This thing is huge!! Itās at least 5-6 feet around and itās swimming towards me. My dive mask is fogged up and I was already tired of filling it with water and clearing it every 2 or 3 minutes making it possible to see what was in my surrounding environment. All I knew wasā¦this thingā¦ was HUGE and I, compared to a huge shark, am a much slower swimmer!
Itās day 2 of our open water PADI course and I had been enjoying it thus far. That was until this huge shark began swimming towards me. Itās moving slow and Iām assuming itās just mapping itās route. Iād be doing the same thingā¦ do I take a leg? Noā¦ donāt take a leg, thatāll make it easy to get hit. Should I take an arm then?? All of these scenarios came into my mind in this short 30 seconds that now had become the defining point of my life.
In all honesty getting killed by a shark isnāt the worst way to go. āOh hi! Howās your son and his travels around the world?!ā Awkward silenceā¦ āhe was killed by a shark in Panama.ā How often have you heard THAT?! Most deaths are from plain stupidity or lack of preparation. Not wearing a helmet, getting drunk at a club in a foreign country by yourself when you donāt speak the native tongue, you know, things like that, BUT getting attacked by a shark. Now THAT is a story! I can see it on the front cover of my hometown paper now. āRichard Gilbert killed by murderous shark while traveling in Panama!ā
Everybody would come to the funeral! I know I would! Open casket? Closed Casket? Would there be a shark themed after party where everybody goes scuba diving or snorkeling? Would the song, āShark in the water be playing?ā and if that song was playing would somebody be giving a speech at the same time, perhaps my dad, saying, āIf ONLY this song would have been playing! If only he would have known!!ā
All of these thoughts went through my mind in literally a second. The second second (see what I did there?) was, āaction time!ā I ripped my mask off, flushed it, through it back on my face and cleared it faster than Iāve ever done anything under water. I open my eyes and there he isā¦ looking right at meā¦still swimming towards meā¦ he gives me the āOKā signalā¦I give the signal back. It sure felt good to see my scuba instructor instead of a giant Richard Gilbert killing machine headed my way!
I think Bocus del Toro is ending up to be a great place so far! As I mentioned previously, weāre taking the Open Water Dive Course through La Buga and Iām learning a lot! Weāre staying on a dudeās sailboat, for free, who we met through couchsurfing. Yesā¦ itās a rough life!