Last day...

Another early rise and down to the beach. We were leaving at 10AM, so I decided to blow off a few hours in the dark looking for more sunrise pics. As I was firing off pics I saw a flash light heading my way. Assuming it was security and wondering how, or even why, I would have to explain my presence in the dark with a tripod and camera, I awaited his arrival. As he moved down the beach he seemed to be scanning the beach chairs; I thought maybe looking for folks whose rooms were a little too full for extracurricular activities...

He came close enough to see me, didn't shine the light on me, and paid me no attention. What he did do was shine his light on the ground which revealed piles of sand on a normally smooth beach. He poked around a bit and then left. When the light levels were bright enough I checked out the area and realized that a sea turtle had come ashore and attempted to nest. The fact that he didn't come back and mark it off (we had seen roped off nests further down the beach), as well as the fact that it wasn't completely covered over (I'd visited a turtle conservation friend in the US Virgin Islands a decade back and we would go on nightly turtle nest hunts), meant that it was a failed attempt. I also realized that the sand was quite disturbed, even though a good strong gust was coming off the ocean. There is a distinct possibility that the turtle was on land only a short time before I arrived.