I wrote in my notes that I slept until 6am so that Caleb could take pictures of me sleeping, but really, I get up at 6am at least five days a week to get ready for work that starts at 9am, or five minutes early so I can be prepared for my first customer when the doors open. Anyways, we’re still on vacation, so let me get back to that. We go to breakfast at 7am and talk with the other couple that brought their dive gear to the table. We learn that the wife has been diving for 17 years and is taking her husband, once certified, to the Blue Hole; which will be her third time taking the plunge.

The waiter had returned to inquire about the ingredients in my breakfast, so I was under the assumption that I was getting eggs and tofu with my beans in my fry jacks, but regardless, I like the extra carbs when the bread seems less full. I eat my food with a side of mosquito bites and appreciate not having to put up with these necessary evils on a daily basis; though I’d have to if I live near warm water dive locations. In the shop, I see a woman with a bottle of champagne and a phone tripod, and a different definition of vacation.

We get a ride across the street with a trainee (not sure for what) and two snorkelers that get on another company’s boat. Our first site is Tuffy Canyon where, averaging 47ft for 44 minutes, the Yellowtail snappers and I watch reef sharks propel themselves past us at 1.5mph, though with their slanted tails creating more jets of water, they can reach speeds of 25mph. The fastest shark in the sea, thanks to its dermal denticles “skin teeth”, is the mako at 35-50mph. In trying to find if someone has pet one before, I came across Keith Poe, Shark Tagger, who likes to play tug-o-war with them in Southern California, for science.

I also found the Shark Angels, an organization that wants to turn fear into fascination, so it offers dive trips to the Bahamas so you can watch sharks get fed, so that they’re too full or distracted to snack on you; among other things I’m sure. There are five basic types of camouflage in nature: concealing (deer) vs disruptive (jaguar) coloration, disguise (crabs), active camouflage (octopus), and mimicry (oakleaf butterfly), but sharks aren’t often mentioned for their ability to blend in from above, below, and where the ocean floor meets water.

Sharks are impressive creatures and sometimes our eyes can only catch a glimpse of their movement, so our brains think we see light reflecting off a small fish, but it’s actually catching a shark belly in contrast to its environment. All this research leads me to learning about tonic immobility, which is some animals’ way of avoiding being eaten in their state of paralysis, but plays a role in the sharks mating behavior. The first dive is incredible and so inpiring, which fascinates me on so many levels, because there is so much more to see and learn about the species I’m lucky to meet underwater.

Our surface interval is at the dive shop where I’m offered the opportunity to pee off the ladder, usually something reserved for at sea, through my wetsuit which will need washing, and rinse with their fresh water shower; which had I known was an option, I could’ve just peed in the shower like I do at home instead of soaking my neoprene for Caleb to de-funk later. The second dive at Paradise Canyon is amazing as I capture a shark and turtle in the same scene. The visibility starts to lower but after another 44 minutes with a max depth of 57ft it’s time to get out.

We leave our gear in the van for the ride back to the night dive that is promised after sunset. We walk to the room, past a Great kiskadee with a unique three-syllable call and a cute crest. Though I’ve never introduced myself as a birdwatcher, it is an activity that I seem to seek out for the joy it brings, even in moments like this when the encounter was unplanned. Though I do understand why it seems to be older people, or childless couples, that best get to experience the calm and quiet it takes to fully appreciate the birdsong, wing flap, and feather shuffle as they dance to their own beat.

I put on more aloe and we switch into dry clothes. In this process, Caleb misplaces his phone, so we go to the shop and office to ask about it only to find it where he set it down to change. We go to Rum & Bean for our daily milkshake; not a healthy habit, so I’m grateful it’s temporary, but we’d adjust the sugar to vegetable intake in the long-term as I love an icy drink on a hot day or as a second breakfast smoothie at work as a blended way to get my daily nutrients by the sip or chunk, depending on how much water I add to the cup and how long I blend it.

There are some sweets in the display again, so we grab a cinnamon roll (I only eat the top half) and a coconut chocolate chip turnover (that Caleb will finish, even though he doesn’t like coconut). I’ve learned my lesson about baked goods from this source — don’t waste my time trying to enjoy them. Some things are just better looked at or smelled through the wrapper. We get our night dive receipt taken care of and go to the lobby porch to read.

We’ll have been lounging for about an hour when new guests arrive, which means more welcome drinks and the accidental making of two extra that we gladly accept with their pineapple wedge on the rim at around 230pm. We spent the next four hours on our kindles, phones, and having a snack before meeting on the dock at 630 so we could get to Hol Chan Cut by dark after checking in with the park ranger in his floating office. We’d be the only dive boat this evening, so I was able to wear my one glove. There is a boat nearby that will have snorkelers shining their lights on us, like we’re about to do to the nightlife.

Our pre-dive brief asked us to enjoy seeing the fish, but please don’t spotlight, and blind, the little ones for the bigger fish to see and eat. Also, beware the bloodworms. We, Caleb and the two girls, we went with, were told their name was only color derived, but would find out post-dive that we were swimming with the world’s smallest leeches and they had made the most of their opportunity from the willing donors (aka divers with lights that attract them). We dove with the small young (their length was the width of a pinky finger and their width that of the cuticle), but the adults can cause a bee-sting like reaction and grow up to 15 inches long.

We were also told that turning your light off would get rid of the pests, at least temporarily, and improve your vision as you focused on others’ lights, but there are venomous creatures lurking in the dark so it’s best not to bump into them. Instead, use your light to draw the bloodworms towards brain coral and watch them disappear in a sci-fi like manner. We see Yellow stingray, Southern stingray, hermit crab, a crab under a rock, a Channel Clinging crab with six legs, Spanish slipper lobster, nurse shark, Caribbean spiny lobster, and a baby puffer fish.

This was our longest dive here, at 55 minutes with a max depth of 26ft. The water temperature was 87.8 degrees and I was chilly on the dive but so excited and distracted by all the action. I would wrap myself in both towels for the return trip and put a hoodie on for dinner by the beach while our ride took the girls back to the shop. We shared a crispy chicken sandwich and a bratwurst with onions. We walk back to the room and I put two bandaids on, with mixed emotions, as my wound opens more.