Laganas Bay, on the Ionian Sea island of Zakynthos, became once again the starting point for the long journey of thousands of the endangered Caretta caretta loggerhead turtles into the sea.

Roughly 60,000 sea turtle eggs hatched in 763 of the 857 nests that were made this year, despite the adverse weather conditions, characterized by unseasonably low temperatures in the mating period, between the months of April and June, according to the National Marine Park. 

Laganas Bay is one of the last remaining natural habitats of the Caretta caretta turtle in the Mediterranean, and late spring provides a rare opportunity to see hundreds of them mating in the warm waters. In the summer, roughly 2,000 turtles lay their eggs on the sand beaches. Sea turtles nest where they were hatched and the Caretta caretta have been returning to Laganas for thousands of years.

Caption: Newborn caretta caretta loggerhead turtles/ ANA-MPA/Christos Kouzis