IM ALIVE!
How many times have we forgotten to live, focused in our obligations and surviving, forgetting completely the sense of live, and all the dreams that we used to have when we were children.
Well, I can say that dreams exist, and they can come true, all is to keep the faith and look in to your heart and wait for the magic to make them real.
I can tell you that since my childhood the love for the sea and its living creatures was fomented by my parents to whom I am deeply thankful for the orientation and the support the gave to me, so we can say i grew up surrounded by fantasies and dreams about the blue.
Latter when I saw the jaws movie this incredible animal that I used to know in my books, owned all my dreams and full me of fear and fascination, becoming my favorite animal therefore I have always wanted and feared at the same time to face him.
Today I want to talk about one of my dreams come true:
The encounter with my childhood friend, something that I though impossible, so far but in the same time magical.
I know that diving with sharks sounds difficult to believe, incredible, even suicidal, but in our dreams nothing is impossible and this is what happened:
Two years ago on December, I went for diving to playa del Carmen, having on mind to do 2 immersions just to practice, I should say that 2 immersions became 11 and was the beginning of my diving obsession
Life is never wrong and always bring us to the place we should be, we just have to let us go with the tide, and as easy as that, a friend of mine bring me to the scuba 10 diving agency.
There I met Gerardo Rodriguez (teacher and friend), my first instinctive question was, is there any chance to see a shark near here? I was so surprised with the answer “ Yes, Bull Sharks” but what comes next let me speechless, it was possible to dive with them without a cage! Oh my God! My head start spinning and thinking what this meant to me.
I couldn’t believe it, actually the bull shark (Carcharhinus Leucas) is considered among the three more dangerous sharks with the white ones and tiger sharks.
Its an animal that could size 3.5 meters and weight 250 kilo, he uses to swim in shallow waters looking for his prays, it’s the only one who can swim in sweet water and its known by many names in the world like zambesi shark, amazons, Mississippi, but wrongly known by everyone as a man eater!
The night before I couldn’t sleep, I felt like a kind of fear but in the same time a really big emotion, he and me have an appointment since I was a child.
The morning came, the sun was shinning as always, nothing strange, despite that, all my self knew that this was a special day, one of the more special days of my life, I cant deny it that for one moment I though not showing there but when I notice it I was in the diving shop.
I arrived early to the diving store, we prepared our equipment, did a little briefing, to descend 25 meters and look for the bull shark, opposite of you can think its pretty lucky to meet them, its an encounter that cant be guarantee, but even not being sure to find them, we departed in their search.
Opposite feelings were crossing my mind, thousands of questions meanwhile we were preparing ourselves to jump in to the water: Could it be dangerous?, What would I feel when I see him? Could I be able to control my fear? Maybe this is not a good idea…….
Meanwhile this questions were crossing my mind finally I heard the final countdown to jump in to the water, there was no turning back and when I hear 3 I let myself jump in to the blue, on my way to fulfill my destiny.
Rapidly we descend 25 meter deep, there were no reefs just the sandy bottom, no sharks, but there I was in his home, his domain.
All my being wanted to see them, we had an appointment since so long ago, and meanwhile longer was the waiting, more anxiety I was having, suddenly when I didn’t expected my buddy diver Will called for my attention and did the signal I have waited……….
YES SHARK !!!!
A stroke of adrenalin hit my body, I didn’t wanted to look, but in the same time I couldn’t avoid it, and there like a ghost his silhouette emerged from the blue sea.
How much beauty, how elegant, was Him!, finally we were face to face, Him!, infinitely superior, adapted to his world, meanwhile me, a simple invader that clumsily tried not to loose his breathing and runway of air with the thrill of seeing him.
For a moment, there was nothing else, just the blue sea, he and me, finally face to face, I had no fear, the only thing I can tell is that there are no words to express my feelings, and there will never be, just the ones who have been there can understand it.
We are used to associate the tears with sadness, well, I can tell that my tears that day were not of sadness, were more like thankfulness, amazement, and love, it took just one look in his beautiful eyes, just one, all my being understand and scream inside me full of happiness
IM ALIVE!
He just appear again from the nothing, came near me, there are no more impressive thing than look at them staring at you and launching at you in full speed, and in the last moment they turn to the side, meanwhile you feel the impotence, admiration and respect for an animal that have been misunderstanded, and has been called murder, when the only truth is that he never had care about men, and the only murder it’s the human being.
We passed forty minutes in the bottom of the sea with the sharks appearing and disappearing in the deep blue of the ocean, this time weren’t many, but just enough to understand what is to be alive, and realize that the only thing that will come with me to the end of my road it’s the dreams that came true like the eyes of a shark.
Many more times I have jumped in to the water with them, but I can help it, and every time its different, sometimes they are few, sometimes there are many 6, 9 in the same time, other times we have to look for them but sometimes you have a chill when you meet them in the middle water or in the safety stop.
My buddy divers with whom I had share this immersions, have always felt under the spell of their look, even they had compare this with a religious experience, almost mystical, and they have understand what is living about even just for a moment.
The sea, where all the borderlines disappear, where the impossible turns possible, where all the images substitute the words, where the children become man and the man become children, place of the legends, where the dreams can come true, where you can be one with the nature and get lost in a sight.
The eyes of a shark, where the time and space disappear, where you can find grace, hope and peace, where you can understand that life is one and you have to live it on top.
Don’t let that the magic of their look will be vanished forever.
The sharks are endangered species, the human selfishness, the irresponsibility, and ignorance have polluted their home, they have been killed by thousands and they are the balance between prays and predators.
I can help the pain that causes me to see that man, mutilate them cutting their fins and tails just to make a soup! Throwing them alive in to the sea like a disposal, to Him a living marvel, to Him that have existed millions of years without evolution, to Him that with his only presence show us what is life!
Please help us to keep our seas healthy and all his living creatures, say no to all the shark products!
In the end of my first immersion with sharks, there were no borderlines, no languages, all from different countries, even continents, but we were just a bunch of kids laughing, talking in the same time, amazed of have seen the king of the ocean, jokes, memory pictures, friendships that will last forever reunited by the deep blue ocean, the same as always WE ARE DIVERS!
Esperanza Guerrero Hernandez, July 2010
