Sea Turtles sightings have become such a normal, every day activity around here that we have almost stopped shouting SEA TURTLE every time we see them. Almost. I don’t know what it is, but every time one of these guys pops its little nose out of the water for a breath I just can’t contain myself; excited shouting always ensues.

The first time I remember swimming with sea turtles is in Culebra with Tiffany and Matt. Bo swears we had done it before, but I had no recollection so clearly it wasn’t spectacular or memorable. While in Culebra we had exactly 28 minutes before the rented snorkel masks had to be returned, so Bo and I set off on a race against the clock to find the turtles. We were waved in a general direction and swam off carefully avoiding the high population of sea urchins dotting the shoreline.

Swimming alongside a sea turtle as he/she glides through the water is absolutely spectacular. I just don’t have any other words to describe it. Little did I know in Culebra that it was going to become a daily occurrance in the islands.

Since arriving in the Virgin Islands seeing turtles is an every day happening and swimming with them is just as frequent. In Christmas Cove it has gotten to the point where I know where to find them and have basically adopted them as my pets. Hopefully they love me as much as I love them, it is hard to tell as they are aloof by nature.

Last week we were enjoying a snorkel with some new friends, who just happen to have a Junior Captain onboard. Of course we found our turtle friends and shared some underwater fun.

This is Kaylee – our first in-person meeting of a Junior Captain! She and her parents sailed from Fl this year and we met up in St Thomas.

A day doesn’t go by without a snorkel and I am honestly going to miss swimming off my calories every day when we head back to the US. Typically Selah and Nightingale Tune head out together in every new spot to see what we can discover under the gorgeous blue water. I am constantly astonished by the entire world that exists just below our floating home. Sometimes we see creepy things but I have mostly learned to ignore the creepers and focus on the pretty things that don’t want to eat me.

Last week the guys were lobstering and I decided I was done swimming and headed back for the dinghy. I nearly rounded the point when I noticed a nurse shark having a nap on the ocean floor.  My head tells me they are harmless, but my pounding heart had me high tail it back to my buddies as fast as I could. Yesterday I nearly jumped in the water off the boat to land on this not-so-friendly looking barracuda. I suspended my swimming plan for the day…

Snorkel Selfies are nearly impossible – but this is the fab four at our finest.

My favorite lobster hunter

The only logical conclusion after a full day of snorkeling is a happy hour float.

Sea Turtle swims with Alli from Bo Cordle on Vimeo.