See Turtles? Sea Turtles!

Sea Turtle!!!

One of the reasons I chose our condo in Hawaii was because the reviews indicated that there were sea turtles in the ocean right out our door.

On our first morning there, while I was sitting on the balcony sipping my coffee, my eyes spotted an unusual white "thing" in the water. It would appear every now an then (always in a different place) and then disappear again under the water. I hurried and got dressed and ran down to the beach to investigate. Along the way I met a pretty female rock crab (not sure what kind specifically, maybe Metopograpsus messor) who was as interested in me as I was in her.
As I scanned the horizon I looked for the little white "thing" and eventually it surfaced again. I was still a little ways away, but the water was pretty clear, and I was at once able to make out a large dark disk, and flippers. Our eyes met and it looked right at me. It was so awesome! I don't mean awesome like "totally rad" I mean really awesome, as in it's dictionary definition: inspiring awe.

Rock Crab

It was just a moment, five seconds tops, but I have thought about it a lot since. I think about that turtle and wonder where it might be at this very moment. And I wonder where it was born, and when. (It could be a hundred years old!) And then I think about myself and my life and where I am at this very moment typing,  and it's almost mind boggling how unlikely it is that the two of us, different species, different genus even, should ever cross paths and occupy the same moment at the same time. (I love that about life, and how it's so predictably unpredictable. Almost everything that happens in life is so unlikely to have ever occurred when you look at it from hindsight. And so in a way our lives are one  long string of events that most likely should never have happened at all. And that's pretty cool. But I digress...)
We saw several other turtles along the rocky coast, presumably foraging along the bottom, and even once in a while they popped up to the surface to take a breath.
A couple hours later we were snorkeling, and an older man and his wife pointed us in the direction of a sea turtle they had seen earlier. We found it no problem since there was nothing else in the vicinity that was as big or as darky colored (thank goodness!). It didn't seem to mind  at all our distorted snorkel faces hovering overhead watching and pointing. It sort of swayed with the current and perused the rocky bottom for seaweed or algae or whatever it was eating. The swaying effect of the water on the turtle and myself, and the fact that my head was under water so it was quiet made the whole experience very serene. It kind of felt like it wasn't real. I remember at one point really focusing my eyes on his/her face and thinking to myself "Wow, that's so life-like!" But then I remembered that it was real,  if I really wanted to I could swim down and touch it! We didn't do that of course, nor did we harass Crush  in any way at all (I named him/her Crush after the sea turtle in Finding Nemo;). For one, they are an endangered species, for another it just wouldn't have felt right. He was so peaceful, and going about his business, and kind enough (anthropomorphizing here) to not swim away while we gawked, that it would have been rude to pro

BF and a sea turtle (dark shadow)

d him even though for some reason I did want to touch him.
Eventually he grew tired of us, (or he had to catch his breath, and didn't want to surface next to us weird and goggle adorned creatures) and so he swam away, and we didn't follow. And the truth is we couldn't have even if we wanted to. We were no match for what a lifetime in the water had prepared him for, and he disappeared into the shadows in a matter of seconds.
Later on still we saw a turtle swimming back and forth along the shore, and we were able to see it cruising by while we waded in the water. I really had the sense that they were everywhere! With the beach and the palm trees and sea turtles everywhere it was so...tropical!
As it turned out that was the only day we saw any turtles. Everyday for the rest of the trip I looked out, but didn't see one. I was a little bummed not to see any more, but at the same time so content and grateful for the experience I did have, that I didn't feel to badly about it. My experience is seared into my memory, and I was able to focus on the details of it and enjoy the experience fully while it was happening, so I can recall it and enjoy it again whenever I want. What a great experience!
It was #1 in my list of things I wanted to do in Hawaii, and a great first day to my vacation!