Ok, you all
know about the birthday present. After finishing our work in Manica Province we
went to Inhambane and Tofo and the time for part two of the present – Diving
and whale shark spotting! Second day in Tofo we went out geared with snorkels
to look for whale sharks and manta rays. Unfortunately we didn’t see any of
them but we got to see bottle nosed and humpback dolphins! At one point
everyone got very excited and it showed to be a hammer shark circling in the
water. The other people on the boat were volunteers in Tofo working with
research on the marine life and they didn’t hesitate a moment to jump into the
water to say hello to the shark but I didn’t really feel like it was my first
priority. I mean, cuddling with a shark is not my favourite way of spending the
day.
What people
talk about most in Tofo is diving. The place is famous for its nice waters and is
a good place for trying this out. It was Saturday morning and we had decided to
meet at the diving centre. We went there and started filling out papers. All
of a sudden the instructor looks a bit stressed. “Ehm, is it OK if we take the
dive tomorrow? It seems like we have some lost divers at sea at the moment and
we need the boat to go look for them.” Oh, OK. Well not much to say about that.
We rebooked our class to the day after and went back to where we were staying.
I can’t say that this made me less nervous about the dive than I was before.
Cause I was a bit nervous. Thinking about it I wouldn’t say water is my
favourite element, I’m more of a wind person. And the thought of going under water
for 30 minutes is scary. I mean, there is no air nearby down there. And then
above all you can apparently get lost at sea. Oh my.
Luckily we got told the
next morning that the six divers were found again. After three hours in the
water a boat had spotted them and picked them up. Apparently the current had
led them far away from the place where they went down so when they surfaced the
boat couldn’t find them at first. But it all ended well, so back to our diving
session.
The
instructors taking care of us were really nice. We got our wetsuits and then we were ready to go!
We started out in a pool first, learning some basic things and then went out to
the ocean, 12 meters down. It is a strange feeling this with breathing under
water that takes some time getting used to for me, but I managed to forget
about it for a while and got lost in the world of amazingly beautiful fish down
there. We saw a scorpion fish looking almost like a coral and small fishies in
green and blue. And Kajsa. She was almost like a fish herself floating around
flapping her arms like a big manta in the clear water. The 30 minutes down
there just flew away!
All in all
I am very happy with my presents so far. Only problem is that there is still
some money left. And only one day left in Maputo. So if anyone has an idea on
how to spend them, here or back home, you are welcome to help :)
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