under the ocean

Swimming with Thresher shark at Monad and Kimod Shoal in Malapascua, Philippines ( Pelagic thresher are endangered while Big eye Thresher and Common thresher are vulnerable species)

On the first of August , I was able to feel  again what it's like to be  under the the ocean.

The last time I attempted a similar journey  was on February 2008 in Negril. It was a failed attempt at scuba diving.  

I slowly descended and knelt on the sea floor but my companion would rise back up to the surface.

It took 17 years for me to attempt again as no one else shared the same interest in diving. I did not exactly plan it.

I made no bucket list. It was an after thought. Since I am going to be in that part of the world where we can see ocean life, I thought maybe I should try. I did not know if I could but my curiosity of what is underneath the ocean is always there. I took  my open water diving lessons 3 days prior to my first dive, read the risks involved and  next thing I

 knew, I am on a boat watching the sunrise as we head to the Shoal where we may or may not swim with Thresher sharks.

It gave me a sense of comfort that I was not just alone with instructors.

There were other divers from each continent of our planet.

I was pleased that they all have varied and extensive experiences in diving.

It was my first dive of my life and I am grateful to experience it with with people from various parts of the world with very different background and experiences but may share similar sense of curiosity of the natural world around us.

I put on my  weighted belt, my mask, my  buoyancy control device and tank. They were heavy .

As I stood at the edge of the boat, I took my first leap into the Ocean. 

My curiosity was bigger than my fear and I leaped into the ocean and floated. I felt weightless despite the heavy tank on my back. I slowly descended holding a rope tied to the boat with diving guides to assist in navigating the ocean.

In only a matter of minutes after swimming in the ocean,  we immediately saw a shark  swimming comfortably in his/ her territory.  I thought I should feel like I invaded the ocean animal's territory since I needed a special gear just to swim with them but I felt no such feeling. I felt comfortable. I swam and wanted to get closer a closer look. We were fortunate to see more as another shark joined . It was a joy to swim with them to observe them in another world.

Underneath the water , there are no words, only signs we make with our hands.

There is no noise other than my breathing and the bubbles that I make as I exhale.

I felt different but at the same time the same as the ocean creature I see . It was exhilirating.

I was supposed to only have 2 dives of the day but I wanted to see more. I made a request to join the 3rd dive as we moved to another shoal . In the first 2 dives, I saw thresher sharks. On the 3rd dive there was no more rope. I descended slowly and immediately see a translucent jellyfish with lavender and pink hue. They glow. As I descended more, I saw corals soft and hard colorful fishes of various shapes and sizes swimming in and out of it. I saw sea cucumbers longer than my arms. I was mesmerized . I saw another shark pass by. As I slowly ascended, back up I looked down and I thought I saw more ocean creatures. My biggest surprise is I am as equally fascinated with with the corals and all the colorful varied little creatures as I am with the big sharks. I was in another world so different from the one on land . I may not have fins or gills but despite the differences, I felt connection with all the life underneath our ocean.

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