This is the time of year when Olive Ridley turtles clamber onto Banderas Bay beaches to lay their eggs. Due to the oceanfront development and beach activity here, their nests are more at risk with each passing year. Yet the news is encouraging: the number of nests retrieved, eggs collected, and turtles released to the relative safety of the sea up for each of the past few years! And this is largely thanks to the efforts of eight hotel- and condo-associated turtle nurseries on the bay, biologist Oscar Aranda heading up the protection programs at six of them — Marina Vallarta's Mariott CasaMagna and the Westin; the Hotel Zone's Vallarta Torre and Fiesta Americana; and the South Shore's Presidente Intercontinental and Playas Gemelas. Velas Vallarta and Dreams hotels are very much involved in this effort.

This year, the Marriott alone expects to release some 32,000 tiny turtles, up from 17,784 last year and 13,495 in 2004. "The numbers have been going up since 1998, with the exception of 2002, due to Hurricane Kenna" says Aranda. "We collected 250 nests at the Marriott last year, but already,in the first nine months of this year, have salvaged 475!"

So, should you find yourself in Vallarta between June and November — especially during October and November, which is when most of the eggs hatch — you will have lots of opportunities to help these vulnerable creatures find their way to the sea. www.vallartanature.org