I was cleaning out a box and found a photo CD from an underwater disposable camera that Bubba and I bought in Hawaii a little over a year ago. We originally went to Maui on our honeymoon in 2007, and got a free return flight because they had overbooked and we volunteered to stay back.
We returned a year later (To Honolulu this time) for a second honeymoon, of sorts. Unfortunately, it was pretty much the worst trip ever. We both got sun burned so bad it made me physically ill, Bubba got really sea sick, our hotel was a piece of junk, and Bubba came down with a flu so bad that I had to go out by myself some nights because he was too sick to get out of bed.
It was still fun, though, and hind-sight is always 20/20...so we can look back and laugh now.
The best part of the trip (for me, anyway...Bubba may have a different opinion) was when we SWAM WITH THE SHARKS! It was so cool. It's really expensive to do ($100 a person, or so) but we learned the power of timeshare presentations and got our tickets nearly for free, for attending one.
We got famous shave ice from Motsumoto's (or however you spell it), then went to the dock. It was the craziest thing. They take you out on this little dinky boat, and drive you to the middle of the ocean (or so it felt like). Oh, did I mention one of our boat captain guys looked about 16?
Then, about 4 people at a time loaded into a light-weight, aluminum cage. Yes, light-weight. This is so it will float. Now, ask yourself, how long would it take a vicious shark to pound through a soda can? Well, just about as long as it would take him to blow through this cage. It's the same idea, not even kidding. Notice the bend where a shark was trying to EAT someone.
Anyway, so they put us in a tin can and float us out to sea. The boat anchors in the same spot every time, so the sharks know that when they hear the motor, they need to come to the surface to get dead fish guts...(and humans...) so they start swarming immediately.
(**Note the vulture perched on the cage, waiting for someone to get torn apart by a shark. Yes, it's a vulture...[in my imagination, anyway].)
The 16 year old captain then proceeded to throw entire buckets of fish guts out to the sharks to lure them close to the cage. Which, in my opinion, is completely unnecessary. The sharks "smell" whether you're food or not by bumping into you (unless you're a mean shark like a Great White, in which case you just bite the human, taste that they are gross, and leave them to die.) so they were bumping our cage like crazy.
It took me a few minutes to get my snorkel on, so the first minute or so I was observing the sharks above the water. It was a little freaky, but not too bad. See? We're still smiling here. Ignorance really is bliss.
THEN I put my face under water...and saw the real story.
HUGE SHARKS...EVERYWHERE!
We started freaking out a little. Not a lot, but a little. (And yes, that is an window behind me. There is a thin piece of plastic protecting me from Jaws in this picture.)
Anyway, it was the coolest thing ever, I really loved it. Bubba still thought it was pretty freaky and isn't sure if he'd do it again...I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Notice how far apart the bars were.
This shark kept eyeing Bubba, I think he wanted to eat him.
Needless to say, we somehow made it safe and sound. Though Bubba blew chunks over the side of the boat (and I swore a shark was going to eat his face while leaning over, but the 16 year-old captain guy assured me that they don't like the taste of stomach acid. What does he know, he's in the 5th grade), it was AWESOME, and I really think you should try it if you ever get the chance!
