By Sunday the 13th we have gone through a whirlwind of experiences. Even I, with thousands of hours of air time get to see something new.
The shark activity seemed to be getting better every day and on Saturday I found odd clumps of plankton, being aggressively fed on by a few whale sharks and hundreds of rays. Devil rays were having a feast and even some 20 or so very large mantas were in on the action.
I had never seen such a ray spectacle around here and the plankton clumps where unusual too, though I am sure they are not, it is just that I have not been able to notice them like this before. I have a slightly enhanced photo that gives you an idea of the plankton ‘clump’. Of course I know it is called a ‘bloom’, but I prefer the word ‘clump’ since it is more descriptive in this case. The plankton were in clearly defined clumps! You can see it clearly as a greener discoloration in the centre of the pic.
All the feeding activity was focused inside these clumps. It did not take me long to deposit the boat right into the centre of one of these areas. By then they had dived with four whale sharks already. The rays were so intent on feeding, they hardly took any notice of the snorkelers – to their delight! Some amazing photographs were taken but I was also quite taken in by the action. Though I had a bird’s eye view of it all I could not help but wonder how cool it must have been to dive inside that lot!
It was also around this time that I got a radio call from John who openly expressed his love for me. Did I say John loves mantas and that it has always been his dream to dive with these amazing creatures? Of course, like a man, I reciprocated: “We love you too…”
