Cowabunga dude!

Whenever I hear about turtles coming on to beaches and laying eggs I think of places with calm, turquoise Sea and palm fringed sandy beaches.

Therefore, I was very surprised when a friend told me that during March and April baby turtles are released all along the Chennai Coast and that anyone can go along.  We have the palm fringed sandy beaches but the sea here is pretty rough and not turquoise.  Nevertheless, we decided to give it a go and we followed directions to get to the hatcheries.  At first we thought we were going wrong, as we basically drove along the beach, but we soon came to the right place.

The man from the charity told us that during December, January and February the turtles come up on to the beaches all along the Chennai coastline and lay eggs.  These eggs and later hatchlings are then at risk from dogs and birds.  Therefore, throughout these months, teams of volunteers spend all night walking the coastline and collecting the eggs and taking them to hatcheries.

We were then shown a few of the hatchlings before large numbers of them were brought out and we released them in to the sea.

The man explained that not many of these turtles survive without help and it was easy to see why as some were washed back in again.  The turtles then faced a two day swim to get to their feeding grounds.

Oliver, William and Emily enjoyed releasing them and Sam and I are keen to take part in some of the harvesting walks next year.

It seems strange that the turtles lay their eggs right next to a huge city in some places, but I guess they have been doing that since long before the city developed.

You say Spring Break I say Easter Hols!

William and Oliver attend the American International School in Chennai, which is mainly staffed with teachers from the USA.  One 'concern' we had was that Oliver and William might start spelling things the American way, talking about Math and even adopt an American accent!  There has been no emergence of an accent, however, William has taken to writing the date the American way in case his teacher gets confused!

No sooner had they got settled in than the holidays came around.  At Dulwich the holiday in April always tied in with a Chinese festival and not Easter.  This was not the case at AISC, so for the first time since starting school the boys had an Easter holiday.  Except that everyone was calling it Spring Break, which for me had connotations of American Uni students going wild!

Sam also for the first time got Good Friday as a holiday and he then took the next week off. Unfortunately the weather was a bit too warm for serious sightseeing so we did some sorting in the house interspersed with time in the pool, explored some local restaurants and spent a day at a coastal resort 20 minutes drive away.  

                                  

                              

                                        

Luckily the Easter Bunny knew we were in Chennai and had the foresight to hide the eggs inside where they wouldn't melt. Emily received a couple of books in an egg shaped package. 

We also received some Easter gifts from the Smiths, Smiths and Jarmans, some of which had melted and reformed in the Chennai post but was delicious nonetheless.

Sam cooked a delicious lamb casserole and we decorated eggs with self portraits.  After lunch we cracked eggs together and Emily won!  

A surprise visitor

During January I noticed Sam was getting lots of texts and was very evasive when I asked who they were from.  A couple of weeks after Emily's birth, it transpired that he had been texting Alex and arranging for her to visit.  I was so excited!

Alex set about organising her visa which, in true Indian style went right to the wire and needed a trip to the embassy.  She also had to name Mark as her employer!

It all worked out perfectly in the end and she arrived a few days after we moved in which gave us a good incentive to sort out the spare room.  

Arun picked her up from the airport and I pretty much cried when I opened the door.  William and Oliver were delighted to see her when we picked them up from school.

                                 

It was lovely to have Alex to help out with Emily and come out and about with me.  It is so different going out with a baby here as shops are never big enough for a pram, there are no pavements and everyone wants a cuddle, usually just as she is dropping off!

Alex and I had great fun exploring, trying out nice restaurants and looking round (and buying in) local shops. We even explored a bit on foot and went off road searching for cows for Alex to take pictures of.

    

    

  

Arun was so taken with Alex's delight at seeing cows and wanting to photograph them that he kept screeching to a halt whenever he spotted one.

In the evenings, over a few g and t's (a few for Alex and a weak one for me!)  we planned a big family holiday for next year.  Sam and Mark seemed very relieved that we opted for the Andamen Islands over the Maldives!

On our last day all together we took Emily for her vaccinations.  This was a life saver as while Emily was feeding Alex picked up the vaccinations and held my place in the queue - her time in China served her well!!  Afterwards we all headed out for a farewell lunch together.

Six days seemed to fly by and we were sad to say goodbye but so pleased that Mark, Finn, Sofia and Tristan had let me borrow her.