On Thursday we all got up bright and early (Matt got up extra early for his dive- he saw giant manta rays!) to walk over to Liquid Adventures for our Sea Safari. We got there, signed some release forms and paid them, then we suited up in wet suit shirts, snorkel gear, and flippers. This was definitely one of those times when I missed my friends from back home because only they could have appreciated the true awkwardness of me in snorkel gear. Especially the fins- oh those fins! Well, I'll get to how that ended up. There were about 20 people total signed up for the morning Sea Safari and we were from all over the world! It was quite a mix of people in Tofo that day. The Liquid Adventures dive leader and skipper took us down to the beach where a big rubber boat was waiting for us. They explained that we each had to grab on to a line of rope hanging off the side and run into the ocean with it. Then, when he shouted, the ladies would all attempt to jump in (you must understand that our head were roughly even with the sides of the giant rubber contraption. This was not going to be easy or in any way graceful), and then the men would continue to haul further into the waves. Fianlly, upon command, they would all jump into the boat as well. When this was finally accomplished the skipper fired up the motor and we zoomed at top speed into deep waters. Each wave we hit made us fly into the air and everyone was holding tight to the boat with their feet strapped in, praying not to be the idiot who flew out of the boat and got eaten by a dolphin. When we were a ways out the skipper stopped the motor and our dive leader explained the rules. "No touching the wildlife. If you need to touch something, touch us. We may not see anything, but keep your eyes peeled for black shadows in the water because that's a whale shark. No touching! If all else fails we will go to the coral reef and see fish. No touching! By the way, look over there at those leaping dolphins and that humpback whale." After these first sightings we didn't see anything for a while and I settled in to at least enjoy the thrilling boat ride. So when the skipper stopped the boat and the dive leader pointed at nothing and said, "Put your masks on and dive in," I dutifully followed instruction by expected to see nothing. I fell backwards over the boat and struggled for a second to right myself in the water. Then I looked down and four feet below me was a gigantic eight meter long whale shark, cooly cruising by. I had to swim sideways to avoid being smacked by his tail, which rose up in the water to where I was awkwardly hovering. Then he was passed me, and I went to the surface again. I just couldn't get the mask and the fins to work as they should, so I scrambeled, with much help, back onto the boat to collect myself. Nothing could have prepared me to see such a gargantuan animal to close and in such and alien setting. The water was just blue and dark, and then out of the shadows emerges a whale shark! I was ready for more, so the boat scooted forward to pick up more people and drop others off. This time when I jumped in I was expecting to see the whale shark, but when it swam out from under the boat and underneath me again I was still in a state of shock. This time I tore after it and kept pace for a while, breathing through the snorkel apparatus. The whale shark seemed not disturbed in the least to have a pack of tiny splashing people following it, and he kept close to the surface. I was so engrossed in watching him that I didn't realize how tired I was getting. It's not particularly easy to breath through a snorkel so when I surface I spat it out and took huge gulps of air. The boat was some ways off so I waved to it. They didn't see me. I shouted, but they were too far to hear me. I started to swim towards it but I was so tired and the blasted fins were dragging me down. I started swallowing water and I waved and shouted more and I panicked more. I considered kicking the fins off in order to stay on the surface because now I was sinking more and more often. Finally the boat noticed me and they zoomed over. I was too tired to haul myself up so I just threw my hands in the air and my friend Chris was able to pull me into the boat. I lay in a heap in the bottom for a while, recovering. It didn't take long for me to perk up and get ready for another round. This time I took the fins off and waited for the whale shark to swim right under the boat before jumping on top of it. It was just as glorious before and I felt so free without the fins! I only stayed long enough to watch it swim under me and away before going back into the boat.
Not long after this the dive leader announced that it was time to scoop everyone up from the water and head in to shore. We drove back at top speed and I thought I would fall off for sure. We stopped briefly at one point to watch a humpback whale. Getting into shore was pretty exciting; we continue to drive at top speed and we literally smashed into the beach, jarring everybody considerably. Then we all hopped out and helped pull the boat further up the beach where a broken down old pick up truck came to haul it the rest of the way. While I was walking up the beach to change out of my borrowed gear I noticed that the bracelet Emily had given me as a farewell gift was gone from my wrist. I had been wearing it day and night since she gave it to me in July, but I guess smacking repeatedly into the ocean had finally done it in. Now it was either resting on the bottom of the Indian Ocean or in the belly of a whale shark. It seems like a fine resting place for such a fine piece of accoutrement.
After deposting our gear and picking up our stuff we went back to Bamboozi for a hearty lunch. It had been a big morning.
OMG WHALE SHARKS
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