Blame it all on ‘Shark Week’
Note to self: Don’t book your next diving excursion right after binge-watching an entire DVR full of “Shark Week” specials. Then again, maybe that’s exactly what I need to do every year. I booked my latest trip to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico at the same time I was glued to the television watching episodes of the Discovery Channel’s yearly shark extravaganza featuring great white, tiger, hammerhead and bull sharks. The original plan was to do some nice, easy reef diving off Playa del Carmen to look at pretty fish, coral, eels and lobsters.
When the gal who runs the dive shop asked if I’d be interested in diving with bull sharks, my jaw dropped. My trip coincided with the start of bull shark season there during their annual cold-weather migration. There might be a chance to dive with them, but she would keep me posted as the date neared. Sure, why not? That sounds like a great idea! After all, Shaquille O’Neal was there on my screen swimming with the sharks. I’m an advanced open-water diver, so if Shaq could do it, then so could I.
I didn’t think much about it in the following few months, and she never mentioned it when I reconfirmed my dives via email just before the trip. Shallow reefs, some cenotes (freshwater limestone caverns) and a day trip to the famous dive spot of Cozumel were on the itinerary, and I was excited.
I walked into the dive shop on my second morning in Playa del Carmen to hear, “You have a choice to make.” There were only three divers that morning, and one was finishing his certification testing. I could drop in with him and his instructor and swim along the shallow reef for an easy, enjoyable first dive. The other girl was diving deeper with a guide to see the bull sharks. Yes, they had arrived and were showing up daily almost two weeks earlier than normal. After a few minutes of weighing my options, I boldly chose to swim with the sharks.
As we slowly lowered ourselves down the descent line, a strong current had our bodies flapping like flags. All I could see was clear blue water and bubbles, bubbles, bubbles from other divers in the depths below. Finally, we got within a few feet of the bottom and that unmistakable shape appeared several yards in the distance. Shark! We carefully pulled ourselves along the line tethered to the bottom and inched over to the observation spot, making sure to keep our hands on the line and not to make any sudden, flailing motions. A handful of bull sharks swam gracefully toward us and around us, seeming to be just as curious about us as we were about them. They are beautiful creatures, and I was surprised that I wasn’t scared at all. The bold choice was the right choice after all.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.