Barbados Sea Turtles

As you may have guessed from the lizard post (if you didn't already know) I love animals. I will take any animal, but reptiles seem to have a special place in my heart. On our 2012 trip to Trinidad I took us far out of our way to see leatherback sea turtles--an amazing experience I easily list in the top five things I have ever done.

In Barbados, like that previous trip to Trini, what I most wanted was to see a sea turtle. I didn't care what kind, I didn't care if it was on the beach, in the water, in the rain, from a distance, in a box, with a fox, I just wanted to see one.

There are about a hundred different sea turtle snorkeling tours here that range from 5 hour booze cruises to a quick jaunt out. Most of them are priced around $100, and take a group of at least 15 people out at a time. 

I searched the Internet and pamphlet stands, looking for something that could balance between our daily budget and a potential once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Near the end of the trip, by chance, I stumbled upon "Barbados Blue," a diving shop along Pebble Beach (on the south coast) near the base of the Hilton Hotel. Diving is clearly their main business, but someone must have figured out they could add a couple more people on to snorkel and expand business a bit. The price was only $40 for around 3 hours--by far the cheapest I have come across. There were no frills, no endless rum punches, and no crowd--just a pair of fins, the small life vest to keep me from drowning, face mask, and guides who clearly knew what they were doing. 

The boat dropped off the scuba divers and the remaining 6 of us (five Canadian school teachers on vacation together and I) were off in search of turtles.

In my imagination, the boat would have to take us to some secluded cove in order to find something so majestic. It turned out to be quite the opposite--the boat anchored in the middle of the coastal water, completely surrounded by other boats and buoys, within sight of the crowded beaches.

I've only ever snorkeled once before in a sixth grade remedial swim class for dummies, and the main things I remember are humiliation and the feeling of drowning. This experience was a whole other world. On the boat you are a clumsy hulking animal, with giant flippers on your feet and a box on your face, but in the water you are a smooth creature, seeing clear to the bottom, dolphin tail legs swishing along with the fishes. The water here is so crystal clear, and the sea turtles came immediately to eat the small fish handed out by the tour guides. My dream to just-see-one-turtle-please-please-please was instantly surpassed beyond any expectation. 

Our incredible hosts let me borrow their underwater camera, and even though I was there the pictures still blow me away.

These are all green sea turtles. You can tell because they have 5 scutes (the name for the individual "scales" on the shell) down the center and 4 on each side, one claw on each front flipper, and two scales right on top of the nose, called "prefrontal scales." The hawksbill sea turtle, for example, would have four prefrontal scales and two claws on each front flipper.

The bigger sea turtles were each surrounded by a little fish entourage hoping to catch bits left behind.

I didn't know how to use the zoom on the camera, so this is really how close they got. Grabbing on to the turtles is strictly forbidden (as it should be), but you can put out a hand to gently stroke their shells as they swim by.

The guides recommended keeping our hands closed in fists while near the turtles, as they can mistake pale waggling fingers for the fish they are hand-fed. I must confess to secretly wiggling my fingers at a turtle or two to make them come closer--sorry guys!

Some of the bigger turtles had a fish which I believe is a remora attached to their underside. The remora are worth looking up, as they have a crazy mouth they use to attach to their hosts. They appear to have a commensal relationship (commensalism from the Latin commensalis meaning "sharing a table") with the remora hitching a ride and getting to eat free leftovers while also cleaning the turtle.

I took a brief video with the underwater camera to try to capture how graceful the turtles are. You'll have to excuse how jumpy it is and how I for some reason pan away right at the worst moment.

After the sea turtles we boarded the boat and went back to where the scuba divers were above some wrecks. The oldest wreck there was from World Word I, and the youngest from 2002 which was sunk on purpose to make a reef.

They were also incredible, full of different kind of coral and other growths that I would call "yellow tube-ies" but obviously must have a real name I just don't know. There were fish everywhere, and while most of the pictures are of the zebra striped ones, closer to the wreck were all kinds of brightly colored and strangely shaped fish.

Look at the pointy orange-tipped nose!

Kathleen fish.

One of the guides took my camera and swam down to the wreck to take this picture of me. They could hold their breath for an incredible amount of time. I tried swimming down at one point and within just a few feet it felt like my eardrums were going to burst. 

The Barbados Blue tour ended up being the perfect thing for me. I'm not a good swimmer, and even with the little vest keeping me afloat I was tired by the time we stopped. If you swim really well the time in the water might not be enough for you, but for me it was over right at the point I started to worry I wouldn't be able to keep going much more. The lack of food and drinks kept the price low, and the small group of snorkelers made for a much more intimate experience.  I found this picture online of one of the other popular 5 hour tours and to me, while it would probably still be worth it to see the turtle, it looks like a nightmare:

I'm sure you could still come away with a great turtle photo, but the actual time in the water would be spent trying not to crash into other people as you all vied for a spot. 

On the Barbados Blue tour it was just six of us, and we were well spread out and lucky enough to see more than one turtle so it felt like it was just you and the amazing bounty of the sea soaring through the water. 

Right before we got back on the boat to head back I spotted a small turtle sitting on the bottom of the ocean. I watched it from above as it ate from the sea floor. If you have ever seen a turtle--any kind of turtle--eat something, you will be able to imagine it, and I was delighted to see that the sea turtle was no different. It bent its head out in that adorable side-eyed way turtles do, snatching up little bits here and there. Coming up for air was equally adorable, as if you were lucky you could catch the moment it popped up its head and opened its little turtle mouth for a gasp of air before flying back down.

It was just incredible, and something I'll never forget. The way they glide through the water like birds in the air, their shapes appearing on the edges of your vision in the distance and soaring towards you, gliding underneath, their shells painted in watercolors, eyes glinting. A $40 trip that turned out to be priceless.