Tortuga Festival-And the lights came on! Just in time for the dancing

This past weekend Tulum and the Rivera Maya have celebrated the annual Festival de las Tortugas and it has been great. With 4 days of great events I have not been able to make it to all of them and I know that I really missed out. All of the events for this great festival are focused on conservation and protection of these amazing creatures.

A large group of young adults from Global Vision Initiative organized and executed events beautifully. This is from the main website for GVI. I think it gives the perfect description as to who they are. “Global Vision International (GVI) runs responsible volunteering programs in over 40 countries around the world. We offer volunteers the chance for a hands-on experience by personally contributing to important conservation initiatives and community projects. Volunteer programs run from one week to 2 years.”

They have many great trips and opportunities on their website. Check it out HERE http://www.gviusa.com/ for more information. This particular excursion was for people who were interested in Scuba diving and marine conservation. So our Tortuga Festival was perfect for them. They have participated for over 8 years and the whole event was amazing. Check out the Mexico website for more info http://www.gviusa.com/programs/central-america/mexico/marine-conservation-expedition-mexico/home

It was interesting this particular day because whether by accident or by design, the city was working on our street light. The 1 street light we have in town and it is out all day- well so is the rest of the power to the whole town. Tulum went dark for over 9 hours. The entire city of Tulum had no power. This went on mostly as normal but as the day went on and there was still no power things started to get interesting.
That evening was the big event at the casa de la culture. Not thinking much of it we got ready for the dance performance and headed down. It was great. The moment you walk in you see the energetic group from GVI with face painting, the egg dropping game, puzzles, pin the head on the Tortuga and dozens of other games and tables spread throughout and dozens of kids crowded around them learning about Tortugas, this special area and how to protect both of them.

Also throughout the cultural center were displays of amazing art, craft, jewelry, and food. It was an amazing array of color, smells, and kids in brightly colored clothing and face paint. But as we were about to start the dance performance- there still was no electricity- for the whole town!!! After a few hours and trying to find out what the plan was- the sun had set and it was getting dark fast-. Although it was sort of cool to see so many candles lit along the streets of Tulum- in little taco bars and windows. And then- wouldn’t you know it!!!!- BAM! The lights came on. Everyone was so thrilled and the show began.

The performances were amazing. Proud parents, friend’s family, the community of Tulum and the great group from GVI watched the talented individuals and cheered and praised. It was an amazing night. And we were in store for more. The sand castle beach day was in the morning so we headed home to get a good night sleep.