The day the turtles brought us joy

Ever since I was a little girl, live turtles have always fascinated me. The mere sight of any turtle would cause me an insane kind of happiness.

During my elementary years, I grew up playing with these cute and gentle reptiles (awed by their tough decorated shells mysteriously housing their meaty soft agile bodies) swimming around in my Lolo Pat’s fishpond. When I was 11, I enjoyed a family sojourn in the Hawaiian islands, carrying around a little turtle named Trixie. She became my constant companion the whole summer after I found her in downtown Honolulu. I even bathed her and fed her and took her with me everywhere as she was safely lying in the deep pocket of my flowing mumu.

In high school, I used my allowance to purchase Freddie and Frieda, a mischievous pair of Taiwanese green turtles from BIO Research at the Quad Mall. I housed them in a glass bowl on top of my study desk to my elder sister Jaqui’s horror. One morning, Ate Jaqui was screaming her head off because Freddie and Freida escaped. When she put her school shoes on, they were there staring unashamedly at her. Ate Jaqui simply couldn’t banish me from the girly pink bedroom we shared joyfully together for years, so the poor turtles had to go.

When I married in my mid-twenties and eventually had a son, I was more thrilled to go to the zoo with him in any part of the world where I could spend the most time viewing exotic turtles. And back in the Philippines, I would always be delighted whenever pawikans or sea turtles would be sighted anywhere in the country. Particularly thrilled was I when I heard about Ayala’s premier resort development Anvaya Cove in Bataan being a turtle sanctuary. That is just a drive away by car and not by plane.

The author Michelle Soliven and her sister Jaqui Boncan ready to release a baby turtle to the wild.

But I had yet to see them newly hatched for myself in the wild. I was still pining for that day. On my 50th birthday, one of the precious gifts I received from my husband and son were Vicenta, Vicente and Vicenting — three medium-sized native land turtles from Quezon province. These three turtles keep us company every day during breakfast, lunch and dinner as they are happily living in a little pocket garden right beside our dining room. Incidentally, they eat the same food we eat like fresh fruits, vegetables and steamed rice. Last year, I was so inspired by a star Indian turtle that one of our hit statement ring collections in our jewelry store was a turtle shell shaped cocktail ring studded with fancy cut diamonds.

Last year, my brother Mark and cousin Alex Dayrit made a bid to manage All Hands Beach in Subic Bay. They said that it wouldn’t be difficult to manage the resort since it was small, safe, so accessible and most affordable. Moreover, cousin Alex, a passionate restaurateur, was so excited to serve the best Kapampangan food in this resort.

One night, my brother got a call from cousin Alex who was ecstatic to tell Mark that while he was peacefully sitting on the beach in Subic, he saw a pawikan the size of a dining table. He watched mesmerized as the turtle walked on the pavement and around the open air shower stall until it settled on a soft sandy patch, entrenched herself deeper into the sand and began to lay some pingpong-like eggs. He thought he was dreaming but it was for real, like a scene straight out of National Geographic. Then the huge mama turtle retraced its steps, found its way back to the beach and gracefully swam into the ocean.

The story didn’t end there. Within the months of January and February, six more nests were discovered in All Hands Beach.

This thrilled my brother no end. He immediately had the nests protected and reported to the environmental sector. Based on his research, the eggs would be ready to hatch in about 60 days. The feverish countdown began. I was the most excited girl in the world, feeling like an expectant mama myself waiting for that day to finally meet her babies. I bugged my brother no end. Till one day I got the call! The eggs had started to hatch and the staff members of the beach were so excited by the sight of baby pawikans walking on the beach and swimming into the ocean. It was the moment I had been waiting for all these years.

I dropped everything and quickly jumped into the car rushing everyone on my way to get to Subic with my siblings. Nothing could stop me from seeing these beloved creatures in their natural habitat. I just had to witness it for myself.

Mark welcomed us with a big smile when we arrived at the beach resort. I thanked God profusely for this gift as I kicked off my hot pink heels and ran barefoot on the sand with my sisters Christine and Jaqui following closely behind. We spotted my brother-in-law Boom Boncan, a passionate and professional photographer. He beat us to it and was gleefully snapping away at the little ones. And then I saw them — the cutest, most lovable sight on earth for me. Little black baby sea turtles, God’s wondrous creatures, their little fins pushing their weight into the water.

My brother counted 114 of them. We were joined in by good-looking teenagers from Faith Academy and their friendly teachers for the ceremonial send-off. It was a moment for all, a sight I will never forget. The sun was a fiery orange ball of glory over the pristine waters as the newborn hatchlings gingerly made their way with baby turtle steps onto the sand and, with a sudden burst of energy, swam into the Pacific Ocean, their vast and endless home. I bade them goodbye with a fervent prayer that they all survive.

After the send-off, we enjoyed dining on the beach sitting at the very table cousin Alex sat on when he first spotted the first pawikan. Nothing is coincidence, my siblings and I knowingly agreed as we watched our only brother triumphantly walking on the beach, to check on the next pawikan nests. He proves to us that he’s God’s proud steward of a precious turtle sanctuary.

(Love to hear from you at miladayjewels@yahoo.com.)