Manta ray ballet!
Feeling a bit blue, I dinghy slowly back towards Swell. Apparently the internet on the island is down…So much for the skype date with Mom.
The water is a mystic green, full and soupy with plankton and little jellyfish. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot something flick the surface up ahead. Thereâs more than oneâ¦What is itâ¦?
I slowly approach as not to scare them, and cut the engineâ¦
Manta rays!!! A whole family of them!?
I watch them lift their wing tips at the surface, before descending again. I search the boat, yesâ¦my mask and fins are here!
I slide in slowly, but my arrival doesnât seem to phase the mantas. The water is thick with micro-life! I feel mini jellyfish bounce off my limbs as I join the âstewâ. The mantas are marvelous! They fly by in slow, smooth loopsâarcing back and forth through the plankton bloom.
Iâm euphoric. Itâs the beauty cross oceans forâ¦
The giant rays move with unmatched grace. Like theyâve never hurried in all of timeâ¦effortless, now and forever.
I begin to recognize a few of them. The white markings of their undersides are all a little different. The biggest come very, very close. One has a long battle scar across his back. I run my fingers over it. He seems to like it, circling around to see me again.
For nearly an hour I stay with them. I finally climb back into the dinghy chilly and pruned, but all smiles. These peaceful water angels have restored my peace. I thanked them for reminding me that if we relax and flow, there are often great things that come out of apparent misfortuneâ¦
**Later that day, the internet was miraculously repaired, and I got to tell Mom all about my date with the mantas!