michelle in mali: Sharks

I went straight from Kenya to Cape Town. It was, wow, just wow...probably the coolest place I've ever been. One day, we went out on a boat to go cage diving with some great white sharks. I was really, really, really looking forward to the awesomeness of it. But I was really, really, really not looking forward to having to wear a wetsuit, you know, in front of people and what-not. Well, I just geared myself up and decided it wasn't going to be a big deal and I just wouldn't be embarrassed about it.

So after we got out to where the sharks were, they started calling for people who wanted to go down in the cage first. My friends and I, of course, volunteered. So we had to go to a little area on the boat to get "fitted" for a wetsuit. This "fitting" consisted of some guy looking you up and down and then yelling at another guy what color (size) to get for you. I was thinking to myself, "Oh, good, at least it's colors and not sizes, so nobody will really know what size I am. (even though they can still see me)." So I just stood there while he looked at me straight-on and he hollers out something to the effect of, "Okay, I need a blue"...and then I make a half-turn...and he looks about halfway down and yells out, "Oooh...nope...better make it an orange!" Awesome.

So we move to the center of the (not all that large) boat, where everybody can see us, and put our wetsuits on. Really, I should re-phrase...we got put into our wetsuits. So I wait my turn and then the guy comes to help me get mine on. It was ridiculous. While he was trying to shimmy the legs on, he literally picked me up all the way off the ground. Then, he needed to get the sleeves on me. Apparently he usually has people hold onto this bar overhead so he can shimmy the sleeves down. Well...I had to do a little hop to reach the bar...and he thought that was pretty funny. So he starts giggling. Then I start giggling. Then my friends start giggling. Then...most of the people who could see what was going on start giggling. Good thing I wasn't already embarrassed about the whole wetsuit thing anyway.

Then, they start putting us in the cage and I was the first person to go in. And, well, I kind of started to freak out. Not because of the sharks, but because I am apparently claustrophobic. I was shoved into that wetsuit and the hood was pulled up tight and I had a mask covering my entire face except for my mouth. There was about a foot of air between the top of the ocean and the top of the cage. And I just started freaking out feeling like I couldn't breathe. BUT I eventually got it under control...and then it was fantastic. The water wasn't very clear that day so a shark had to be pretty much touching the cage before you could see it, but we got to see a TON of them. I think most of them were about 12 feet long...maybe 15...I don't know. It was probably one of my most favorite days ever. And one of my very favorite places ever.