No Ordinary Motel: A visit to the Turtle Hospital, only a fifteen minute walk from Marathon City Marina.

The former Hidden Harbor motel rooms housed guests again during the recent cold snaps -- 178 cold stunned sea turtles received a warm welcome

If it looks like a motel, that’s because it was and sort of still is… The Turtle Hospital is located in the former Hidden Harbor motel, but the residents now are mostly rescued sea turtles. During this winter’s record cold snaps, during three of the coldest days, the Turtle Hospital admitted 178 cold stunned turtles (Loggerheads, Greens and Hawksbills). Eight of the cold stunned sea turtles stayed in kiddy pools in the motel rooms. Rescue, rehab and release is the motto of the Turtle Hospital, a one of a kind institution and the largest sea turtle rescue operation in the United States.
The tour we took with a veterinary technician who works for the hospital was fascinating, eye opening, mind opening and touching. The normal patient load of over 50 sea turtles makes this the largest such facility in the United States. Come fifteen minutes before your tour to sign in and go through the informative displays. I recommend the trivia questions. My favorite question was how long can a sea turtle hold its breath? Another question revealed that sea turtles, which are reptiles, were originally land-based creatures that evolved into sea-based creatures.
The Hidden Harbor motel’s former glory, if it had any, is now dim and its swimming pool, thanks to a healthy crack is now a tidal pool and houses a variety of rescued sea turtles and minnows that come in and out with the tide. Until recently, some tarpon lived in the pool as permanent residents, but they died from the recent cold weather.
This is a great opportunity to learn about sea turtles, ecology and be reminded just how our human carelessness with waste can harm creatures we do not often see. Many of the turtles are

wounded by boat propellers that gash them as the boat runs them over at excessive speed in the grassy flats, by fishing line, by swallowing children’s balloons, fish hooks, plastic gloves, and other bits of our trash that make it into the water.
Sea turtles, all five varieties that can be found in US waters, are endangered creatures. If you find one floating at the surface and it doesn’t skitter away from your boat or dive down quickly, call the Turtle hospital and tell them what you see and where. WIthout their instructions to do so, it is against the law to touch the sea turtles.
The tour costs $15 for adult

s, $7.50 for children and is worth every penny, if not more. The tours and gift shop sales (they have great T shirts in a large variety of colors with the hospital logo on the back) are the principal means of support. When

the motel was still viable, the motel provided a significant portion of the funding, but several years ago, a hurricane damaged the motel beyond the organization’s means to return it to motel condition standards. The veterinarians volunteer their time and the paid staff is skeletal. By the way, the T-shirts have a a striking graphic of the hospital logo — they make great gifts that support a worthy Keys organization.
Tours are offered seven days a week, except holidays. Call (305) 743-2442 for tour reservations. Log on at http://turtlehospital.org for more information.
The Turtle Hospital, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is only a fifteen minute walk from City Marina. You won’t be sorry, except for the state of turtles world wide, but you will feel good knowing people are helping the turtles and that you, by your very presence and interest, helped, too.