Sea Turtles Rock

Just had the most amazing experience. The place we're staying is on a small bay that is frequented by sea turtles. I went down today for the first time. The bay is very volcanic and reminded me so much of the Azores. I got in and started cruising around. After about 20 minutes, I started getting a little bored and thought I'd start heading back in. As I was halfway back, I suddenly came across an 8 inch cornetfish and stopped to check him out. He seemed to be doing the same thing, so I just floated there with him for a few minutes.

I was just starting to relax when from below and behind me came a sea turtle on its way up to get a breath of air. Talk about a shock. This guy/gal must have been 450 lbs... about 30-35 inches across. A real beauty. They say they can get up to 1600 lbs., so my estimate may be way off.

She didn't seem to be the least bit concerned about me, so I tagged along, giving her plenty of room and keeping in her view so she wouldn't get spooked. Actually, I don't think that was as big of a deal as I thought. I stayed with her for about 15 minutes as she foraged along the coral... then, just a unexpectedly, an even bigger turtle showed up an arms length beside me. He was probably 30% bigger than the first one. He just came up for a bit of air, stopped and checked me out for a moment and then went back to a hollow that he fit in very neatly. He put his head under an out cropping of coral and appeared to be sleeping because he didn't move much after that.

Another neat thing with the first turtle, there was a colorful fish that stayed very close as she grazed and would pick up bits and pieces that were knocked loose. I had a hard time getting a good look because it stayed very close to the turtles mouth and usually below the or just to the side and below.

The water was still a bit murky from the rain and storms that pasted through Tuesday and Wednesday, so hopefully that will clear more before we leave. An amazing encounter and definitely left an impression.