Buoyancy

Nov 22
Turtles are floating here and there, their slick dark shells jutting out of the sea like rubber tires. I don't know how or why they float so much above the surface of the ocean (I am determined to find out) but they hover so far out of the water birds perch on their backs, creating a silly (yet symbiotic) spectacle. Sometimes they pop their heads up like periscopes - to check us out; others flee - their flippers flaying clumsily as they sink away.

Turtles are dear to my heart ... (maybe because when I was little I had such a tight cluster of blond curls on my little head that bobbled on a long neck over my thunderous torso and thighs - my folks said I looked like a tortoise in my crib). A few years ago I worked on a doco on Florida's red tide which, in addition to other tragedies, struck the sea turtle population hard. The neurotoxins in the red tide rendered these dignified creatures completely immobile. Paralyzed, they were brought to Mote in Sarasota where for MONTHS they subsisted in plastic tubs continually misted with water. Twice a day a Vet and assistants would come and lift these motionless 'rocks' on end; force feed them, take a blood sample, and gently swab th tears from their eyes; until hopefully they recovered. Like canaries in coal mines, turtles are the barometers of the ocean and it is encouraging to see so very many here off the southern coast of Mexico.

Nov 23
Today was another milky day: a bright haze hung over the placid water as we motored first from Barra to Manzanillo (yesterday); now we are underway to Zihuatanejo - another 20 hours to the south. The sea looked like icing as the sun got low; now that it has set (behind some ominous flat-bottomed clouds) we're getting ready to grill a yellowfin tuna we caught (having already enjoyed sashimi appetizers). Expecting to be in Z-town just after dawn and there for T-giving ;-) Love to all

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com