Swimming with Danger

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// Part 5 of 7 //

As opposed to my previous swimming with sharks’ experience, the newest adventure was less adrenaline charged.

The first encounter 8 years ago was absolutely unplanned, and definitely wasn’t included in the Great Barrier Reef diving package ‼️

We were told that we might spot turtles, but never warned about the possibility of getting cozy with the dreaded white tip shark!

“You were lucky!” smiled the guy on the boat once he learned about the incident… And I’ll always wonder what he meant by that…Is it because sharks were uncommon in this area or because we made it back unharmed?

I genuinely regret that I didn’t dwell on his “lucky” back then and inquired further about its real meaning. In fact, I was breathless which is quite normal given the circumstances… the adrenaline rush had helped me rush back to the boat and achieve a speed record. My only concern at that moment was to regulate my heartbeat, which had gone wild, my heart suddenly a war drum beating a mad rhythm. Xcaret Park, Playa del Carmen Mexico 10 May 2018

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It’s a Wild Wild World

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// Part 4 of 7 //

On the Riviera Maya, while snorkeling the Great Mayan Reef, the world’s second largest coral reef, between the “butterflies of the oceans” – stingrays – I felt overwhelmed by a feeling of sadness triggered by the following thought… I realised I love all creatures except the Homo Sapiens found in my birth country: the rulers and those electing them…the greedy and corrupt as well as the ignorants and bigots who put them in power…

The maligned animals of prey hunt out of hunger, ONLY…if they were to duplicate those Homo Sapiens’ greedy and auto-destructive behaviour, many species would have been extinct by now…

South Africa 12 April 2009

After reflection, I realised I didn’t feel that way during the previous encounters with the animals in their natural habitat…

South Africa 12 April 2009

On the contrary, I had some of the most exhilarating experiences while scuba diving in the beautiful Great Barrier Reef ( crossed paths with a white tip shark )

The Maldives 12 July 2012

The Maldives 10 July 2012

And in Sharm El Sheikh 24 November 2015

Ditto on terra firma during our safari in South Africa – 11 April 2009

As well in Madagascar’s tropical rainforest – 3 May 2009  

And again in the Andes mountains in Peru’s Alto Plano – 24 October 2011 

And lately in the cloud forest in Carara National Park Costa Rica – 20 March 2018.

My moodiness must have been induced by the elections taking place at the time in my birth country…this charade did affect me despite the distance!