Quite contrary to yesterday's more somber post, this morning was exhilarating. We dove at the fore reef, which is the reef just outside the lagoon. A couple of years ago an Acanthaster (Crown of Thorns Seastar) outbreak devastated the live coral but now, the reef is making a great recovery and we were able to witness new coral recruits popping up on top of the dead coral. We dropped down to about twenty-five feet, with a great expanse of reef below us and clear blue water in every direction. My dive buddy and I were assigned to lead our small pack, keeping a slow pace, which allowed us to observe the intricate details of the reef. As we followed the contours of the reef, with its flat plains separated by mini valleys, life was surely abundant. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.
There was such a wealth of diversity and creatures so beautiful, they seemed unreal. Eels glared at us with their wide white eyes and open jaws, lavender soft corals swayed with the surge and neon yellow sponges made bright appearances amongst the drab mix of browns and grays of the dead coral. As we swam up the small ridges, masses of fish appeared like a mirage over the road on a warm summer day. Chaetodonts (butterfly fish) elegantly moved through the water so close to us that we could see the fine details of their patterns. For the most part, the fish were unalarmed by our presence, swimming with us as if we were fish too. Black tip reef sharks would glide right in front of us, and my heart would pound quite quickly whenever they got too close. However, they are relatively small and unaggressive, so there wasn't much worry there.
As we neared the end of our dive, I noticed a large fish swimming towards us, so I tapped my dive buddy to point it out to him. Within a few seconds we realized it was not just a large fish, but in fact an 8 foot lemon shark. He grabbed for my arm, and I squeezed back, afraid that this shark, much bulkier and obviously larger than the fairly docile black tips, was headed straight for us. Fish began swimming in our direction, only adding to our fear that perhaps we should be swimming away too. Since my dive buddy and I were in the lead, we were the first to notice the lemon shark, and I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone else had noticed what lay ahead (they hadn't yet, but they would in a matter of seconds). Although I was intimidated by the size and prehistoric demeanor of the shark, I somehow lost most of the fear and was instead in a state of awe. I felt so honored to be able to witness some of the ocean's most fascinating creatures and also proud of myself for taking the leap of faith and learning to dive. Mind you, all of this took place within twenty seconds and before the shark came within fifteen feet, it decided it was uninterested in us and veered in the other direction.
Although the ride back was choppy and I normally would have been sea sick, I could not help but smile, even with the wind and rain striking my face. It would have been more than ideal to have my camera on that dive, but I still have my eyes and that experience will stay with me forever.
It is starting to pour now and I think it is the island mourning our approaching departure. Maybe not; the rain has already stopped.
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