We started out looking for donuts at Dunkin Donuts but the line was long and going glacially slowly so - plan B was coffee in Savannah’s Sweet Shop in Marathon where we wanted to see some things. Very nice restful, shaded patio in back with shade. And - they also have ice cream. Maybe on the way home. Hmmm.
Our first goal was the Turtle Hospital.
It started back in 1982 when Richie Moretti, retired from his Volkswagen business in Orlando and retired to Marathon on the keys. Here he bought a 50’s era motel, the Hidden Harbor Motel, with a salt water swimming pool which he replaced with a freshwater pool. Hmm, what to do with the old pool? How about an aquarium to entertain all the guests, especially the kids. So, he stocked it with lots of local fish but was asked one day by a young guest why he didn’t have any turtles. He looked into it but found out that turtles were protected by law and one had to have a permit to keep them. And, to get a permit, he had to take on injured turtles for rehabilitation. He took some on, remodeled the old nightclub next door for an actual hospital and he was off and running. Thus, he established the world’t first hospital for sea turtles funded by money coming in from the motel. Then in 2005, when Hurricane Wilma struck, the motel closed and the Hospital is now funded by grant and foundation money, personal donations, guided tours and gift shop sales.
That’s where we came in - we made a reservation and took the took. By the way, if you are interested in taking this tour - a reservation is recommended - our tour was full with about 25 people. But, it is more than just a hospital, it is a real learning experience for all who visit. Our tour began with a discussion about the 5 types of sea turtles: the leatherback, the green, the loggerhead, the Kemps Ridley, and the hawksbill along with information about turtles in general and about each of these. Here is Gary standing next to a picture of the various turtles and their sizes.
Here is some interesting information form their web site.
‘Did you know that:
Sea turtles have inhabited the oceans for over 200 million years?
Sea turtles have front flippers so powerful they can sail through the ocean at speeds of up to 25 mph?
When swimming and feeding sea turtles breathe air every 5 - 10 minutes?
When resting they can hold their breath for up to 3 - 5 hours?
Sea turtles are believed to live for more than 75 years?’
Then our guide talked about the different problems that sea turtles face:
pollution
boats and propellers which hit them and damage them - sometimes causing ‘Bubble Butt’ syndrome (more about that later)
debris in the water which can entangle the necks and flippers of the turtles - like fish line
oil spills
debris in the water like balloons which look like jelly fish, plastic bags, which turtles eat which can cause ’intestinal impaction’ (interestingly the best treatment for this is antibiotics, vegetable oil, Beano and Metamucil
and the most common ailment: fibropapilloma tumors which grow on their necks faces and flippers - this picture is from their website. All the turtles we saw had already been operated on for these tumors but this is what they look like.
All of these are treated in the hospital. Each summer the Turtle Hospital receives more than 70 - 100 injured sea turtles each year. So far they have rehabilitated and released more than 1000 sea turtles. Unfortunately when they are released, none ever say ‘thank you’ nor say ‘good-bye’ they just slip into the water and swim off. Turtles just don’t form attachments. In fact, after the mother turtle lays her eggs, she heads off into the water and swims away, leaving the hatchlings to fend for them selves.
We then took a tour of the facility, seeing the operating room (that ‘turtle’ is just a stuffed toy):
Bubble Butt? that’s when a turtle’s shell folds up a bit (possibly by being hit by a boat) and air gets inside preventing the turtle from descending into the ocean to get to the sea grasses which it eats. The cure: putting magnets on the shell to enable it to swim downwards. Like this.
Here’s a turtle with another problem - a missing flipper. We also learned that not all turtles can eventually be released into the wild. Some are permanent residents at the Hospital, others are destined for an aquarium. This one might be a permanent resident.
Some of their turtles are recovering in swimming pools with other turtles, others in their own special tub. But all are getting very special care.
The tubs are labeled with the name of the turtle and why it is in the hospital.
Now on to the infamous Bubble Butt. Here’s the label on the tank where she has lived since 3/25/1989 and where she will continue to live until she dies. She cannot be released into the wild since her shell has been so damaged that she needs magnets to enable her to dive down for food. Magnets often fall off and in her magnets fell off, she could not dive and then would starve.
Bubble Butt was the first documented case of this problem. I tried to get Bubble Butt’s autograph but she (he) swam away.
It was an especially fun place to visit and we learned so much about sea turtles. Richie, the founder of the Turtle Hospital, is on the right in this picture.
Hey, it’s February 15th, Valentines Day - at least in our household - and we celebrated at Walgeens - where the prices are half-off. When I worked for Wells Fargo on the 2nd floor, I used to go down to Walgreens on the first floor and stock up on December 26, February 15, October 31 and the day after Easter, whenever that fell.
After we drooled over the candy that we were going to have in the RV for the foreseeable future, we headed over to the Marathon air museum. Not a big museum but they had an old Ozark airlines plane in the back. I used to fly Ozark when I was younger to visit my aunt and uncle in Washington DC. Boy, did that plane bring back memories: puddle jumping from Des Moines to Chicago, tiny seats and becoming familiar with the small bag in the pocket in front of me - only on the first flight however, I learned about Dramamine pretty early in life.
Hey, look, Grace Kelly flew in this very plane in the seat next to where I am sitting. I wonder if she became as familiar with that little bag as I did.
In the evening I even got to see Downton Abbey. Lucky this time.
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