Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Crowded together on the walkway to the beach, a group of women chatter excitedly until Wildlife Connection's Maru Rodriguez stops and calls for quiet "Well this is a little unexpected, but we already have a mama turtle coming ashore to lay her eggs." The LOCA's Turtle Release tour has begun before they've even hit the sand!

It's a fantastic kick-off to a new season of the Ladies Outdoor Club Adventures (LOCA), a group created for women to take part in a range of activities from outdoor adventures to social outings; to foster new friendships and also to provide aid for needy families.

Founder and tour operator Sylvie Scopazzo started LOCA 11 years ago. Tonight's very quickly organized outing was inspired by an urgent call for help from Canica Puerto Vallarta, a charity for low income families with children suffering from cancer.

"Canica called saying the families didn't have enough food this week." Sylvie immediately launched a ring-a-round of her contacts, getting Wildlife Connection onboard (donating the tour), a group of keen LOCAs paid up, and then it was off to the store with 100% of the tour fees used to buy groceries for 17 families.

Despite running around all day buying and delivering food (not even stopping to eat) Sylvie is as excited as the rest of the LOCAs to see the baby turtles. Owner of Wildlife Connection and Marine Biologist, Maru Rodriguez, has been working to protect the Turtles for the last 20 years and is volunteering her expertise tonight.

After the thrill of seeing the female dig her nest and lay around 100 eggs, the women then get to see another amazing phenomenon - a nest of just hatched babies emerging up out of the sand, bumbling and pouring over each other like tiny turtle lava.

As Sylvie says "That's a National Geographic moment right there." The adventure peaks with the 'release' of the babies. They're gently poured out of buckets a few meters from the ocean and make their way towards the water followed by the well-wishes of the LOCAs.

Other LOCA activities include hiking, swimming with dolphins in the wild, road trips, community work, cooking classes and many and any other fun things Sylvie can think of! For more information or to join a tour, check out the Facebook page HERE and join our closed FB Group.