Shark alarm in Fiji

Mama, you will probably hate me for this article, but it was by far the most amazing and exciting experience I have ever had... so far=)!!

But let's start from the beginning. Our last island was known for snorkeling with small reef sharks or diving with big bull sharks. Since until recently I wouldn't even put my toe into the water where a shark could be, I ruled out both options for myself right away. However, I was a bit curious and when Jonas decided to go snorkeling with the sharks the next day and everyone else went too, I finally allowed myself to be convinced. Equipped with a diving mask, snorkel, and flippers, we went out to the open sea with 12 people and a small boat. The ride was an absolute disaster and my queasy feeling in my stomach got worse and worse. When we finally arrived, it was a huge challenge for me to jump into the water at first. But when I saw the paradise of corals, fish, and small reef sharks below me, everything was forgotten. The sharks were fed and quite shy. If you wanted to take a selfie with a shark, you had to dive deeper and swim after the shark=) The reef sharks were relatively small, about 1 meter long. The return trip on the boat finished me off and I said goodbye to my breakfast later in the toilet. Nevertheless, it was an incredible experience and we were both proud as Oscar to have snorkeled with sharks.

But Jonas can never get enough and always needs it a bit bigger, as many people know=) Later we saw the photos and videos with the huge bull sharks from the others who had done the diving tour. It was incredibly impressive and terrifying. Jonas' eyes kept getting bigger until he was finally on fire. In the evening, with a couple of beers with the diving instructor Alex, he made up his mind. For my part, at this point, I wouldn't even have considered thinking about joining and was prepared for a relaxing day by the pool.

When we went to the dive shop the next day and Jonas signed all the forms, we both felt a tingling sensation in our fingertips. My decision still stood firm... until the moment when Alex, the diving instructor, started persuading me piece by piece. Jonas insists that I add at this point that he was not the only one who convinced me^^

What worried me the most was the fact that neither of us had ever dived before and I was afraid of both diving and sharks. Alex explained everything to me calmly and promised not to leave my side. Don't ask me why I finally said yes, I don't even know myself!! Then we went back out to the open sea with a small boat. The two of us, a Norwegian, and each had our own 'caretaker', as well as the marine scientist Tom who would feed the sharks. First, Jonas and the Norwegian got ready and dived together while Alex explained everything to me again and we calmly tried out the handling of the diving equipment on the water's surface. Then slowly step by step, we went deeper holding onto a rope and I clung to Alex's hand. When we reached the bottom (about 13 meters deep), we swam slowly around a reef until suddenly I saw the dark shadow of the huge bull shark from a distance, which was about 3 meters long. We swam to the others who were already sitting behind a small 'wall' and watched the sharks having their breakfast. I don't even know how to describe the feeling we felt at that moment... a mixture of excitement, joy, and mortal fear. The whole spectacle lasted about 1 hour and every time Tom skewered a piece of fish and thrust it into the huge school of fish, our whole body tingled as we waited for the sharks to come. However, the sharks were quite shy and did not come closer than 3 meters to us. Ultimately, throughout the whole time, I was less afraid of the sharks than I was afraid of water getting into my goggles and not being able to surface and take it out easily. The ascent took about 10 minutes and we could watch a few more fish at the reef. When we finally resurfaced and both stood on the boat with both feet again, I was the happiest person ever.

Later, Alex told us that this is the only place in the world he knows where you can dive with sharks without a cage on your very first dive.

I believe on that day I must have grown about 5 centimeters and we couldn't wipe the broad grin off our faces for the whole day!!!=)