Alternative Transportation

Last weekend five of our closest foreigner friends accompanied us on our fourth overnighter at the turtle colony. And here we are.

This turtle had just finished digging her nest and laying close to a hundred eggs (covering herself with sand in the process) when she took a moment to rest and hang out with my lovely wife.

Strangely, we found no babies at all this time. But I do have a story to tell you:)

Around 11:00 p.m. I was following a new mother turtle back to the sea. Then I followed her into the sea. When there was enough depth to give lift to her 500-pound body, I climbed onto her back and took a ride. I was having the time of my life, but I’m not sure she even noticed. When I got on she didn’t sink an inch - just kept on swimming.

She stuck close to the surface for the first little bit, which allowed me to catch a few breaths in between being slapped in the face by rather large waves. When the water got a little deeper, down she went with me in tow. I was holding on to the front of her shell just behind her neck, and when we got near the sandy, weedless bottom she levelled out and really took off. The warm waters of the Arabian Sea were rushing past and around me as this gargantuan creature, so awkward and heavy on land, shot away over the ocean’s floor with alarming speed and grace. She would tilt left and right as though to avoid unseen obstacles, or as though she were barreling down some giant waterslide – never losing speed or momentum, just soaring over the sand.

All of this was over in less than a minute, of course, as I soon found myself out of breath and needing to surface. I may have taken the shortest joyride in history, but I will never forget it. Ever.

No animals were harmed in the making of this adventure.