Miguel, the brave turtle

The brave turtle Miguel

,

Illustrator David Belmonte

Introduction

My name is Miguel and I am a green sea turtle. My world seems to be the ocean. I travel day after day through invisible highways, marked by magnetic field lines that my parents, my grandparents and their parents and grandparents traveled before me –they are my ANCESTORS. But this is not my whole world, because I also belong to the earth. My life begins buried in the sand, as part of that covenant kept between the sea and the land, which has been in place for millions of years. That’s why our mother turtles leave the sea to lay their eggs

in the sand, and there we are born to return to the sea. That is the reason why our journey to survive is somewhat complicated, since by leaving the land and returning to the sea, many of us lose our lives. I know that maybe that seems somewhat sad and unfair to you, in fact, out of every thousand of us, only one or two can reach adulthood. But don’t forget that everything is designed in great perfection to be part of this life cycle. I am fortunate to belong to the two worlds that make up my world and your world.

I believe in you, and I also believe in your infinite wisdom, that is why I have traveled hundreds and thousands of kilometers to reach you and bring you my message, with the beaches of Florida and the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea to the hot beaches of the State of Guerrero as witnesses of my journey.

I have faith and hope that my lyrics will form a different way of seeing our planet, and together we will be able to improve it. I have faith and hope that we will both achieve our mission in life.

Welcome to my world, your world and our world. Let’s save our planet!

To begin with ask mom or dad who your ancestors are?

Did you know that...?

Sea turtles are in danger of extinction, which is largely due to the great challenge they face when leaving their nests in the sand and going to the sea. The sea turtle has many predators, which include seagulls, beach dogs or “hueveros” and foxes. Foxes are dedicated to digging up the sea turtle’s nests and also crabs. Of course, humans are considered the most harmful of all to sea turtles. In addition, sea turtles are a living group of reptiles that have existed on planet Earth and have traveled through our seas for the last 100 million years. They are considered to be among the oldest living beings.

And Miguel, the turtle, wrote his story...

Olí reads a story to his son

“A

re you ready to listen to the funniest adventures?” Oli asked his son. “Are you ready to learn from every experience your uncle left us in this story, Miguelito?”

“I’m more than ready, Dad!” Miguelito said. “Here we go,” Olí replied.

Once upon a time, there was a family of green turtles on the shore of a beautiful beach called Playa Azul, located in the beautiful state of Guerrero, Mexico.

Rogelio and Carmen were very happy green turtles, basking on sunny days in the sand with the sea breeze of the Pacific Ocean.

But without a doubt it was me, Miguel, who enjoyed this gift from nature the most. Today I’m going to tell you my story.

I am Miguel and I am 10 years old. I live in the most beautiful place on the planet! I breathe the salty air and I dance every day to the sound of the ocean currents.

I remember that day on the beach and the soft sand that the breeze raised and turned my shell pink. I felt alive! And that made me want to live even more.

I also loved feeling my little fins sink into the sand when I ran to get saved, although that made me go a little slower, and nearly cost me my life.

But the sea came out to meet me and gave me this opportunity to live.

I love swimming deep in the sea, because I’m really free there, because that’s my home.

I love my parents, they are always there when I need them, they are always there to protect me and they are always there to give me good advice, although I don’t always listen to them.

I think adults live in a lot of distress and I don’t understand why. I also think they always say they are waiting for the right time to do things and so they postpone their dreams and inspirations.

It’s a little crazy, you know? And it doesn’t make much sense.

For example: Mom loves to sew and design her own clothes; she always says that one day she will do it for many of her friends, but she never does. She is always busy doing the housework and taking care of dad and me.

Even though dad tells me that I must be patient, he bursts with anger whenever humans leave their garbage in our paths.

He says that soon we will have to move from here because of the garbage.

He says that humans are bad. They are selfish, because they only think of themselves. He says that I must be very careful and that I should never get close to them, although he never tells me why.

But you know what? I think humans are no different from us. And that’s why I’m writing to you today.

Yesterday, while I was swimming near the seashore, a wave suddenly surprised me, dragging me to the shore of the beach.

I was busy noticing humans that were close to me when I was hit by the wave and it knocked me over onto my back.

Then one of them stared at me and I felt in serious trouble. Not only because I was on my back and unable to put myself on my fins, but because he was getting closer and closer to me, and my heart was about to explode inside my chest!

Then I closed my eyes waiting for the worst, and I shouted with all my strength. “Noooo, please, noooo!”

Suddenly I felt his soft hands, which took me so carefully and turned me onto my fins.

I felt the same as the day the sea breeze lifted the sand and touched my shell.

I also felt alive! I felt safe!

I could see that he was not an adult human, because of his size, and I could even feel his heart, throbbing rapidly, through his soft, small hands.

I sensed he was afraid too, so I hurried to get away as fast as I could.

And as I walked away, I could notice that he was still watching me, as if he was waiting for me to enter the water completely to safety, then he raised his hand waving it from one side to the other. I think this is how humans say “goodbye!”

Suddenly, another human approached him, and at the same time shouted at him: “Lean, what are you doing? Come back here! You never understand? Don’t go so far away! How many times do I have to tell you the same thing?” To which Lean replied: “I’m sorry, Dad.”

Do you see? Humans are no different from us.

I am sure that the big and cranky human was his father.

And Lean just wanted to help me. He wasn’t doing anything wrong!

Did you know that...?

The green turtle is a species of sea turtle in the Cheloniidae family. This large turtle is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical seas around the world with two different populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Miguel and his family belong to this species of sea turtle.

What do you know about sea turtles?

Well, in this story Miguel the turtle, his family and friends invite us to travel to their world and be part of great adventures. Together with them, we will discover how valuable our dreams are and also what can happen if you don’t fight for them; in fact, we will understand our parents much better with this story. They also teach us the importance of loving and valuing yourself as you are. It is a great story where truth, promises and friendship will be even easier to understand after reading it, and all this in a world of sea turtles. Miguel the turtle had no place in the classic world of a “normal children’s story”. But you should never give up! I, Miguel, advise you to keep trying until you find a way to make your dreams come true. Because I am sure that somewhere in the world there is a space for you.

IMPLICIT VALUES:

Miguel and his brother Olí teach us that great unconditional love between siblings, because siblings are for life. In Carmen and Rogelio you will find those parents who want the best for you, and that is why we must always be grateful, without forgetting all those moments we empathise and share with friends, as Miguel does with Laúd, Caguamo, Golfina and little Lora. Maybe you find in you a Lean, kind and respectful for the environment, or maybe you are as smart and sincere as Lucy.