Swimming with turtles

My first morning on Gili T, I grabbed the bike I’d rented to watch sunset the previous evening and headed in the opposite direction to explore the island.
It’s possible to cycle the entire island in an hour, but I got sidetracked at the north end where I came across a couple guys from Lombok selling jewelry. I had to stop and see what the local jewelry was all about and ended up buying a cool bracelet made of petrified seaweed. I like being the first customer of the day because they take the money and tap it all over the jewelry to spread the luck for the rest of the day. I thought to myself that by making a purchase I was supporting the local economy and maybe, just maybe it would bring me some good karma and even grant me some luck in seeing a few turtles in the water.

I continued on my bike through the interior of the island, where village life, cows, palm trees and horsecarts outnumber the guest houses abd hotels situated along the coast. I can imagine what the pace of life must have been like here before tourism took off. Despite the islands recent development, it’s still very easy to wander back into the interior and get a glimpse of the more traditional side of the island.

Later that day, while snorkling in the water just in front of the beach near my bungalow, I heard a sound coming from the distance. It sounded like music I’d heard before but could not place. Then I heard a similar sound coming from the opposite end of the island, a bit more distant but equally mesmerizing. And then I understood what I was hearing; it was the mosques from the center of the island and their afternoon call to prayer; it was captivating.

At this hour of the afternoon, clouds being to shroud the island of Lombok in the distance and the sound of the imam, calling his worshippers to prayer, provides a surreal background to the idyllic island setting. My face, with snorkle mask in place, lowered into the water enough to see the fish and turtles, but with the call to prayer still audible echoing across the water. It was like a strange and melodic dreamscape and was one of the most peaceful moments I have experienced in the water.

The first turtle I spotted was resting on the sea floor, ten or twelve feet below me. I hovered above it, and after a few minutes it gracefully floated toward the surface where it popped out its head for air before descending again to the bottom. I appreciated the chance to be in the still water floating above this prehistoric creature on my own without groups of camera wielding snorklers.
After its next ascent for air, it swam gracefully along and being slow as turtles are, allowed me to swim just behind it, trying to imitate the ease with which it moved just below the surface. It was 10 or 15 minutes before it finally turned away from the bright clear waters of the reef and disappeared into the darker, deeper abyss below.

Last year when I visited the Gili islands I saw a few turtles on a snorkle trip but they were elusive and disappeared into the distance soon after I spotted them. This year, I’ve seen them every time I go for a snorkle and been impressed by their size, behavior, and beauty. Watching a huge turtle eating the plant life below by using its front fins to chop was one of the coolest things I’ve seen. Luckily, the people here seem to know that these animals, as well as the coral reefs around the island are precious commodities to be protected. I’m not sure if they will always be easy to spot, and maybe it was my lucky bracelet, but it is an experience I won’t forget.