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The diving in Mozambique has been unreal!
Check out the octopus we came across during our morning dive this morning with Tofo Divers. There was so much to see at the dive site, Chamber of Secrets! 🐙
An Unexpected Visitor…
An unexpected visitor...
It's 6 AM and we still have a little bit of time until our alarms go off, but the sun is up and the ocean calls us to rise and get on with our day. First thing's first, the kettle goes on and water is boiling while we don our outfits for today's activities - swim suits, UV shirts, board shorts, and lots of reef-friendly sunscreen. Pour the water, steep the tea, milk comes out of the fridge and into the mug, which I take out onto the balcony where I have stunning views of the seemingly endless beach and blue sea.
My alarm goes off, breaking me from the moment of peace I've been looking for. Shutting off the billion alarms I'd set for myself in case I slept in, I go back to taking in the sunshine and listen to the sea hitting the shore. Mom emerges from her room and it's time for breakfast - a delicious bacon and egg toastie from Neptune's on-site restaurant. My view of the ocean is adjusted ever so slightly, but I can still see and hear it, a fresh cup of tea in hand and getting excited for my very first dive in Mozambique. Mom gets her dive camera equipment ready as we finish up and Barra Reef Divers picks us up and loads our dive gear in so we don't have to haul it over the short but sandy distance.
We get to the shop, prep our gear which is then loaded on the dive boat, and we are briefed on our dive while the crew transports the boat down to the sea shore via tractor. Our dive site today is The Office and for the first time, it's an office we're actually eager to enter! We are to keep an eye out for yellowband snappers, blotched tail rays, sea turtles, and white tip sharks. Together, we head on over to the boat and get on board. The blue of the ocean is a sight I will never tire of, and coupled with the gorgeous weather, I was already in heaven. Along the way, we come across a massive shoal of dolphins, jumping in and out of the water on either side of the boat. There must've been 30+ dolphins speeding by as they hunted for food. As
Today a cheeky elephant approached us and then sprayed us with sand! Awesome!
Live from Gabon, Africa. On foot with elephants on the beach!
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Ready to visit the Cayman Islands? We've got a deal for you!
Classic Cayman Package:
🪸7 nights accommodation
🪸Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
🪸6 X 2-tank AM boat dives
🪸5 X 1-tank PM dives
🪸21-Drink package
🪸Complimentary WiFi
🪸Welcome rum punch
🪸Manager's cocktail reception
🪸Airport ground transfers
🪸Resort fees, taxes, & gratuities
Cayman Brac Beach Resort:
$2,695* per diver / double occupancy
Little Cayman Beach Resort:
$2,995* per diver / double occupancy (Pool View)
$3,595* per diver / double occupancy (Oceanfront)
*Don't forget the second diver is half off!
Select dates only. Please find the dates listed in the comments.
✈️Ready to book or have questions? Reach out to one of our travel specialists today at [email protected] or call (419) 517-6309. @followers We look forward to working with you!
Whale tales.
It’s now day 4 and what turns out to be our last day with the whales.
We spend an hour or so bobbing around in the tenders, sharing stories and lots of laughter. In time, we spot multiple breaches far in the distance, close to the edge of the sanctuary. We hurry as fast as we can as we witness repeated tail lobbing, fin slapping & breaches every 10 seconds.
As we near, we realize there are two adult whales and a calf. The mother and calf are performing the vast majority of the activity. As the calf mimics her mother, you can see her maneuvers improving with each slap of the water. The mother continues to train her calf for about 45 minutes before slowly departing.
For the remainder of the day, our tender nor the 3 others see a sign of activity. It almost felt as if mom and escort were having baby practice all she would need to survive before they begin their long journey north to the feeding grounds.
The winds kick up around 4pm as predicted & we decided to start cocktail time early. We had been warned earlier in the day that we may have to cut the trip short by a day & at dinner this is confirmed. We will be heading back to port in the morning.
While Aggressor would still be our home until Saturday morning, sadly our time with the whales had come to an end.
We had all the whale tales we needed to fill our hearts and make us eager to come back.
Soul-stirring.
It's day 3 and we're excited for another day at sea! This morning, we are on the tender and though we see a few blows or breaches in the distance, we make our way to the location and the whales are already gone. As lunchtime approaches and activity slows, we decide to return to the mother ship for some lunch.
As we sit down, the sister boat called over to us and asked us to take their space in tracking a mom and calf that they had spent the last 2-3 tracking. They said that the interactions they've had with the pair have been short but very rewarding, so we hurriedly wolf down our meal and don our suits. We hop in our tender and take off!
Upon arrival, you can see mother is a little nervous and her calf is far shyer than the one we had encountered a few days ago, but they both relax after some time with us sitting in our tender. We do not dare push or pressure them, but rather admire from a distance until the mother looks comfortable with a slow approach. She spends much of the time resting or swimming slowly on the surface - we're grateful just to be here, sharing in a slow and easy-going day with her and her little one. Once she descends and stays below for a bit, we are given our chance to enter the water.
Our time with them is brief but beautiful, and we each have a special encounter with them. The calf seems to enjoy surfacing for a few minutes, hanging out on the surface, and then dive back down to return to shelter under his mother's pectoral fins. As these two decide to leave us, I'm able to look directly into the mother's eyes as she gracefully cruises by me. The emotions from such a brief yet powerful moment, I cannot find words for, but the feelings cut deep. Your heart is overwhelmed, and the moment stirs your soul.
Patience.
The key word of this journey.
We have no idea what to expect and to a certain extent, neither do our guides. There are hopes and possibilities but as with all things Mother Nature, expectations simply set you up for disappointment so enter this adventure with an open heart.
We board the tender and set sail, traveling a few miles from the mother vessel. Our first hour is spent watching the odd whale in the distance, breaching the ocean’s surface or spray water from their blowholes. We approach slowly, but the whales the swim away and we’re left to observe their beauty from afar.
Despite not setting expectations, you can’t help but wish to be close to these animals and feel rejected when they swim away. But that’s the beauty of nature and leaving all things wild - it’s unpredictable and life’s most beautiful interactions often happen when you’ve given in. As we prepare to return to the ship for lunch, the Captain on the other tender delivered a ray of hope and opportunity. He tells us of a mother & calf they had been observing that seem calm & even welcoming of new company. Is this our chance to get close?
Our group collectively agrees to stay out on the water in an effort to see the pair. We are thrilled to be assigned the task of keeping an eye on them while the other group took a break. Our lunch could wait.
We slip into the water with our fingers crossed and our bet paid off one hundred fold.
Mom is so relaxed. Her calf, however, is zipping, spinning under water, tail slapping, and showing off her underwater acrobatics. She is clumsy but learning, just as you’d expect of a sweet baby. She returns to mom on the bottom occassionally to check in before starting the process all over again, each time getting closer and closer to our group. A couple of times, she swims close to me & looks me directly in the eye as she passes by. If you have never been looked in the eye by a whale, let me tell you it is truly humbling. I swear I feel he
Breakfast view at the hotel watering hole. Molori Safari Lodge,Madikwe Game Reserve. Contact us for your dream Safari!
Thank you Chicago for a wonderful turn out and a fabulous weekend! The windy city is one of our favorite cities in the world even when that wind chill is minus 30! 🙂 it just goes to show nothing keeps you home and we are truly grateful for it! We look forward to seeing you again next year! #travelshows
Heading home and reflecting on a busy week if truly working hard and playing hard. A HUGE thank you to our clients, and our industry partners and seminar speakers for an incredible DEMA Show. We are beyond grateful and excited for the year ahead because of you!
A special thank you to our following DEMA speakers and sponsors:
Atlantis Dive Resorts & Liveaboards
Scubaqua Dive Center - STATIA
Ossimba Beach Lodge
Bayala Private Safari Lodges
Bill Beard's Costa Rica Scuba Diving & Adventure
Avalon - the boat
Dive Curacao
Fort Young Hotel
Sea Saba
Buddy Dive Resort
Anthony's Key Resort
Galapagos Sky
Nautilus Liveaboards
Little Cayman Beach Resort
Paradise Taveuni
Waidroka Bay Resort
Volivoli Beach
Explorer Ventures
Aquanauts Grenada
Subculture Travel
#solitudeworld
#DEMAShow
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