Freedom Turtle, from the Summer-to-Summer Super Swimathon. (That's me, the light blue turtle in the pack with Champiro and Purple Lightning. We're using the same racing jerseys as we did in the Great Turtle Race.) We leatherbacks are wanderers by nature. During the four years between the times I'm laying my eggs in the sands of Playa Grande, Costa Rica, my pals and I spend much of our time scouring the Pacific for food. (You know how it is....you get hungry on a Friday night...you check out the fridge....empty...you head to the mall and roam the food court.)

The Galapagos (like the rest of the South Pacific) is kind of a crazy place to find jellyfish, our favorite food. While there are lots of jellies around the islands, the currents are really strong. So that means we have to work REALLY HARD for food. We like to hang out in places where we don't have to work so hard to find food. (You know how it is....if you don't have wheels, and you gotta take the bus or walk, you're gonna head to the closest mall, not the one across town.) Then there are the shark-fin fishermen and the long-line fishermen and the gill-net fishermen -- they make the Islands a challenging place to hang out for too long. So, that's why we're headed to the South Pacific gyre. It might not have as much food as the Galapagos, but it's a lot easier to get the food. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, near Lima, Peru.