The reason for my long stay at Cape Three Points were sea turtles. During this time of year, from september to march, they come to the beaches of Ghana to lay their eggs. The lodge has a small nursery where eggs are brought to and the small turtles can hatch without disturbance or danger from predators, including humans. At 6 o'clock on the first morning of my stay I got thrown out of bed to come and see the baby turtles. There were many of them, around 70, and we brought them in a bucket full of sea water to the beach. They found their way to the water easily and were incredibly fast. It was such an amazing feeling to witness how these small creatures started their journey into life.

As a volunteer my task was to patrol the beach at night to make sure that the eggs were brought to the nursery and not taken by villagers. The lodge has an agreement with the village to ensure that at least the part of the beach in front of the lodge is tabu for the villagers for hunting for turtles and their eggs. People from the village even get paid for turtle eggs that they deliver to the nursery.
Patroling by night was scary at the beginning. But other than crabs, and a lot of them!, there was nothing to be encountered. I walked up and down along the beach with my flashlight and it took one week for me to actually see a turtle.
They can hardly be missed. They leave big tracks, reminding me of a tractor. Especially when the turtles are back in the sea, for then there are two tracks next to each other,  just like two big tyre tracks.

Again, being in direct contact with the wonders of nature was incredible. The turtle had already laid her eggs when I found her and was just evening out the spot before she left and vanished back into the sea. I called the security guard from the lodge so he could help me locate the eggs and bring them to the nursery.

She laid 115 eggs. They are round and as big as a table tennis ball. The shell is very soft and dents when you touch it.
In the following night I again saw a turtle. She had crossed the sand and was in the small river, trying to get back up. I stayed with her for over an hour, watching as she walked up and down the shore,  swam in the river,  digged a hole but did not lay her eggs because it was full of water since it was too close to the river. After some time I decided to check the other side of the beach. It didn't look like she was planning on leaving soon and it would be easy to find her again. After only 5 or 10 minutes I was on the way back and saw flashlights where I had left the turtle. I ran the last part, unsure of whom I would meet. There were two people from the village with cutlass and torches. They yanked the turtle up out of the river and dragged her behind them. I yelled at them to leave her alone but they just said something about money. I called the guard and told him what was happening, that he should hurry. The men lifted her up and put her backwards on one of their heads. The turtle made piteous noises and I felt so helpless. She aswell couldn't do anything to defend herself. During the process of lifting her up the cutlass was lying on the ground and I actually thought about picking it up. But what would I have done then? And what would the men have done? They looked very aggressive and determined. When I followed them and screamed at them the one without the turtle turned back and told me to leave and the look on his face really scared me. I couldn't do anything. When the guard arrived they were gone and I was crying out of frustration and for the turtle. She would end up as dinner for someone the next day. I felt like I had failed. They had taken her under my guard. If I only hadn't left... maybe, but maybe not. After all they were two, and I only an obroni.
Only minutes after this a second turtle emerged from the sea. I was determined not to leave her side. She walked up the beach, digged a hole and layed her eggs. I accompanied her the whole time and saw her back to the sea. It was interesting to see how the turtles dig the holes. They use their back fins but it looks exhausting and also takes quite some time. The depth of the hole is about an arm's length.
When I told the boss of the lodge the next day about what had happened he was furious. He said he would have to talk to the chief of the village again to renew the agreement.
During the rest of my stay I did not see any turtles anymore. Also no tracks. But the quiet of the night walks and the view of the stars, the moon and the lighthouse were beautiful. Still, the experience with the villagers took much of the peaceful feeling away. The paradise-like beach was overshadowed in my mind. It opened my eyes again. The people here use everything that nature provides them with and that includes the turtles. They don’t see the bigger picture of endangered species and the importance of their conservation. Unknown cascading effects may well affect the people in this village. People from the lodge reported that already less fish is in the area and that this is a cause of fewer sea turtles. I don’t know how knowledgeable this is, but I do know that we don’t know enough about the interlinkages of nature. Each species that is lost to extinction has effects on other species or processes that we don’t grasp. The villagers only see the immediate effect of a turtle or turtle eggs on their income. I can understand that, it's a completely different situation. But still.