In that case, let me get started! The last ten days have been absolutely INSANE! I've soared with manta rays, spun iradescent webs of galaxy with my feet, seen 1,000s of dolphins, yes, thousands, watched the sky slowly burst into morning flames, single handedly forced the ocean to boil for acres, played with hundreds of sharks, and all around had some of the most amazing experiences of my life. Let me explain...
Four of my last ten nights have been spent on a small 14-foot outboard motor boat, continually tracking a single manta ray to monitor its behavior and movement patterns. If you're wondering what exactly a manta ray is, as I originally was, click here. Or, feel comforted that these are some of the most beautiful creatures I've witnessed. These rays normally range between 5-10 feet wide (that's HUGE!) and glide slowly through the sea, softly escorting invisible plankton into their gaping mouths. After following these big fellas for a while I have a favor to ask of you all; whenever someone drops the rare phrase, "Let's take the scenic route," I want you to respond, "You mean the Manta Ray Way, right?" I know, I know, lame right? But utterly true. These giant creatures have not a hurry in the world as they peacefully glide through the sea, spinning gorgeous barrel rolls and traversing steep cliffs to corral plankton.While following the mantas through wind, rain, and all out stormy hell, invisible phytoplankton blink neon green around your boat, like lightning bugs of the sea. They weave constellations and galaxies as they gush out of the motor, or if walking on shallow flats, they duly shimmer, a little stunned at the weight of your fat feet. The best part: you can never take a photo of them, they cease to exist if you try. Any light overpowers their impressive iradescence. And if these guys aren't enough, at the end of the night you often get to see the sky split into fire, splashing flames into the sea.
One particular day, after tracking manta rays all night, I stepped off the small boat onto a slightly larger boat for all day shark tagging, preparing myself for the most insane 36 hour marathon of wakefulness in my life. This second journey consisted of boating with thousands of bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, and melon headed whales, along with trains of fifteen+ mantas. The spinner dolphins often launched so high in front of the boat we had to alert NASA...
All of this occured before arriving at our prime sharking area. That's when the chum entered the water and the men in trim grey and white suits came out. As they worked themselves into a frenzy, we began tagging mostly Grey Reef and Galapagos sharks, between 5-7 feet long. In order to tag them we had to first catch them, and this involved carefully drawing the beasts of the sea to the side of the boat with short thick line, where you then had to reach over the boat and grab the shark by its dorsal and tail to succesfully tag it. Keep in mind this all occurred while other sharks tried to bite or naw the bait out of the caught shark's mouth. But don't worry, we always had angels watching over our backs, or maybe their actual name is fairy tern...
After reeling in about 30 sharks I felt like a true man... a truly exhausted man that is! I'm glad to inform you all limbs returned home safe, and all sharks returned peacefully to the deep. Although, when one 8+ foot Galapagos shark snagged my bait and ran so hard it broke the line engineered for shark catching, I had second thoughts about the important things in life...
But anyway, we'll all be here waiting for you all to come join us as usual...
Or maybe I'll just meet you in the coconut palms
