Mayotte Swimming with turtles (26 images)

Swim With The turtles in Mayotte lagoon

Enjoy the unique experience of swimming with green sea turtles in the warm water of the Indian Ocean in the heart of the lagoon, of Mayotte, a french island.



The turtles ? just hop in the water and swim straight ahead, there they are already !

Sitting on the golden beach of N'Gouja in the Mayotte island 'southwest, we adjust our masks, take our snorkels, boot and fins and dive into a water at 30...
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Swim With The turtles in Mayotte lagoon

Enjoy the unique experience of swimming with green sea turtles in the warm water of the Indian Ocean in the heart of the lagoon, of Mayotte, a french island.



The turtles ? just hop in the water and swim straight ahead, there they are already !

Sitting on the golden beach of N'Gouja in the Mayotte island 'southwest, we adjust our masks, take our snorkels, boot and fins and dive into a water at 30 °C here on Mayotte. Bad luck that it had rained alot the last days, the visibility is limited to less than a metre. We swim towards the open sea to find a zone with clearer water. Marjorie quickly takes the lead swimming a stylish crawl. Suddelny, I hear her shouting and I see her piercing the surface of the water. "I just ran into a turtle ! "
A fat turtle appears, the animal's carapace shows numerous scratches and scars, and it does not even take notice of our little group as it swims closely nearby. A remora fish is attached tot he turtle's belly using is sucking disc. It''s an old green turtle (Chelonia Mydas), more than a metre long and weighing probably about 100 kg. To see an animal from up close that has lived for over 100 million years in the oceans is absolutely impressive. The animal lowers its head and searches the sand with its beak looking for some algae to eat. Every two or three minuts, she abandons her meal, returns to the surface and fills her lungs with fresh air.
It is possible to observe the turtle egg-laying the whole year round. Usually the females leave the sea during the night and often with the high tide to lay their eggs.

Swim with them Observe them ? Yest. But touch them? Never ! It might be that they won't come back, on your next visit to the island.
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