Studio39Designs

 

Fun with Sea Turtles – Punta Vincente Rocca – Isabela Island – Galapagos Islands

This snorkeling adventure firmly convinced me that snorkeling is a fabulous thing!  Of course, doing it in the Galapagos is probably one of the most perfect places to snorkel.  Take a look at the fun I had swimming with the sea turtles!

Next to Me

I was just snorkeling along when I felt someone coming up alongside me.  I thought it was one of my snorkeling buddies (there were about 8 of us) and I focused on not drifting over into them.  I turned to see who it was, and was beyond surprised to see that my “buddy” was a huge sea turtle!  He was about 2/3 the length of me and way wider!  I was lucky enough to be able to get the underwater camera pointed in the right direction to capture his photo, all the while saying “Oh, my God” into my mouthpiece!

Swimming Buddy

Clearly I was swimming too slowly, because this guy just sort of glided past me!  He wasn’t afraid of me – in fact, I don’t think he really cared that I was there.  No fear of being bitten either.  I’m not his food choice!

Up for Air

And, here’s my buddy, as he surfaced briefly to capture some air!  It felt kind of odd to be on the same eye level as this guy.

Coming up toward Me

One thing that I found amazing was how these guys just sort of levitated themselves off the sea floor (about 30 feet below me) and floated up toward me.  Then, as they got sort of close to me, they just began to gently swim.  I did get out of their way, because I wasn’t sure if they’d keep coming up right under me and I’d end up on their shell!  Since I’m not supposed to touch them, I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t end up riding them either!

Another Swimmer

It was a regular sea turtle traffic jam below me!  I don’t know how these guys avoided each other , but in their very laid-back way, they did.  Someone reminded me of the turtle in the movie “Nemo” and I would say their personalities seemed to match the turtle character in that movie!

Enjoy!