turtles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jet propelled sting ray.

 

 

 

 

You probably don't know this (I certainly didn't) but turtle are damn quick!  In aquariums, they lazily paddle through the water in endless circles, no doubt bored out of their prehistoric skulls but not in the wild.  Kim and Wardy baby took us out to a turtle breeding ground just off North Eleuthera.  Turtles galore!  You'd think we would have lots of great photos of turtles then but nope!  On these incredible trips, we've taken great shots of dolphins and even lemon sharks right up close to the boat.  Maybe it's because dolphins and sharks know on some level that the boat fears them more than they fear the boat, but these turtles were not keen on us at all.  The moment we puttered within twenty feet of them, these turtles would sprint off like they had pressed "go" on a jet engine on their backs.  Really cool to see.  And then there was the sting ray.  Several, in fact.  But the one (above) we saw was languidly making its way in the shadows, ripe for a photo op.  Then, it too showed some previously unseen moxie and propelled itself almost out of the water with the power of its wings and sped away.  Part of me is sad that we scared these poor creatures but more of me is so grateful to get to see them in the wild and have the kids see the creatures from their books in person.