We woke up to a cool, wet morning but by the time we arrived at the Tropic Air airport to catch our 11:30 flight to Caye Caulker things had warmed up and the sun was starting to shine thru. Got on this little commuter plane and 10 minutes and $40.00 later we were in Caye Caulker. What a neat place. Liked it from the second we landed. We walked the mile into town and started looking for a boat to take us snorkeling. They wouldnt go unless they had 4 passengers and dont leave until 2:00 pm. However if we paid for 4 they would go now. So we paid the money ($105.00 USD) for the half day and climbed into Carlos boat. The first reef he gave us a personal tour and we saw lots of little fishes, conch by the dozen, a number of moray eels etc. we then moved to Shark and Manta Ray Alley. He tied to a buoy and HOLY CRAP, we were surrounded by sharks, manta rays and barracudas. He then started throwing in chunks of sardines and a feeding frenzy ensued. He then said for is to get into the water with them. Warned us to keep our hands away from their mouths (no kidding) and not to step on the mantas (again, no kidding). It was wild, we touched the mantas top and bottom(with Carlos guidance), and felt the top of the sharks head and backs as they swarmed around us. Everything was great until..... one of the sharks BIT ME!! I was just swimming along minding my own business when one of the sharks thought my hand would be a nice snack. Chomp, yeow, holy shit he bit me!! My hand was streaming blood into the water and I am surrounded by sharks, manta rays and barracudas. Dont worry says Carlos just hold your hand under water to stop the bleeding. As if Im going to hold my hand under the water!! Im going to get OUT of the water. I got into the boat that had zero first aid supplies, no cloth or rags so I just poured fresh water on until I stopped bleeding. Apparently nurse sharks dont have real teeth (otherwise he said I would have probably lost my hand) but more like a cheese grater (reassuring). IAE, I survived. Did one more quick dive in another area, until I saw another shark and called it quits for the day. Went back to shore to have a lobster dinner accompanied by probably the worst glass of wine I have tried to drink. Caught the 5:10 plane back to the mainland in a rainstorm and gusting winds. piloted, Im sure by a teenage pilot. Even with the bumping and swerving we took off and landed safely. I am attaching a short vid of the sharks and manta rays. Why would anyone in their right mind want to jump in there?
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 00:41:17 +0000
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