During our day pass at Golden Parnassus we had the unique opportunity to witness the hatching of the sea turtles on the Cancun beaches. There were several areas fenced off where the turtles made their nests.
The turtle conservationist there started digging in one of the mounds until he was elbow-deep into the nest. Then, he gently removed turtle after turtle, 100 in all. They woke up after a few minutes and became very active. After we scrubbed our hands with sand we were allowed to hold one very briefly. Careful not to touch their bellies, we held a newly-hatched baby sea turtle. Amazing.
These baby turtles did not go straight to the ocean. We were told they needed 24 hours before they were ready for the trek to the ocean. The turtles that had hatched the day before would be released at 9 PM that evening.
While there are many places on Cancun beaches where the sea turtles makes their nests, sea turtles naturally nest a little further south in Akumal in the Riviera Maya. Akumal is a 1 hour 15 minute drive from Cancun.