One of the most beautiful creatures on the planet, in my opinion, is the whale shark. The patterns of each varies and are infinitely interesting.
Last year I had the opportunity to photograph them on two trips to the Sea of Cortez. The second trip, to the La Paz area, offered more experiences, better water clarity and more animals. But it’s not easy work photographing them.
Snorkeling, not scuba, encounters are allowed to protect the animals. The no flash photography rule is great because pushing a big underwater camera housing is tough enough without strobes. The added drag of two large strobes would make it more challenging when swimming fast.
These big guys and gals don’t appear to move fast but when y0u drop into the water ahead of them you have to swim hard to catch up and stay with them. Those massive tail fins propel them swiftly through the water. It’s hard swimming in long bursts.
Connecting with whale sharks was interesting as well. Their small eyes on the sides of their large heads don’t really make eye contact or connection like whales, manatees and dolphins, who seem to want to connect and make deep eye contact. It was like swimming beside a very aloof person who ignores you and goes about their business. Only once did a whale shark react to me and it’s when I was quite close and moved my arm suddenly. The animal flinched but kept on with his or her travel.
Photographing these spotted wonders was great fun and yielded some nice images but the soul connection I have with whales, dolphins and manatees was simply not there. It doesn’t make them any less amazing, beautiful and wondrous to behold…and treasure.
After my morning workout I knelt beside one of my large crystal singing bowls and began to play it…a dedication to the day, a centering of myself in the present moment. As deep tones vibrated from within the bowl, I felt answering harmonies within me rise up to join in musical celebration.
Visions and visceral memories of floating in the Sea of Cortez immediately came to mind as a gateway opened within me. Blue-footed boobies and cormorants were diving for dinner all around as I floated, arms extended, to open my heart to the gifts surrounding me.
Brilliant, blue sky overhead and salty sea enfolded my body as well as my soul and mind while pure peace and contentment filled every molecule of this earthly form. Nothing else existed but complete and utter beauty. Balance. Harmony.
While floating I glanced over to see a friend floating in the same position of surrender to the beauty of the moment. I’m not sure what he was experiencing but it felt as if both of us were in deep communion with the sea, sky and our deepest self. Sweet communion with life.
Tears formed this morning…tears of total gratitude for the beauty of nature that lifts me to the highest experience of love and harmony. To the sea, the primordial Mother, I am dedicated and offer myself. May I be a child you take joy in sweet Mother…a lover of life, of beauty and harmony.
The golden moon glade glittered brilliantly on the smooth sea. Flat, calm with only the slightest stirring of the surface, each ripple was a stair step toward meeting Her. In the distance She hung low in the sky, illuminating the pre-dawn sky. I timidly took a step toward the round, ripe Sea Moon Goddess and as I moved slowly toward Her, I left behind my earthly form and rose up on the wings of light.
An ending to a week of beauty and laughter so profound I feel transformed and more at home in my body than ever before. Each of the brothers and sisters I traveled with brought gifts and one connection in particular sparked a flame of laughter and joy that opened dark, closed places. The flame of light grew through liquid laughter that brought me back to life. Salt water, fresh water, floating fun-filled stories suspended in moments between sea and sky brought joy and laughter that invited me home.
I expected to enjoy diving with sea lions, snorkeling with whale sharks, attempting to capture the beauty of nature through underwater photography. I expected to meet people who would become friends. These expectations became realities.
The biggest surprise was feeling joy and laughter grow within me like a shooting star burning more brilliant with each breath. The number of side-splitting, snorting hilarities were too numerous to count…on the boat, at meals, floating in the pool, standing at the rinse bins.
I didn’t realize how my soul yearned for free and unbridled expression of joy. Too often we lose that connection within that keeps us in touch with our lightness of being.
This is the first trip in years on which I didn’t write extensively and in detail. This time I determined to simply stay present with the experience…watching the sun rise over the mountains, diving with sea lions and giant balls of silver fish, floating head to head with massive whale sharks…be present….be present…breathe.
My regular meditation practice, exercising and other daily rituals were set aside. The only consistent practice I did was to acknowledge beauty, open my heart and mind to it and feel the reciprocal return flow fill me. The more I sent love out to the arid mountains, the sea and creatures of the sea, the more love I felt fill me. This helped move the old, stuck patterns of behavior to a new, lighter expression of life that is all-inclusive of the darkest and lightest parts of myself.
As I fly over the desert of Baja and the Sea of Cortez, I already feel the absence of the physical presence of my new friends…one a brother who feels like another piece of stardust from the home planet. The gifts each one brought to my life are held within, treasures of light and laughter that will continue to transform me.
With a grateful heart full of love I promise myself to remember my happy place, the many happy places discovered on this magical adventure to Baja and the Sea of Cortez.
Many locals say La Paz and Cabo San Lucas are greener than they’ve ever seen due to rain amounts 300% above normal. The many seeds and plants that waited in the dry, hot desert until nourishing rains supported their growth amaze me. There is a new understanding within of how it feels to burst forth in new growth when the right nourishment arrives. Laughter is a priceless gift and those who bring it are angels of light….whether in human or non-human form.
We moved a bit north to Isla Sal Si Puedes. One of the dive masters said it means ‘get out while you can.’ How comforting. I miss Capilla de la Mar. Leaving the remote island means we are headed back to civilization.
This mountain island where we anchor is less jagged with smoother, greenish slopes. The softness of the terrain is a nice change and beaches are here, which is also a difference from other islands we have seen.
The warm glow of the sun–orange and golden in hue–set the edge of advancing clouds on fire. The cerulean sky provides the canvas on which this masterpiece is composed. Where else but immersed in nature can one find such beauty while being kissed by the wind?
Chilly temperatures on the first dive but the past two days we had 86 degree water. On the first dive I cannot get my macro lens to focus on the giant jawfish so after watching them for a while I gently lift away and find a starfish crawling over the sand. I spend the next ten minutes hovering quietly, watching a starfish walk about four or five inches. It is perhaps the most relaxing experience of the trip.
On board, between dives, my mind wanders. Perhaps the most important experience on this journey has been to visit these unspoiled places where Spirit and Nature commune with very little human intervention. The experience has unleashed an amazing amount of energy within me. The challenge is to keep it moving and freed as I return to what we call civilization…although I think it’s far from civilized living.
I write a short, humorous story on the giant jawfish and a children’s poem on starfish and then do a couple more dives. We have a nice dinner and then we head for the bay where whale sharks live.
I awaken before dawn and am on the upper deck by 5am. I am not ready to see the lights of civilization even though this is a small village. The twinkling lights of Bahia de los Angeles in the darkness sadden me. The wildness fades and human habitation begins. One more day, I think.
This bay and the surrounding mountains are exquisitely beautiful. Faint orange and gold luminescence of the dawn brighten the sky behind steep, towering cliffs. Flat, calm water reflects the fiery warmth of solar hues.
Smoke lies heavy in the air and creates a hazy wall between our anchorage and the village. Oh, that there would always be that smoke-screen barrier between raw nature and human chaos.
Pelicans are feeding in the quiet bay, their wings softly shushing past before they dive again and again for breakfast.
The gathering light reflects on the rock face of the mountain across the bay and now it too glows with magnificence. Definition of the cracks and folds in its face become more pronounced as the light builds.
Capilla de la Mar….my name for the island where I will live as a sea lion if given a chance.
I have decided that if I have an opportunity to return, after this life, as an animal I will be a sea lion living on Capilla de la Mar. It’s beautiful, there is plenty of fish, I will have many companions and will see few humans.
Whale shark day. Our group begins as six, adds three briefly and then ends with four of us. We are the ones who pretended not to hear the dive masters as we floated after the dives and explored the edges of the rocky shore snorkeling…after handing our scuba gear up to the panga captain. We are the four that had to be begged to get out of the water after each dive. The ones who begged our mothers for just five more minutes of play time. It was the same with whale sharks.
Tons of fun and a great workout! Whales sharks appear to be moseying along, gently and slowly moving their tales back and forth. When the dive masters told us we would have to swim to keep up, we had absolutely no clue what that meant. Especially considering three of the four of us were pushing huge cameras through the water.
Whale sharks are awesomely cool and completely unconcerned with humans. Even when I was eye-to-eye with them or swimming just inches behind them, they paid absolutely no attention to me or the others. I was so closely behind one twice that if she had paused, I would have been slapped in the face with her gigantic tale…providing I couldn’t slam on my ‘brakes.’ There isn’t a connection like sea lions or whales or dolphins make with snorkelers or divers when there is recognition and sometimes interaction. These sharks, these huge plankton feeders, basically ignore us.
So close with my fisheye I can’t get the entire animal in frame…but the details pop!
“Swim hard!” is the motto of the day. At one point a few of us stay in the water over an hour watching whale sharks come and go, mobula rays leap from the water in synchronized efforts and generally frolicking in the peaceful bay. I can’t imagine a better way to end the trip. Six hours of non-stop fun.
We kid our dive master later about our asking to be in his group on whale shark day. He knew he would be out with us as long as we could possibly play.
Another night spent motoring back to Rocky Point, Mexico and we arrive at sunrise. Within five hours I am experiencing my first indoor shower in a week and am shaving the saguaro cactus forest from my legs. Soap, shampoo, shaving….seems far too civilized for my raw, wild self. Yet as a human being, I am rejoining the insanity of what we call civilization….kicking and screaming all the way. Can I just have five more minutes? Please!!
It’s a good adventure when the date is lost and the day of the week is unknown.
Another day at Isla San Pedro Martir. The first dive was in a little cavern swim through. We begin by going under and into the massive rock that makes this mountain island. Seven o’clock in the morning and we’re going into and under rock…a delightful way to begin the day.
starfish and moray eel
At the end of the dive I ascend to a shallow depth and hover. A beautiful, small moray eel is hiding deep in a rocky crevice. I mentally tell him I am not going to harass or hurt him. Then tears come. It feels as if the entire planet is hiding from the continued assaults on It from humans. I feel very sad that two-legged’s can be so aggressive and domineering.
Out of the blue, the person that continues to chase animals comes by chasing another turtle. I scream at him underwater. Another diver sees me and nods in agreement.
Then another encounter with a turtle and a nice dive buddy videoing her. We have a very pleasant and peaceful encounter with the turtle and each other. Complete contrast within a few minutes. I feel such mixed emotions.
It’s difficult for me to stay peaceful and compassionate when people harass animals.
On the way back to the boat, Juleo takes our panga into a perfectly formed arch. It reminds me of a chapel by appearance and energy. I think it’s a chapel for the Great Sea Mother. It feels like a central point of light for the entire region. I need the sweet energy of the chapel after feeling so upset by the aggressive diver.
I rename the island Capilla de la Mar…Chapel of the Sea. It seems to fit better than being named after some saint who came along long after the original occupant of the island…the Great Sea Goddess.
One the second dive I feel the calming influence of Cappilla de la Mar and the magnificent feminine energy presence. I hear, “Yes, child. Even here you are mine. Your love translates to all waters of the planet.”
A bull sea lion comes down to check us out but doesn’t bark. He just cruises us.
While diving I ponder the idea of aggressive, argumentative, arrogant people and I cringe. So opposite of what I want to attract to my life. The sea lions teach me about joy and I know there is choice about what kind of people I bring into my life.
Toward the end of the second dive a tiny, tiny black and yellow puffer fish comes up to mask and hovers at my nose. The precious little creature doesn’t appear upset but simply stays at my nose and makes eye contact. Such a brave, little soul. An explorer of her kind.
dive deck…blue-footed booby took a walk through
After lunch I’m walking along the starboard side of the boat and encounter a blue-footed booby walking toward me. He can’t spring up over the rail to fly so I run around, through the center of the boat, and come out another door behind him. I gently coax him to the stern of the boat, through the dive deck, down the stairs to the platform where he watches the pangas floating behind the boat. He hesitates, a wave washes over his feet, and then he takes off. No camera. Nobody to even witness this amazing encounter so it’s just the booby’s word and mine. We have a nice conversation, although it was rather one-sided.
After the third dive and dinner, friends are diving and I once-again ride along to watch the moonrise over the sea. The brilliant orange and turquoise hues of the sunset are fading as we motor the short distance in the panga.
The almost half moon light casts a beautiful, soft, white glow on the huge, white cliffs. It seems as if the entire island is alive with white light.
So quiet and peaceful it is on the water, in the shadow of the moon cliff. I feel so at home here. The thought of civilization makes me break out in anxious waves of dread. Civilization is so over-rated.
I manage to stay in the present moment and forget being anywhere but here, in the shadow of a glowing, ragged mountain rising up from the sea.
The moonlight grows in intensity and as we drift, I glance up and see an enormous shadow on the mountain created by the cliff face and moonlight. It appears to be a woman standing with her arms outstretched facing the sea. We are near the Capilla de la Mar arch. In my mind she appears to have long, flowing hair of seaweed with a leather band holding it at her forehead. Her skirt is woven of feathers and dried strands of sea weed and bits of shells. Her tunic is woven of white shells and pearls. Her outstretched palms face the sea she she says, Come to me.
In a moment a female sea lion exhales close to the boat, comes up and touches the boat and stays with us for a while. The magical woman and the sea lion seem connected.
I sense the Great Mother as the giver of life, love and joy…the light that comes from unparalleled joy.
Phosphorescent jelly fish illuminate the surface of the black water. Their other-worldly green strands float in the cove, in the sea in wild geometries. They appear as beacons of Her light…her joy. My joy.
Connecting with whale sharks was interesting as well. Their small eyes on the sides of their large heads don’t really make eye contact or connection like whales, manatees and dolphins, who seem to want to connect and make deep eye contact. It was like swimming beside a very aloof person who ignores you and goes about their business. Only once did a whale shark react to me and it’s when I was quite close and moved my arm suddenly. The animal flinched but kept on with his or her travel.
