Beautiful Bequia

Bequia was my favorite island for multiple reasons, including the beautiful landscape, beaches, interesting houses and the ocean. But one reason made it the very best for me…the sea turtles! We walked on a beautiful long and twisty road for around an hour to a sea turtle sanctuary run by a man named Brother King. Brother King opened the sanctuary purely for his love of sea turtles when he started to notice that while free diving, he was seeing less and less of them. Our first interaction with Brother King was when we walked into his turtle sanctuary and he was standing against a tank, giving a tour to around fifteen people. While he was completing his tour and we were waiting, we got to pet the huge turtles, stare at the small ones, and explore his huge red-footed tortoise population. It was amazing to stroke the patterned shell of the sea turtle as it swam past you, almost oblivious to your existence. After about ten minutes of waiting, Brother King stared a tour with us. He showed us the healthy big sea turtle tank, the baby sea turtle tank, the teenage sea turtle tank, and the tank where he held a deformed adult sea turtle. Brother King talked to us for about an hour, sharing how he started the sanctuary and he also told stories. One was about him discovering that the turtles eat tuna fish because he accidentally dropped a tuna sandwich in a tank a long time ago. The second was about how he had survived a shipwreck that proved deadly to seven others. After he was done telling us about his incredible adventures, we were again able to pet and take pictures of the sea turtles and tortoises. I was even able to get a video of a sea turtle trying to bite my camera! Overall, it was an amazing day of walking, sight seeing, and observing turtles. The day ended with a beautiful walk back and a stop on the beach for swimming and history class. It was one of the most beautiful white sand beaches I have ever seen.

P.S. Mom and Dad, I Love you!

Clayton Hennin