Scratch, rasp, scratch, swoosh…
The sound rises above the symphony of crashing waves and the chorus of insects.
What is that?
Scratch, rasp, scratch, swoosh…
There it is again. I climb out of my tent into the moonless night, heart hammering. I switch on my headlamp, searching the darkness for the source. It gets louder and then suddenly there’s movement down on the beach: Something dark is digging among the rocks…
That’s when I realise: The sound is sand – being flicked onto dry leaves. My heart beats faster and I take a few steps closer.
The female Atlantic green turtle is almost as big as a double bed, and she’s working meticulously to dig a nest where she’ll deposit 80 – 100 eggs on the same stretch of beach where she was born many years ago.
It baffles the mind: How does she know where to return to, or how to safeguard her eggs from predators by digging two false holes and then a third, true hole? Scientists can only guess. But she and her kin come to these beaches in scores: Atlantic green, hawksbill, leatherback and olive ridley turtles, year after year during the dry season between September and April.
As I stand there on that dark beach, watching one of nature’s miracles at work, I realise that this is why I’ve made the trek to Bioko Island. I wanted to experience an unspoiled slice of wild West Africa, and hopefully ride a decent wedge break in the process…
Bridging the gulf
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