The technicians explain that the hatchlings are genetically programmed to get a huge burst of energy shortly after birth so they can make their way across the sand and out to sea. Only the females return to shore, and only long enough to dig a nest, lay eggs, then use their massive bodies to pack the sand over the nests.
Hancock offers me a canoe ride in the estuary that flows into the ocean next to the hatching station and hands me an eight-page list of the species of birds that live in it. We paddle past a sandbar where fishermen cast lines and dive for oysters. Hancock points out the spot where you can pull up your boat and walk about five minutes to one of the fish restaurants in the tiny village of Platanitos.
On Playa Las Tortugas, visitors help rescue baby turtles on the beach, then release them.
(Renee Renfrow)
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Locals are considering using motorboats to take tourists along this estuary, which is even more beautiful, and by far, than the shores of La Tovara River. Hancock is trying to convince them that they can make just as much money renting canoes or kayaks, or using small boats with electric motors for group tours. He commissioned a five-person boat to give to the locals, in hopes of showing them that ecological trips will not only preserve the estuary but also pay off financially.
Before heading out I head to the ocean. I've been in search of the perfect beach since I first saw the ocean, decades ago. Now, I've found it.
Not only is it wide and clean and white, the vistas around it gorgeous, but the bottom slopes gently, allowing you to walk out far enough to choose between two rows of breakers. The first row is gentle, the second, exciting.
I swim with two villa guests, repeatedly announcing that I'm running out of time and have to leave, but then staying, catching one more set of waves, then another, then just one more. As I finally and reluctantly haul myself out of the water, I think that I can't imagine anyone not loving this place.
Granted, my Santa wasn't in the exact spot I expected to find him. But to repeat the experience of even this one day, I would travel any distance, fly over any ocean and drive any dirt road in the world.
Details: Santa Cruz, Mexico
GETTING THERE: Numerous U.S. carriers, including United, American and Continental, offer service from Washington to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, connecting at various hubs. Round-trip airfare begins at about $524.
GETTING AROUND: Santa Cruz is about 85 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. Allow at least two or more hours to drive, preferably during daylight. Roads are well signed. Reserve a car before leaving home, since rates rise dramatically if you book in Mexico. Last week, for example, Hertz was offering standard economy cars for $25 a day, National for $16. For the budget traveler with patience, cheap public buses operate along the coast.
WHERE TO STAY: Find peace and luxury at Playa Las Tortugas (Las Palmeras 13, Playa Las Tortugas, Otates, 800-320-7769, www.playalastortugas.com). Spacious two-bedroom villas with tiled floors and brightly colored stucco walls overlook a stellar ocean beach, and begin at $195 a night. Budget travelers will find clean, pleasant rooms overlooking the ocean and a somewhat rocky beach at Hotel Casa Manana (011-52-323- 254-9080, Playa Los Cocos, Santa Cruz, www.casa-manana.com). Doubles with an ocean view begin at about $40, which I recommend over the $29 rooms with no view. A lovely old-style Mexican hotel in San Blas, the Hotel Garza Carnela (Paredes 106 Sur, 011-52-323- 2850-112, www.garzacanela.com) has nice grounds and a first-rate restaurant, but is a short walk to a rather ordinary beach. Doubles begin at about $107.
WHEN TO GO: The area is blessed with year-round good weather. Turtles nest March through December, at which point the whales begin their migration past the coast.
WHERE TO EAT: I recommend the charming restaurant at the Hotel Garza Carnela (see above). Seafood, chicken and steak entrees begin at about $12. Hotel Casa Manana (see above) has an attractive outdoor restaurant overlooking the water; entrees begin at about $10. Or have lunch and spend the day at the upscale Club De Playa Etc. (along the main road between San Blas and Santa Cruz) on Matanchen Beach. Dine outdoors on seafood entrees (from under $10), which entitles you to use the pool and beach chairs along a wide, empty beach.
Locals operate numerous open-air restaurants along the beaches lining the main road, and you can get a sense of their varied standards with a glance. Try Ruiz, in the tiny village of Platanitos, along the beach road just south of Santa Cruz. Fresh fish cooked over a wood fire begins at under $10.
INFO: Mexico Tourism Board, 800-44-MEXICO, www.visitmexico.com.
-- Cindy Loose
