Well its been a few days since my last post and that is because my computer is now broken 
Thats right, now I have to risk the chance of herpes on this public computer keyboard. It’s going to cost me at least 5 dollars per post until i get something back online with my computer
Yuck, I feel so impossibly poor on this thing. Ewwww, I have to pay to type? That’s like paying to cash a check. I’m done venting about my beautiful paperweight of a computer, because I went diving with a Whale Shark and a whole mess of Giant Manta Rays!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2095064&l=34c75e864d&id=24501923
The trip was a little on the expensive side because it is one of those remote places that you have to take a 400 HP power boat out to. Off the island of Koh Phi Phi (one of the most Beautiful places in the world, there are two pinnacles that somehow command the attention of some of the most amazing underwater sea creatures.
It is Thailand’s low season with tourism and their high season for whale sharks so consequently all of the dive shops will pool their efforts together to hire one of these Speed boats. I haven’t had a guide this good since the Guide in the Waitomo Caves of New Zealand. He told me and the one other person diving from our shop that we were going to sneak into the water before the other 15 people from the other dive shops got in and scared these delicate creatures away.
Ian is a Thai Local who could easily fool you as someone who has never seen a whale shark himself. His enthusiasm is astounding. When he sees something under water he gets in your face and makes sure you are seeing what he does. H is also the camera man (the perfect scenario). No, I don’t want to rent a camera, I want to rent a photographer to take pics with me in them!
We were staring into the deep blue waiting for the first creature to appear and it was madness. Any flicker, any glimer, or any change in color tone at all you will sware to be the first signs of a giant coming home from a hard day’s work. And then it came straight at us!
A manta ray with a 10 foot wing span. Of course only the three of us saw it while the other dive shops were looking the wrong way. I swam up to it and it soared back ino oblivion. At least I saw something, I didn’t get skunked. But there was much more to come.
I kept on looking out into the blue and just as i began to see something, my guide Ian practically tugged my arm out of its socket. There it was, coming right for us. A whale shark seemed to materialize from the darkness and as it got closer and closer, it’s spots became more prevalent and vibrant. It was one of those moments in life, A top ten for sure! I wasn’t quite ready for the sharp lines. This thing was pure muscle! Sculpted by the gods, it’s sharp lines must have been chiseled from rare marble. It approached us boldly and turned in our face. It made its way back towards the darkness just as quickly as it made its way towards us. This thing was approximately 20-25 feet, a small bugger by whale shark standards.
I speed towards it following it into the dark and saw a vivid bite mark on the stock of it’s tail. Only a great white had jaws that could possibly make this size of damage. I saw it so Vividly. I’ll never forget. And then I checked my gauges.
I was at 36 meters, 6 meters past my furthest depth that I am allowed to go and 4 meters away from serious problems. It was time to let this giant go. It was at the end of my dive as well which is a dangerous way to dive. One is supposed to go deep and make their way back shallow, but whale sharks call for desperate measures.
My dive buddy was already at 40 bars (a meausurement of air). The PADI manual demands someone to begin the surface process when they reach 50 Bars (10 Bars ago), but whale sharks call for desperate measures. We stayed down because there was another manta in the area. My partner was telling our guide that she was down to 30 and that she would surface. Officially, we are all supposed to surface, but whale sharks call for desperate measures. Ian took his spare regulator (breathing aperatus) anf gave it to my dive buddy. Now Ian had two people breathing from one tank. Air goes quick this way, but whale sharks call for desperate measures.
Finally, when we were both at 30 bars, we began the surface process. Ian was so dedicated to us seeing and interacting with the whale sharks that he easily would do more than just give us his shirt off his own back. He would give us his air!
During the one hour surface intervul, we went to another spot that had 4 mantas swimming around in circles. We snorkled with these predictable and playful beasts for 40 minutes until we were ready to dive again. Once down diving, we were able to take some of the most amazing Pics that you will ever see.
Tonight Ian is going to give me the pics and I’ll try and get them uploaded.
You won’t believe your eyes!!!