The Next Chapter: Day 509

Wow. Today was a full day. I tell you what!

I was up this morning & off the ship shortly after 0730. Becky & I were on our way to Marigot. The French side of the island. It’s crazy how a short 20-minute cab ride can transport you to a whole new world.

We wandered around the waterfront, too early to peruse the shops, but certainly not too early for a croissant! Yes, we found a delightful French bakery & had fresh squeezed orange juice, warm croissants & Becky had a Croque Monsieur. It was delightful! Of course, we paid Euros for everything. That was not so delightful! There were dogs around, cute little pug puppies and people smoking (also not delightful!). After our breakfast, we headed to the shopping area & wandered through the shops, admiring the fashion & options not seen on many of the other islands. I was quite excited to find the Madagascar sun hats I’d see in Aruba, but sadly none fit me right. They were actually cheaper here too! Bummer!

We caught a cab to Airport Beach next. Now that was an experience. The planes land just beyond the beach. They fly right overhead, so low you think you can reach up & touch the belly of the plane. I’ve never seen anything like it! This amazing green water, white sand & a massive plane roaring right overhead. It’s surreal. And then there’s the takeoff. The planes start just across the road & the rush of air from the jets blows you backwards, along with sandblasting you! It’s a cheap form of microdermabrasion! I didn’t attempt it, as I had my camera with me! In fact, I was having so much fun taking photos I forgot to check my card. Right when the BIG plane of the day was coming in to land, my card was full! Doh! Can you believe it? What a whoopsie to make! Argh! Maybe another time? Right!

I left Becky at the beach with a cocktail in each hand & headed back to the ship. I was going diving this afternoon. With sharks. Yes, you heard me right.

I had to get an underwater housing/camera before the dive, so I rushed into Boolchand’s & picked up the gear I needed & RAN onto the ship to change & get my diving gear. I rushed off the ship & found our group at the bottom of the gangway. My camera battery didn’t even have time to charge! I was worried it wouldn’t last!

Bronwyn & Nic were with me, as well as a few Dancers, Cruise Staff & Moses, the Videographer. I was VERY nervous to do the shark dive. I mean, they tell you it’s safe, but come on! They are sharks people! The leader is in chainmail! That’s gotta tell you something!

They give us a dive briefing & away we go. The water was quite choppy on the surface & there was a strong current once we were in the water. We followed the mooring line down to the bottom of the ocean & swam along the floor to a crescent shaped line of cinder blocks. We were to grab onto one & stay there for the duration of the dive.

When I grabbed ahold of my block, the sharks were already there. They were big. Much bigger than the 5’ black tipped sharks I’d seen in Bora Bora. These ones were at least 7’ or 8’ in length.

Doing my best not to panic, I turned on the camera & tried to adjust the settings, while still holding onto the block & not letting the camera float upwards. Sharks like to eat things that don’t belong. Like limbs & cameras & such. Great! About this time I managed to put my new camera gear on manual focus. Argh! Struggling to put it back on auto, I happened to look up about the time a shark was swimming right towards me. Okay! We’re in it to win it!

I just started snapping away… It was incredible! The guide would feed the sharks some fish parts on the end of a metal stick & when the shark grabbed hold of the stick, he would swim with the shark & drag the stick over our heads, so the shark would swim over our heads. I’m pleased to say I was tickled by a shark fin & I survived. It touched the top of my head & my mask/regulator. Thankfully it was a swim past & not a ‘you’re next for lunch’!

A beautiful Eagle Ray also swam past the back of the ‘stage’ while we were there. Before I knew it, our dive was over. Now back to the boat. We had to swim away while there were sharks swimming around. Great. I made sure I wasn’t the last one to go!

Once I was back on the boat I couldn’t shut up! I was so excited! What an adventure that was! And to survive it was even better! Wow! And the camera battery lasted! And I got some fabulous shots! Yay! Thanks Nic for organizing this! It was brilliant!

Unfortunately, the housing for my camera leaked. I was able to take it back & get a different one. It took a little or a lot of running around & I was one of the last ones on the boat right before sailaway, but I made it! Thank goodness Boolchand's was with it & they were able to exchange it for me!

Phew. What a day. Diving, running, hanging with sharks, being French, this was a busy, busy day! I finished it off with a nice pizza. I’m out like a light tonight, for tomorrow is another dive!

xxxxMaria