Twenty-four turtles!

I woke up with a stiff neck and could barely brush my hair…..it wasn’t looking promising for paddling today, but an hour later my neck was feeling much better!  I slathered on my sunscreen and filled my water container and I was off  to check the beach.  It was so perfect!  No wind and the water was calm today and I couldn’t wait to get out there.  It was already nine o’clock, but I paddled south towards the boat ramp.  It was so pleasant paddling!  When I reached the boat ramp, I was the only one there.   I sat for a few minutes and didn’t see a single turtle, but all of a sudden six turtles surfaced all around me!  The turtles kept popping up too and soon a man and woman on stand up boards hurried over to get in on the turtle action.  They were overwhelmed!  I saw three familiar turtles today too…..”Bumpy”, “Lizard”, AND “Torpedo Head”!!!!  The other two paddlers and I were having a great time with all the turtles, until I noticed the red pontoon snorkel boat approaching, so it was time to leave.  I paddled back in the same perfect conditions and ran across a paddling friend I hadn’t seen in a while as I passed Kam II.  It was a hard decision to make to go in with such nice conditions, but I wanted to swim.  Just as I came in from paddling, so did the wind!  By the time I went swimming, it was getting quite windy, blowing from the north.  The water visibility was not very good down at the reef so I didn’t stay long….I find myself taking a few looks behind me these days after the woman had her arm bitten off by a shark last week.  After I finished swimming, the wind came in stronger and soon the sand was starting to blow so it was time to go home.   I sure am glad I had such an excellent paddling adventure while the conditions were ideal!  I’ll take twenty-four turtles to play with any day!!