It almost hurts to state that. But, yes, I have decided that this year's November back-to-back trips to that literally breathtaking place will be my last shark dives.
"My last shark dives"... Sounds awful to me, kind of like a terminal disease... Well, at least I can say, not proudly but anecdotally, that I have been diving on one breath of air for sixty years which probably makes me one of the oldest free-diving farts in the world.
Sure, now that old age - hey, I am 73!! - and the aftereffects of my stomach cancer five years ago are taking their tolls, I could start switching to diving with Scuba tanks. But that would be like betraying my life-long tenet that free-diving is the only way to get closer to, and feel homier in, that incomparably magic of the blue world of silence....
I am thankful that I have had the incredible privilege to dive and interact with the most gracious, gentle, intelligent, and sensitive sharks during the last eight years: The tiger sharks, along with the great white sharks probably the most misunderstood and vilified "requiem" sharks.
I cannot express how excited I am knowing that I will be seeing "Emma" or "Smiley" once again, and, frankly, at the same time I don't know yet how I will cope bidding them and the other striped girls good-bye for good... All I know is that I will sorely miss them.
The trips I am on, as always aboard the legendary Dolphin Dream, spacious and comfy, are not fully booked yet, there are still a few spots open but experience has shown that those vacancies won't last long.
Thus, if someone reading this should feel the irresistible urge to accompany me to celebrate life, the ocean, and those magnificent creatures, please contact the arranger of the trips, my good old pal Dom Macan, a truly passionate diver, both cosmopolitan and British to the core.
To conclude this message fittingly, here is a moody portrait of "Smiley", the new celebrity of Tiger Beach.
I have selected this image as it transmits - as 'eloquently' as a photograph can - the bond I would like to believe she and I have established interacting with each other, lovingly and respectfully. Just look at the way she looked at me when I took her picture - doesn't it say it all?
And when I look at the image myself - will I, indeed, could I REALLY stick to my decision to call tiger shark diving quits?..... :-)
Click to enlarge
And when I look at the image myself - will I, indeed, could I REALLY stick to my decision to call tiger shark diving quits?..... :-)