Our vessel
A big beautiful female
This one got really close to the cage
These animals are so cool to see up close!
This morning
the shark project volunteers were up and out at 5:30, going to the garage to
pack up the wetsuits, life jackets, bait, chum, and snacks in the truck, and
taking them down to the harbor to pack up the boat. We then walked back up to
the house to eat breakfast and grab our jackets before heading back down to the
shark project guest building to help the clients into their life jackets and
into the boat. It was an absolutely beautiful morning; the boat pushed out of
the harbor at 7:30, just after the sun came up. The wind was pretty strong out
on the water, but after we got out of the shallows, the swells got smaller and
calmer. My body definitely felt thankful for going to bed early and refraining
from party last night; my stomach felt a lot better out on the water. No
seasickness for me today, though I can’t say the same for everyone on the boat.
It’s becoming clear that guests providing some of their own “chum” is a pretty
regular occurrence.
I decided
not to go in the cage today, but instead bring my camera out and enjoy the view
from the boat. We anchored today at a different place than we had yesterday-
directly south of Geyser Rock. Yesterday we anchored between Dyer Island and
Geyser Rock, which is the typical summer spot for us to be. But, since it’s
coming up to winter down here and the sharks weren’t very active over in that
spot yesterday, we decided that this morning we’d switch to the winter spot,
and it paid off. We saw a total of fifteen sharks of various sizes, from one
that looked like it wasn’t much bigger than a baby to a big four and a half
meter female that played around with the bait for quite a while near the boat.
The visibility in the water was better than yesterday, too, so it was much
easier to see the sharks in the water. We stayed out on the boat for over three
hours, photographing and enjoying the show that the sharks were putting on. I
got a few good pictures of the sharks swimming beside the boat and charging the
bait, as well as a few short videos. When we finally pulled up the anchor at a
little after 11, I think just about everyone on the boat would’ve agreed they’d
seen quite a show.
When we
returned to the harbor and helped the clients out of their wetsuits and off the
boat, three of the volunteers went back up to the house to wash the wetsuits,
while Aurelie and I stayed and helped the crew wash the boat. At about noon, we
were finished with work for the day and went back home to clean up.
After
cleaning up, eating lunch at home, and relaxing for a while, Karla came and
picked us up to go grocery shopping, which we do Mondays and Thursdays. Tonight
was my night to cook dinner, which we just finished, so I got some supplies for
that, and a couple of snacks to have around the house. Karla told us that, due
to the weather, tomorrow would be a no sea day, so she’d planned a trip into
Cape Town for us. We’re getting picked up at seven tomorrow morning to make the
drive up to the beautiful city of Cape Town. We’re picking two more volunteers
up at their hostels at ten, then Karla said she’d let us decide what we’d
prefer to spend the day doing there. We agreed on taking a gondola up to Table
Mountain, which, as far as we’ve heard, is the main must-see spot in Cape Town.
The view from Table Mountain is supposed to be incredible, and there’s a small
spot to eat at the top. Sounds like it’ll be another great day with my fellow
volunteers! I’m definitely bringing my camera along for the ride.
In the past
few days I’ve officially confirmed what I already suspected- spending time in a
foreign country can definitely be an incredible learning experience. I’ve been
taking in so much of the different culture from the beautiful country of South
Africa. Some of the boat’s crew members are teaching me some words in
Afrikaans, one of the main languages used here. I’ve been getting along fine
with just English around here, but beginning to learn the new language has been
fun. This is my first time traveling internationally, and it feels very weird.
Last night, while talking to the other volunteers, I said, “here in the US…”
then realized, no, that’s not an accurate statement. It’s also been cool,
looking at the signs at shops and restaurants around here, to see how they call
some things differently here. For example, in the grocery store, they do have
pickles, but they’re referred to as “sour cucumbers”. Chips are also referred
to as crisps, and they say gentsmen here instead of gentlemen.
That’s
enough for today, I guess. It’s been a great day, and I can’t wait to see what
tomorrow brings! This post’s food for thought: “If you reject the food, ignore
the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay
home.”- James Michener
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