{"id":1969,"date":"2009-01-03T11:07:38","date_gmt":"2009-01-03T16:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=1969"},"modified":"2010-11-14T11:17:23","modified_gmt":"2010-11-14T16:17:23","slug":"sea-turtles-nesting-among-mayan-ruins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=1969","title":{"rendered":"Sea Turtles Nesting Among Mayan Ruins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00c2\u00a0<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/l_C3DbHgug8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/l_C3DbHgug8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\">\u00c2\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/uk.youtube.com\/watch?v=l_C3DbHgug8&amp;fmt=18\" target=\"_blank\">Click Here to View Video in High Quality<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><strong><em>Green Sea Turtle Foraging off Caribbean Reef<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\">On Mexico&#8217;s Yucatan Peninsula, south of Cancun and southwest of Cozumel stand the most famous Mayan coastal ruins at <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tulum\" target=\"_blank\">Tulum<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Erected in\u00c2\u00a0the late 12th or early 13th century and occupied until well after the arrival of Europeans, Tulum is a fortified Mayan seaport on the Caribbean Sea.<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/cozumelandmayanriviera_combo2c_tulum.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1975\" title=\"cozumelandmayanriviera_combo2c_tulum\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/cozumelandmayanriviera_combo2c_tulum.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/cozumelandmayanriviera_combo2c_tulum.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/cozumelandmayanriviera_combo2c_tulum-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><strong><em>Mayan Ruins at Tulum from the Sea<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\">Mayans located Tulum at a break in the surrounding reefs, so that a lighted signal from the watch tower could safely guide vessels to its harbor.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-6174531794045772\";\n\/* TJ adds, 336x280, created 11\/14\/10 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"5313686105\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 336;\ngoogle_ad_height = 280;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"www.cancun.com\/Mayan_Ruins\/Tulum\/Map\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1974\" title=\"mapa_tulum_ing\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/mapa_tulum_ing.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"412\" height=\"590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/mapa_tulum_ing.jpg 412w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/mapa_tulum_ing-209x300.jpg 209w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><strong><em>Map of Walled Mayan Seaport ofTulum<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\">First mentioned\u00c2\u00a0by a Spanish expedition in 1518, Tulum was described as a city rivaling Seville.\u00c2\u00a0 One can image how impressive these structures\u00c2\u00a0might appear to European explorers sailing along the Yucatan coast.\u00c2\u00a0 After weeks crossing the Atlantic Ocean&#8217;s stormy grayness, then perhaps spotting a primitive village or two on an isolated island, Spanish sailors would be confronted by\u00c2\u00a0towering stone palaces and temples in the midst of lush, endless nothingness.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Situated on 40 foot rock cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Tulum would\u00c2\u00a0seem to\u00c2\u00a0these sailors\u00c2\u00a0as shocking as our\u00c2\u00a0finding a twin of New York City in the middle of the Amazon jungle.\u00c2\u00a0 The experience would be completely and unbelievably out of context.<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/tulum-pix.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1976\" title=\"tulum-pix\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/tulum-pix.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/tulum-pix.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/tulum-pix-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><strong><em>Tulum Beach<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\">Surely not as impressed as the Spaniards, sea turtles have been using the beaches around Tulum as nesting habitat for tens of millions of years before humans ever thought of occupying the Americas.\u00c2\u00a0 Green and loggerhead sea turtles continue to nest\u00c2\u00a0in the shadow of the Mayans.\u00c2\u00a0 They forage in the reefs along the Yucatan coast, mate in waters off Yucatan beaches\u00c2\u00a0and come ashore from May through October, usually at night, to nest.<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\">How\u00c2\u00a0fleeting are the works of man!\u00c2\u00a0 In\u00c2\u00a0just a few hundred years, humans\u00c2\u00a0flee\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a0buildings crumble,\u00c2\u00a0while sea turtles return millennia after millennia after millennia to the same nesting spot from whence they emerged.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/beckyokrentakumalturtlebig-840.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1978\" title=\"beckyokrentakumalturtlebig-840\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/beckyokrentakumalturtlebig-840.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/beckyokrentakumalturtlebig-840.jpg 840w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/beckyokrentakumalturtlebig-840-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><strong><em>&#8220;Sea Turtle Nesting Area&#8221;\u00c2\u00a0at Tulum<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\">Diamondback terrapin volunteer researcher extraordinaire Becky Okrent, a Lieutenant Island and Manhattan Island resident, recently visited Akumal, Mexico.\u00c2\u00a0 While\u00c2\u00a0in the Yucatan,\u00c2\u00a0she stopped by Tulum and snapped the photograph above of an &#8220;area de desove de a tortuga marina&#8221; (sea turtle nesting area) that she described as &#8220;nestled in between the Mayan ruins.&#8221;\u00c2\u00a0 The last time I visited Tulum in the early 1980s there were no sea turtle exclusion areas.\u00c2\u00a0 It&#8217;s nice to see that\u00c2\u00a0naturalists from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ceakumal.org\/1003.html#\" target=\"_blank\">Centro Ecologico Akumal<\/a> have instituted sea turtle research and conservation measures in the Tulum area.<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/becky-okrent-2-sep-08-001-nest-280-840.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1984\" title=\"becky-okrent-2-sep-08-001-nest-280-840\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/becky-okrent-2-sep-08-001-nest-280-840.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/becky-okrent-2-sep-08-001-nest-280-840.jpg 840w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/becky-okrent-2-sep-08-001-nest-280-840-293x300.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><strong><em>Becky Okrent Excavates Terrapin Hatchlings on Lieutenant Island<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: justify\">Turtle Journal\u00c2\u00a0applauds Becky Okrent for her outstanding work in rescuing diamondback terrapin hatchlings on Lieutenant Island in the late summer and fall, and also for her photographic documentation this winter\u00c2\u00a0of sea turtle nesting\u00c2\u00a0areas amidst the Mayan ruins at Tulum.\u00c2\u00a0 It&#8217;s tough work spending summers on Lieutenant Island and winters on the Mayan Riviera, but someone has to do it.\u00c2\u00a0 Hats off to Becky!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Click Here to View Video in High Quality Green Sea Turtle Foraging off Caribbean Reef On Mexico&#8217;s Yucatan Peninsula, south of Cancun and southwest of Cozumel stand the most famous Mayan coastal ruins at Tulum.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Erected in\u00c2\u00a0the late 12th or early 13th century and occupied until well after the arrival of Europeans, Tulum is a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1969"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8012,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969\/revisions\/8012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}