By many accounts, attempting to write intelligently about certain subjects, like music, may be futile. But even in that example, we have magazines like Rolling Stone, where the writers metaphorically “dance about architecture” on the regular, year after year. Hopefully, this attempt to eulogize our beloved green sea turtles of Saint John will not be a complete waste of time.
As of this second, July 11, 2017, becomes my most celebrated day on Earth, due to the sheer volume of words, images and video published on this site, for all to see. If allowed to relive it endlessly, it would be a slam-dunk decision… if not for an emergency incident for Beth. Other than that 90 minutes spent driving to the hospital and getting her on meds, the remainder was 10/10.
Despite so much sharing, a few segments of the final day of our 2017 vacation remain offline; what appears in Rare Air Episode 43 is extra, extra, extra special to us. To give you a sense of what it was like to swim with sea turtles, I pieced together a few clips recorded within a few minutes of each other. As you can see, the subjects don’t care too much for us; at the very first chance, they swim away.
Before they escape – in the moments that begin with the surprising discovery (look, turtles!), then involve us clumsily trying to swim close, record them for posterity, then stare on like sad statues as they disappear from sight – there is palpable magic. This is their regular-old world, after all, where we are aliens. Being there in their presence is transportive, but obviously, fleeting. At least in video footage, a loop can play and repeat, assuring us of some type of close encounter. But out and about in their wilderness, I love to imagine them relaxing, existing, and being totally at peace.
Part of the satisfaction of passing these experiences along is the hope that they will inspire you to head off into nature yourself. With luck, one of your next vacation days will be something you’ll always savor, inspiring you to imagine it repeating endlessly. Over here, I’ll be hoping you will encounter a happy, perfectly free turtle out in the world. If so, we’ll share a connection well beyond words, that will deliver a powerful return on what’s written here.
See you later, friend.
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands, July, 2017
Rare Air Episode 36, Part 1: Second trip to St. John for two
Rare Air Episode 37, Part 2: Sunset at Caneel Bay Resort
Rare Air Episode 38, Part 3: Honeymoon Beach, Caneel Bay Resort
Rare Air Episode 39, Part 4: Close Encounter with Otherworldly Locals
Rare Air Episode 40, Part 5: Diving Leduck Island
Rare Air Episode 41, Part 6: Our Octopus Friend
Rare Air Episode 42, Part 7: A Perfect Day Above and Below the Waves
Rare Air Episode 43, Part 8: Hello, We Must Be Going
Rare Air Episode 44, Part 9: Running Down a Dream
Rare Air Episode 45, Part 10: Reef Bay Sunrise
Rare Air Episode 46, Part 11: Coral Bay Sunset
