Holy Whale Shark!

Thank heavens for modern medicine. After a couple doses of antibiotics and several Immodium, my intestinal woes are a thing of the past. So today I am free to frolic, without a care in the world. And today is all about the frolicking...

As seems to be the fashion here on the islands, we were up with the sun, bouncing across the water and toward the reef, hours before I would normally even lift my head from the pillow. But the sun was so brilliant and the ocean so turquoise that I happily ignored my exhaustion.

Before we even had time to settle into our boat ride, someone yelled, "Dolphins!" Sure enough, there they were, an entire pod headed directly for our boat, zipping in and out of the water so playfully. Luckily, I had already squeezed into my wetsuit, so I slipped on my flippers, secured my mask, and leapt into the water with them.

And just like that, I was swimming with the dolphins! And not some cheesy, commercialized, swimming pool version of doing so, either. I was really swimming with them; in their home turf! They zipped away as quickly as they had come upon us, but for a brief moment, I was right there with them.

But wait, this day just keeps getting better...

As soon as I got back on the boat, the Captain announced he had seen an ever-elusive whale shark up ahead, so we should all be prepared to get back in the water. He circled the boat, and instructed the first group to dive in. I hung back, thinking it was only fair to give the others a shot. Unfortunately for them, the whale shark got spooked by the movement and swam off. The Captain circled again, announcing that it was the next group's turn. I didn't have to be told twice, and immediately slipped into the water. And there he was - all thirty majestic feet of him, gracefully making his way through the deep blue sea. He didn't stick around for long, but I was able to get a really good view of him as he meandered back into the depths of the ocean.

I couldn't have hoped for a better morning. All of this before 9:00am! And we still have one more dive left today, so who knows what may be in store...