My amazing trip to Yonaguni with "Mind the Seas" was an eye opening, soul nurturing and transformative experience.
When Victoria (Divemaster; Mind The Seas) towards the end of the week asked me about a particular moment I shall always remember ... I told her I'll always cherish swimming "side by side" with hundreds of female hammerhead sharks. While that is arguably true, it doesn't nearly encapsulate all the precious moments I'll cherish for the remainder of my life. Truth be told, the inspiring five days we - our multicultural group - spent together on Yonaguni were in themselves one priceless moment in time.
There was so much to take in and be grateful for, not least the group in itself. All of us solo travelers from different parts of the world, uniting on the remote island of Yonaguni to share our passion for diving and exploring the beauty of life beneath the vast ocean surface. We were all there to be awe inspired by the singular beauty of the female hammerhead shark. We did indeed receive eye opening, soulful inspiration and so much more, not least in terms of education, perspective and joyful laughter.
After our first thrilling and magical dive with the hammerheads we surfaced. I will always remember the sheer joy in the laughter of one of our dear friends ... Raul. His laughter and overwhelming joy encapsulated that magical moment beautifully. He just kept on laughing from the depth of his soul over what he had travelled half across earth to witness. I was overwhelmed by the experience. It took me a while to process what I had just witnessed, but I kept hearing Raul's laughter loud and clear. It was one of those brief moments when time stops and the miracle of life reveals itself.
Before arriving to Yonaguni I figured I'd be somewhat fearful of diving in the middle of hundreds of hammerhead sharks. Nothing could have been further from what I had anticipated. When I was swimming - desperately trying my outmost to keep up - with the gorgeous hammerhead sharks I was amazed by my sentiment of wanting to grab hold of and join these divine creatures in the deep. I shall never forget the serenity I felt during those precious moments with these female hammerhead sharks.
There was a moment when two of the sharks got "scared". They took off at the speed of sound. I felt a little anxious. Deep in the dark blue! What scared them must certainly scare me ... so I rolled around to see if I could make contact with our Divemaster Victoria. There she was, confidently and calmly hovering above me and our little group, like the "eye in the sky" only now beneath the surface. I felt safe. I was arguably the least experienced diver of our group. It certainly helped that we were embraced by Victoria and several tremendously experienced divers, not least the amazing and very charismatic Japanese diving crew.
Our brilliant and deeply knowledgable oceanic photographer - Ollie - shot absolutely superb photos that will eventually decorate a wall in my home. Colorful photos will serve as beautiful reminders of some of the most awe-inspiring and joyful days of my life.
If it hadn't been for Victoria and a mutual, close friend of ours I would never have enriched my life with this truly soulful experience.
With many new oceanic adventures to come ...
Sincerely,
-Nico-