SHARKS!

Saturday the 14th. this morning started off with everyone wishing shark cage diving would be canceled due to the bad weather, much to our dismay it wasn't. 10 of us hopped on the bus and took the ride to Haleiwa where our adventure would depart. we were greeted by our captain and crew member who helped us get situated on the boat. then we hit the high seas, literally, to our destination about 3 miles off the shore line. the waves were extremely huge, going over them made my stomach drop like i was on a roller-coaster. i could compare the waves to the movie the perfect storm, obviously not to the degree in the movie but close enough.

we were given brief instructions on how to enter and exit the cage and then it was time to get up close and personal with the shadows of my nightmares. im going to try my best to explain all the details that went on in the 20 minutes i was in the water. first off we broke into 2  groups of 5 (Britnee, Cody, Hayley, Rachelle, and I were in the 1st group). when the 5 of us were in the water they dropped the cage in and let us float out. the waves were huge and made the cage rock back and forth, which if you weren't holding on to the bars you would go flying to the other side. the water was really murky, i had to strain my petrified eyes to see if there was anything. the types of sharks you typically see at this spot are the Galapagos (roughly 10 feet long) and the Sandbar sharks (about 7 feet long). when the first shark glided by i screamed and splashed around in the cage, which to my knowledge attracts more sharks. the most eerie thing was seeing a dark silhouette pass you then dart away, those little suckers are fast. i was propped up against the bars and plexiglas ,which gave me the impression of zero safety, when i turned around to see a mongo shark pass right next to my clenched fingers, once again i screamed. the sharks know when to come by feeling the vibrations in the water due to the boats diesel engine. when i would come us to the surface, to spit out extra water in my snorkel, i could see a sharks fin at eye level and i kept thinking that one of these waves is going to throw a shark into the cage and make it freak out and then we would all die. there were at least 5-6 sharks in the water when the first group whet in, but i cant say that there were as many for the 2nd group. when we were watching the other group in the water we saw water shooting up off in the distance. in the months of January to March the whales migrate through Hawaii, hence the spouting water. 

everyone managed to make it back on the boat with all their fingers and limbs accounted for. the sea was making some people sick so we had to circle around for a bit so they could spew what ever they needed to over the boat. dry land never felt so good for some of us. we walked through Haleiwa in search of food. we stopped at pizza bobs again and ate there. i love Haleiwa i just cant get enough of it! we got back on the bus heading northbound to Laie. 

later that night Christina and i , exhausted from the day, watched the 3 hour movie Australia on a whim. i loved it! i wanted to jump right in and live in the outback and have the little aborigine boy be my friend  "i just want him to be my grandpa".