Thinking of going on a trip with the fam? Why not see the Philippine pawikan up close at Apo Island? 🐢 | via philstarlife
The Philippine pawikan or giant sea turtle is a glorious sight up close.
As we approached the tiny island off the coast of Dumaguete, just as my son and I were putting on our masks and snorkels the first time, a pawikan swam up to our boat. We would have been content just seeing this one, but after the awesome welcome, many more turtle encounters followed. The turtles spend most of their time eating sea grass and algae but after some minutes, swim up to the surface for a breath of fresh air. It’s a joy to watch them open their flippers and gracefully swim to the surface. They are powerful swimmers.
After 40 whole years of protection -- the coral has grown, the fish are plentiful and the turtles seem completely unafraid of humans, even big groups of them. One even has to take extra effort to move away from the turtles as they can get curious about snorkelers and cameras. To keep extra safe, my son wore a life vest and stayed inside a life ring. As a first-time snorkeler, he wasn’t sure he wanted to look down into the water. Still, after a little encouragement, he finally put his head down, started to breathe through the snorkel, and discovered an entirely new world underwater.