Vero Beach - The Sight – Sunrise, Turtles, Waves

 

Yes, it would have been wonderful to see turtles here, and I did get some great tips on how and when to see them; the full moon is the best time and, of course, at night, but locals told me that you can see hatchings at other times of the month and even in the early hours of the dawn.  I did get to see several nests along the beach.  These are marked out with red posts to prevent anyone disturbing them, and it was only when I saw the first one, right by the boardwalk that I saw half a dozen on my walk back to the hotel, I hadn't noticed them as I didn't expect turtles to nest so close to the busy areas of the beach.  (I also stopped into Gumbo Limbo on the way so had already seen some turtles.)

 

On my second morning I got up at 5am and headed down to turtle watch in my long sleeved shirt and trousers (lots of no-see-ums on the beach at this time of day) and felt absolutely suffocated until I finally took them off and took a dip in the sea.  I really got quite bored and there was no sniff of a turtle hatching, but I just felt it was something I had to do.

 

By the time the sun started to rise I was yawning and ready to go back to sleep, but the elements did make it worth my while with an impressive sunrise display over the ocean.

 

If you don't get to see either of these here another thing to watch out for are the beautiful barrel waves made here as the sea crashes over the underwater sea wall.  However, don't get too excited, these are not for surfing and when I did venture out a little too far the sea literally picked me up, dumped me and I was counting the scratches and picking out the shells from my bikini (and hair) for hours afterwards.  Wetsuit recommended.