117. Swim With Sea Turtles

Before going to Hawaii I thought that seeing a sea turtle in the wild was rare; soon after arriving I learned I was wrong.  I was ecstatic when I saw a couple turtles on my first morning snorkelling. The one in the first photo is the turtle I technically completed this bucket list item with.  I swam a small distance behind him, as he swam his way across the reef.  For a few minutes I followed taking pictures of the unique creature.  After that I saw many turtles, most were resting on the bottom, or under ledges, and were only saw when they swam up to the surface for air.

The second two turtles I saw when I went snorkelling at turtle town (as I said in the post 78. Go Snorkelling in the Ocean, turtle town is not a specific place it is just an area named that when many turtles are there, and is easily accessible from shore).  These two were huge, and came up very close to me.  There is a Hawaiian law that you may not touch, or interfere with the turtles in anyway; violators are charged up to a $10 000 fine.  As these large animals swam toward me, I did my best to keep my distance.  The one in the back is missing it's front right flipper; likely it was attacked by a shark.  Even missing a flipper the turtle was swimming great, he was a very speedy, gigantic, amputee.  They soon returned back under the ledge they were hiding under, and I swam along, continuing to explore the corl reef.  It was amazing to be swimming with the creature that has been my favorite animal since grade two!