Page 76 of The Sailor in Polynesia
“This is the first time in a while that Eivind and Lila have had the boat to themselves. I am not sure what I will be walking into,” Jonas joked.
The next morning was quiet and I didn’t see any sign of the crew onEikwhile I drank my coffee and ate breakfast. I was excited to get out and do something fun. Jonas was right: this was what we needed.
I distracted myself by getting ready. There was no free diving today, we’d be in shallow waters for the stingray swim, so all I had to do was put a bathing suit on and sunscreen up. My snorkel and mask sat on the side deck, waiting.
The sound of a dinghy engine roaring to life hit me, and I watched as the crew ofEikfilled the dinghy. They puttered over, and the dinghy seemed empty without their extra crew.
I passed my gear down and took a seat next to Jonas, wishing Lila and Eivind a good morning. Jonas kissed my cheek and squeezed my thigh before revving the dinghy up.
We had a long way to go. Conversation over the noise of the engine was impossible. Jonas steered us out of the bay and turned left, weaving our way between the reef and the island, following the band of sand below us. A few times we had to backtrack a little bit, careful not to run over coral where the water was too shallow, lest we damage the reef or the dinghy.
On the horizon we could see a few small boats anchored out at the reef. We motored up and, keeping some distance away from the swimmers, tossed our little anchor into the water.
Immediately we found ourselves being circled by thin dark shapes, two or three feet long.
“Eivind.” Lila peered into the water nervously. “Those are not rays.”
He bent over the side of the dinghy. “No, they are reef sharks. Just like we swam with in Fakarava.”
“They arereallyclose.”
“See the black tip?” Jonas pointed. “They are black-tipped reef sharks. We see them all the time.”
Lila did not look reassured. “It’s very shallow here. In Fakarava it was deep and there were lots of fish and coral to look at.” She chewed on her lip and eyed the water.
“You do not have to go.” Eivind strapped his mask on, letting the snorkel dangle on the side of his head.
Jonas had his mask on too. He swung a leg over the side of the dinghy and slid into the water. I spun around and slipped in too, Jonas catching me in his arms, the slickness of the water making his hands glide against my skin.
It was shallow enough that I could stand and the water lapped at my shoulders. Jonas wrapped his arms around me, pressing my body against his.
Our masks knocked together and we laughed.
Until something slimy slithered up my leg.
I yelped and jumped up, wrapping my legs around Jonas. Lila screamed.
“It’s okay!” I said, while Jonas laughed. “It was just a stingray.”
I held on to Jonas with my legs, and we both put our snorkels in our mouths and put our faces in the water.
The stingray who’d touched my leg was gone, but more were on the way. Their large round bodies swooped above the sand as they circled us, exploring.
I heard the others jump into the water, and more stingrays started approaching. I watched as one flapped toward us, doing a drive-by and caressing Jonas’s legs with his fin. Jonas laughed into his snorkel.
We continued to watch the rays as they grew bolder. One down on the sand nudged Jonas’s foot, backed up, and nudged him again. When we didn’t respond, the ray swam up Jonas’s leg, flapping his wings and pressing his slick body against us.
With me in his arms, Jonas stepped back, letting the ray fall away from us.
We both raised our heads and spit our snorkels out, laughing. “Oh my God, that felt so weird!”
“They are slimy.” Jonas wrinkled his nose in his mask.
We ducked back down and watched the rays more. They swam by, anywhere from the surface of the water to the sandy bottom, brushing us when they passed. It was hard to keep my hands to myself; I wanted to pet them. I detached from Jonas and stood on my own, but I had to fend off several rays that tried to climb up my body.
Once the rays calmed down a little bit, I looked around. There were still sharks nearby, but in the excitement of the rays I had completely forgotten about them. They circled the whole area, slowly keeping an eye on things.
They weren’t the only ones: large, colorful coral fish circled as well, ducking in to pick at the sand occasionally.
