My Trip To Myrtle Beach

'When you take risks

it sets your mind free

If you never have the courage to take risks 

it is as if you have locked away your spirit 

and threw away the key'

      ~ by Aria Irani

Hey! So over the summer I've been traveling a lot. So to add to my continuous line of trips, last week I went to Myrtle beach with my best friend Bronwyn. While we were at the beach, we saw a bunch of pelicans fly all around us while we were swimming. They would dive for fish, fly off, circle above us, then come back for more fish. It was pretty amazing, because I'd never been that close to pelicans before, and I was surprised they weren't afraid of us.

I just wanted to share some pictures that we took while we were there, all of which were taken by Molly Irani:

                   
                      I'm on the left and Bronwyn is on the right.

                 

My Visit To The Smithsonian Museum Of Natural History

'In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take.'

So a few weeks ago I went to Washington D.C. for a few days. It was amazing, and, since it was my first time going there, I was super excited to go to one of the museums I had heard so much about; The Smithsonian Museum Of Natural History.

Right when we got there I wanted to go straight to the ocean exhibits, and so we made our way there. I had never really been to a museum before except for one about art in Atlanta, Georgia. And so we wandered around the gigantic room filled with everything from the ocean imaginable, and I literally stopped and read everything from giant squid to polar bears.

So here's some of a ton of awesome information that I learned while there:

• Fun Fact: Coral reefs support more species per square meter than any other ecosystem in the ocean!

• More than half of the world's population depends on the ocean as a primary food source.

Large scale commercial fishing technologies often catch marine animals other than the ones they are meant to target. In many cases, the amount of this bycatch can be larger than the wanted catch and is simply thrown dead or dying back into the sea.

In the past, humans fished in shallow, coastal waters now modern fishing gear stretches across the ocean's surface and plumbs its depths - allowing us to take more than ever before.

• Many marine animals  use light to get the attention of potential mates, distract predators, blend into their surroundings, or lure prey.

The ability to produce light evolved separately in different organisms at different times. So, not everything that glows does it the same way. Bioluminescent animals can be divided into two broad categories. One group makes its own light, usually using special organs called photophores.

The second group doesn't actually make light. Instead, the animals in this group host light-producing bacteria. the bacteria generally are cultured in special sacs or separate organs.

Bioluminescent creatures produce light with chemicals. Energy released in a chemical reaction causes the glow.

• Dinosaurs are the most famous victims of the extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, 65 million years ago. But they weren't alone. Nearly half of Earth's species disappeared - including almost 75% of ocean species.

Evidence indicates an astroid was to blame. Dust and smoke from the impact blocked sunlight, disrupted photosynthesis and altered Earth's climate.

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This is a picture of me in front of the skeleton of a, if I remember correctly; baleen whale.

    This is a picture of me behind the jaws and teeth of a giant great white shark, which is prehistoric.

    This is a lion in the African exhibit.

I hope you all liked this post and are now inspired to, if you have not already, go to the Smithsonian Museum Of Natural History and experience it for yourself, because it's definitely worth visiting!

All information from this post if from the Smithsonian Museum Of Natural History, and all pictures were taken by Molly Irani.

Swimming With Sea Turtles!

'Wherever there is strength; emotional or physical,
There must also be weakness'
~by Aria Irani

Hey everyone! So, as I have written about on previous posts, I have recently taken a trip to MEXICO! Well, I got back about a month ago, and am super excited to tell y'all about my fun experience!

On this particular post I am going to write about when, in Mexico, I got to SWIM WITH SEA TURTLES! :

Okay, so me and my parents went snorkeling at Akumal Bay (which is a bay in Mexico), and it was my first time snorkeling. We were snorkeling in the ocean, and it was fun, but to our disappointment, there were hardly any fish in the area, and if we did happen to get lucky and spot some, they were all hidden in their gigantic coral* homes.

We were just floating around, searching for something to observe, when, out of the blue (get it-because the ocean's blue) appeared a sea turtle! It was big and amazing, and just the whole overall experience was incredible! We then later on saw a bunch more and they were all just as magnificent.

 Sea turtles, are majestic in a totally different and unique way from any other species on the planet, and I'm just so grateful that I got the wonderful opportunity to experience such  beautiful and magical creatures such as the sea turtles I swam with that day.

 So now here's some sea turtle info that I hope you find both educational and interesting:
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Okay, so since we were not informed of the type of turtle we saw, I am going to say, as my best guess, that they were Hawksbill Sea Turtles, for their habitat is coral reefs and coastal shallows.

                 Hawksbill Sea Turtle:

The Hawksbill Turtle is 2 1/2 - 31/4 ft (0.8-1m), weighs 100-165 lb (45-75 kg), is distributed in tropical and warm-temperate waters worldwide, and their habitat is coral reefs and coastal shallows.

Named after its conspicuous beaked snout, the hawksbill has a carapace (which is the upper shell of a turtle; the protective outer covering of some other animals, such as crabs) with a raised, central keel and pointed shell plates (scutes) around its rear margin. It lives in warm water regions, feeding on sponges, mollusks, other sedentary animals, and rarely strays far from shallows and coral reefs. It is less migratory than other marine turtles, breeding at low densities all over the tropics instead of gathering at certain beaches. On land it has a distinctive gait, moving its flippers in diagonally opposite pairs - other marine turtles move their front flippers together - the same action they use when swimming.

        The hawksbill is the chief source of tortoiseshell - detached, polished scutes, Despite being classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, hawksbills are often killed and stuffed when young to be sold as curios, particularly in Southeast Asia. Attempts at farming these turtles have not been successful.
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Also, in one of the next few posts, I'll be posting a video of myself talking about my amazing experience with the sea turtles, so be sure to keep reading!

    Picture by: www.topmexicorealestate.com

Hey, so funny coincidence: the picture above is just a picture I found, but it was taken at the same place that I swam with the sea turtles; Playa Del Carmen, Akumal Bay.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading about my time with turtles!

I am dedicating this quote by Aristotle to my best friend ever, B.W.

'Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies'

            -Aristotle