First Snorkel Trip Turned Shark Dive

There was no time to get settled into our new home for the next three weeks because it was time to snorkel. We planned to kayak out to the reef and set anchor. I got lucky enough to be on a kayak with two other people, which made me think the work would be a bit easier. Turns out, when you put three people on a two person kayak, you capsize. OOPS. We finally got it together enough to paddle out to the reef, get our masks, snorkels and flippers on and start swimming. I looked down and saw the most beautiful reef filled with corals and brightly colored fish. It honestly looked like a post card. All I kept saying was "this is not real life!!!" As my brother Brandon knows, I tend to talk and snorkel at the same time...out loud...to myself....unknowingly. Hopefully my classmates won't mind. It hadn't been five minutes since we all jumped in before my classmate Bethany casually mentioned that she saw a shark. Naturally, I got super excited and wanted to see it too. I expected to look over and see a cute little reef shark or nurse shark that would just keep swimming along past us. This didn't seem unreasonable since my classmates seemed so calm about this shark being down there. As I looked down what I saw was an 8-10' BULL SHARK. At least all of my obsessive shark week watching paid off because our host also noticed that this was not just an ordinary shark. The last time she saw a bull shark out here was 3 years ago. Apparently June is the bull shark mating season. So being that it is July, my theory is that he either is late (typical man) OR that he couldn't commit. You pick. Now, seeing a shark while snorkeling really is fine. They typically leave you alone. In this case, however, Mr. Bull Shark was a little too curious and then the water got a little too murky for us to stick around. We left quickly leaving behind two stuck anchors that we were not willing to swim to the bottom of the reef to retrieve. You will all be proud to know that no, I did not try and pet the shark, ride the shark or make friends with him.

                                                            My best friend Steve and I.