Thursday when she departs to Bali to spend her final 5 days before returning to Scotland. Fortunately with the Hari Raya holidays we were able to have a lovely day out in a boat island hopping around the beautiful islands in KK. The rest of the week has been "settling"in new mentors into my zone which is not exactly arduous but does involve driving and  socialising with lots of mentors. On Friday afternoon we found ourselves back at the Tip of Borneo and had a very exciting evening. About 6 pm someone came into Howard's to tell everyone that the turtle eggs had hatched.

 We all raced down to the beach and there in two buckets were about a hundred tiny little turtles all squirming around frantically trying to get started on their voyage. This is apparently the huge adrenalin rush that gives them the start in life that they need for their journey to the sea and onwards and it only lasts for 24 hours so is crucial that it is used. The send off was to be at 8 pm so we all went back and waited and by the time the designated time had arrived our numbers had increased and we were quite a crowd. Fran, who you may remember from the beach clean blog, is the dynamo behind the turtle conservation and has several beach areas that turtle "hatcheries are placed.

 She of course was in charge and we were all told in no uncertain terms to not have our flashes on whilst the brave little hawksbill turtles made their way to the sea. A man stood in the sea with his torch and we made a long avenue of people to allow them to make their way. It didn't take long before they were all on their way but it was very intense few minutes with everyone willing and wishing them luck. Some got there quicker than others; a few got tangled up in our feet but we all just waited for the tide to take them away and no one disobeyed Fran with their cameras so we all just have a very " David Attenborough" moment imprinted in our memories but no record.

The villagers of Bangkau-Bangkau

   On the way back to Tuaran we stopped off in Pitas and we visited a friend I made in 2011 when I first arrived. She and her family had been living in Lahad Datu for years but had finally moved back to her little village of Bangkau-Bangkau recently where all her family live. It was a lovely reunion and Rosniah hadn't changed at all but of course her children had. They were in the middle of a community project of building a hall so we were welcomed to a kampong makan and of course disrupted all the work until we left again.The people of Sabah never cease to amaze me as to how welcoming they are to strangers.

Sunset at Tuaran beach