I have not been in the close proximity of sharks, ever – well, at least to my knowledge 🙂 At Punta Carrion on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos, I got just as close as I am comfortable with. This all went down when we, on a day trip to South Plaza Island, stopped for some snorkelling on the way. Our welcoming committee was a big shark circling the yacht… Not many wanting to go into the waters when we spotted that. “Luckily” I had decided not to dive into the waters beforehand – it was wintertime and way too cold. Instead we ended up taking to the dinghies to have a look at a school of sharks curled up in a bay. Some of us even got out of the boats to wade with the sharks. We should have known the sharks weren’t going to be too happy being pushed into a corner. I’ll never forget the face of one of the men when the sharks decided to get out of their confinement by turning around, head straight for him, swim past, to the other side of the bay. Realising they were coming for him and he had nowhere to go, and then relief 😀
I went with a tour company named Santa Fe, which was run by the same people that owned the hostel I stayed at, meaning I was the first on the bus going around town picking up the others and taking us to the dock. The yacht is not of the biggest and fanciest, but it works. Trying not to get as unwell as I did on the last boat trip I decided to stay on out in the fresh air on the top deck, which was kind of challenging in the big waves. A few times I was clinging to the table and chair hoping for the best 🙂 Still it was a lot better than being confined to the trapped air inside the boat, and best of all no seasickness! On this trip we were dropped off at the dock in Puerto Ayora, making it a short walk home. Basic breakfast and lunch is served on board.
Haha! Amazing! I have gotten in the water in Belize with nurse sharks – very not scary. And I’ve seen reef sharks snorkeling on the Great Barrier reef as well as a Wobbegong shark sleeping in a crevice – that was a little more spooky. And we saw a shark on wall dive in Grand Cayman – all amazing, but I was happy none got too close. I’d NEVER do the cage dives with Great Whites – no way. Fun post – thanks for sharing with #FarawayFiles Bea!
Wow, you’re the shark whisperer 😀 I don’t know if I would have been able to stay calm if I had met any snorkelling. I might have gone into shock and drowned…
They were small reef sharks and just as nervous of us as we were of them. That being said we didn’t stick around to find out!
That’s a logic I know, but can not apply to life, when a gecko or something is running around in my room 🙂
Fantastic views of sharks! I saw the Galapagos island sharks on Blue Planet 2 it was fascinating how they hunt down the tuna and trap them. What a fantastic trip. #FarawayFiles
Shame on me, I haven’t watched any of the Blue Planets yet… The small ones I was ok with, but I could feel my heart rate going up when the big one appeared immediately after we arrived. It felt like it thought it was feeding time 😀 Galapagos is super!
I don’t understand – people got out of the boat to wade knowing there were sharks?! I would never! I remember one time I was in Florida and we took a boat way out and I really had to go to the bathroom and everyone said just hop in the water. I didn’t, and literally 3 minutes later a hammerhead swam by. I will never forget it! I am terrified of sharks!!!! Thanks for linking up with #farawayfiles
Oh, yes, we could see them clearly. The guides said those sharks weren’t dangerous… I guess it is the excitement of having been close to a shark. Just like shark cage diving. I don’t it either. Fair enough, the small ones are not going to kill me, but still. I can just see your situation before me. I would have died!