In celebration of World Turtle Day, I went deep into my archives to find this friend. Diving with turtles is always amazing, and this particular one seemed particularly happy to pose on the bottom of the ocean while I took this photo. Long live the turtles!
I can’t explain why these guys wanted to hang out together, but they were inseparable the whole time I snorkeled with them. I like to think they were just friends, but maybe it was a camouflage technique. I’ve been holding onto this image for awhile as there was a lot of nasty backscatter in the original. Now I’m benefitting from a friend’s new knowledge, and used some new to me techniques to really clean this image up so I could post it!
Like most things in the ocean, this guy doesn’t like to be touched. His stinging white bristles are flared out since he noticed me, but it wasn’t too difficult to avoid all 1.5 inches of him. I spent at least 10 minutes to get this shot and I’m pretty happy with the result. He was cooperative, but the current moved him around enough to make getting this shot a time-consuming process.
On a recent snorkeling trip I ran into this stingray. He looks menacing, but was more interested in hiding on the bottom than he was in messing with me.
My favorite lunch spot in all of Mexico! Well, at least my favorite lunch spot in the greater Playa del Carmen area, the Turtle Bay Cafe! Everything was fresh and delicious. This festive table also made for a great lunch before snorkeling in the bay with sea turtles.
The sea turtle is a very majestic creature. It can also be quite intimidating when you see one close up, and watch it use its powerful jaws to chew a huge clump of grass right in front of you. This was taken in Akumal in Mexico in a spot where people came to snorkel just to see the turtles. They were everywhere. The younger ones were a little skittish when you got close, but the older ones could really care less if you were nearby or not. This particular one let me dive down and hang out with him long enough to get plenty of good photos.
