Manta Madness

Manta Madness

Rumor had it that there was a rogue manta ray swimming around dive sites in Bonaire. The ocean is a big place though so I laughed about the possibility while secretly wishing it would happen. Mantas are pelagic animals–deep sea creatures so what were the odds of one hanging out the exact week I am here?

So imagine my surprise, when driving down the narrow, water-hugging road, to glance at the brilliant turquoise water and see the small dorsal fin and wing tips of the phantom manta.

After a quick u-turn we parked the truck and grabbed our fins and masks. Still in wetsuits from the last dive, we ran to the water and carefully stepped over reef, that fringes the shores, into the salty realm.

One of our group got a face-to-face with our new best buddy. The other two of us were not as lucky. So on we drove to our next dive site. Our compensation for missing a close encounter of the manta ray kind was three eagle rays feeding on the sandy bottom. I was close enough to see the smile of contentment on ones face after finding an especially tasty morsel.

After surfacing and finally peeling out of our wetsuits we headed for a very late lunch. We were happy….four squid, three eagle rays, huge grouper, tiny spotted drum, eels, blue water…salt…relaxed dive team. How could it get better?

But then there he was again! Like a flash we peeled out out of the truck. The guy who had already had his moment with our rock star manta stayed with the truck while the two of us who it still wanted an audience with him grabbed boots, fins and masks and headed out.

We were not disappointed. Each of us had our moment of delight.

Beauty of motion, flow, grace, hugeness gliding through the water in a most amazing dance of ocean greatness.

Where are the photographs you ask? The viz hasn’t been that great so the camera was back in the condo–sleeping. My heart was wide open even though my lens was not. And in case you are wondering….it isn’t a fish story. This really happened.

5 Replies to “Manta Madness”

  1. You may not believe this but I saw something that looked very much like a Manta Ray in Gulf Shores about 25 years ago. We had gone down in March just after spring break. A strong late cold front had come through and it was freezing, but very clear. We went out on the state pier early in the night, the water was about as calm as I’ve ever seen it and so clear that the bottom was visible for most of the length of the pier. We watched a huge black ray with flapping wings and two points on it’s head glide gracefully through the water. It was much larger than any Sting Ray I’ve ever seen and it’s “wings” were very different. Could it have been a Manta?

  2. How wonderful is that…..I am so glad you all got to see another wonderful creature
    of this planet.

  3. Yes indeed Rod. Many years ago I was standing in the shallow water near Gulf State Park and three manta rays swam around me. It was an experience I will never forget!

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