Mola mola Diving

Image by www.bittenbysharks.com (c) 2007

Every new experience offers a lesson. The Mola mola diving is truly unique, but challenging. A few days ago, I went down with a group in search of the sunfish. Partway through the dive, we encountered a strong current. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before, save for this was a downcurrent. As in, the water coming over the reef was pushing us down. Exhaled air bubbles impossibly defied gravity and floated downwards into the dark blue depths. This was new. We turned around. And the current followed. We hung onto the rocks and started slowly crawling back to the shallows. I looked behind me and screamed (no one heard or course, cause we were underwater). A huge sunfish had emerged out of the deep and hung in the water beside us. It looked at us suspiciously, then slowly moved off. It sure didn’t seem to have any problems swimming in the current.

Eventually, we headed for the surface, fighting current the whole time. I saw the others surface beside the boat and started kicking to join them. But I wans’t getting anywhere. I was surrounded by bubbles. Kicking harder, I finally headed up. Once there, I didn’t sense the calm ocean that I had entered a short while earlier. I was, instead, in a washing machine. So, being the calm person that I am, I just kinda floated. Until someone on the boat gave me a terrified look and hurriedly threw me a rope. I grabbed on as it immediately pulled taught. I looked behind me to see a giant whirlpool sucking me (and the boat) in. We’re talking ocean vortex thingy here. Again, this was new. Somehow, I pulled myself along as the boat turned sideways and I clambered on board. The tide had whipped the ocean into a foamy bath, but only in the area were we had been. Everywhere else was beautiful and calm. I started giggling. A lot.