Johnny's the name, surfing's my game! I am sharing my experience as I studied abroad across the ocean and would love for you to join me as I begin my story. To read further about my adventure abroad you can visit the Life Science article, World-Traveling Sea Turtle Comes Home. Well, actually, my full name is Johnny Vasco de Gama the sea turtle but you can call me Johnny. I was born and raised in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I come from a rare type of endangered sea turtles known as Kemp's ridley sea turtles. Kemp ridley sea turtles love the warm waters, which is why we can be easily found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. 

My story begins three years ago when I decided to leave the Gulf of Mexico and spread my paddle like arms to explore the aquatic world. My first stop was in the chilly Netherlands, thousands of miles away from home territory. As you already may know, sea turtles are amazing swimmers so paddling all the way to the North Sea was a piece of fish (or a piece of cake to you humans).

I made some great friends in the Netherlands and ate lots of delicious fish as I swam abroad the North Sea. it was actually the rescuers in the Netherlands that named me Johnny. I've decided my next stop should be to venture off to Portugal where I plan to hitchhike a ride to meet a few friends who are marine biologists.