Surreal and awesome aren't good enough words to describe the experience of being up close and personal to a whale underwater. They glide like UFOs, singing in a mysterious language, and barely registering your insignificant presence. How strange we humans must be to them - flailing awkwardly about in the water as they zoom by. I imagine we're like horseflies in molasses to them and their snorts make a lot more sense.
We were astonishingly lucky to see several humpbacks underwater off the coast of Mo’orea (shout-out to Nish's incredible video montage of our diving highlights, found below and here: https://vimeo.com/365614490).
One of my big bucket list items was to swim with something massive. I'm still not sure why. But those fleeting moments with the whales reminded me of several things. First, I got a sense similar to seeing Yosemite for the first time - just overwhelmed by the majestic grandeur of some of nature's finest creations. Then, fascination - we know next to nothing about these massive creatures. Finally, a grim sense of responsibility. We, the awkward horseflies splashing around, have changed the world so drastically that they, like most other ocean life, might not see the turn of the century (if we don't hunt them into extinction first). It cemented in my mind how terrifyingly complex and large both our planet and the herculean task of fixing it are (To perfectly fit this theme, my flight was almost cancelled due to the super-typhoon currently drenching Japan. I'm holed up in my hotel room writing this with bottled water and onigiri).
Jordan and I are looking into ways of minimizing and offsetting our carbon footprint as we travel. If you have any resources or ideas, please let us know. I'll also be making a future blog post about what methods we find along the way. Until then, and for many nights after, I'll be dreaming of the massive alien creatures we call whales.
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