Discovering the World Sans Valise: Isla de Los Brasiles, a paradise on the Pacific ocean

We drove from Leon to Poneloya (20 minute ride) and took a boat to reach the island Los Brasiles. Our surprise was to be welcomed by a man on a horse carriage, sent by the guest house to carry our luggage. The luggage went in the carriage and we walked behind the carriage with several other travelers.

Poneloya, where we got on the boat

The "Surfing Turtles" lodge - a simple paradise in a authentic and prestine setting - the kind that is very hard to find nowadays. We felt grateful to have found it.

Turtles come back each year to lay their 80-120 eggs on the beach. They hide them in the sand. The mothers leave shortly after and do not come back to care for the eggs or the newly hatched baby turtles. The eggs hatch within 45 days. The baby turtles climb out of the hole and crawl to the ocean.

Since turtle eggs are a delicacy here, eggs are taken from their nest by locals who sold them to restaurants. As a conservation effort the lodge started a hatchery, buying eggs from locals who find them at night by following traces from mother turtles on the beach. This hatching effort gives an increased chance for the baby turtles to make it into the ocean.