Talk About Feeling Things Deeply...
When you're 105 feet below the surface.
In my post last Monday, I talked about how I feel things deeply and that I needed a deeper meaning to why I’m in Hawaii.
I should’ve mentioned that being there with my Dad meant a lot too. The last time I was in Hawaii I was 14-months-old. My Dad was there for work and so my Mum and I tagged along for a vacation! Apparently, I was a little rebel way back then because I stole a Snuffleupagus toy from an ABC store and they found it stuffed in my stroller. Ha! My Mum and Dad didn’t realize until we had left the store. Oops…
Anyways, my Dad helped to build the tourism submarines in Hawaii with a company called Atlantis. He designed all of the electrical work and was lucky enough to travel the world when I was a little girl. It has been a dream and a goal of ours to one day travel to a destination of one of the submarines and take a ride together.
It only took 30 years…
We finally took a ride in Atlantis XIV, the submarine he was building the year I was born (1994). He had to take a week break from work to come home for my entrance into the world! It’s the submarine’s 30th birthday this year, as was mine…
We walked down to the Waikiki beach, just outside of the Hilton hotel, where the Atlantis ticket booth was, checked into our tour, and then headed towards the port for the shuttle boat.
As we were sitting there waiting for the shuttle to arrive, a sea turtle was gracefully swimming in the water next to the dock. He attracted the attention of all the tourists and hung around for quite a while, poking his little head out of the water here and there as if to say “Hi”.
When the shuttle boat finally arrived, my Dad said hello to some fellow co-workers onboard and we took a seat up at the top so we could catch the cool breeze in the hot sun. We chatted with one of the Captains for a moment, enjoyed the scenic views, and then caught the surfacing of the submarine we were about to embark on.
We were lucky enough (maybe it was not so much luck as who you know…) to get the VIP seats up at the very front of the submarine. As we took a seat I could feel the excitement rising inside of me. What would we see today!? When I rode in the Atlantis submarine in Cozumel, I saw a stingray and an eel. So I was looking forward to seeing some cool sea creatures this time around too.
There were many types of fish, some sea urchins, and coral on the structures that lay on the bottom of the ocean. Many of the objects were put there by Atlantis to support coral life and provide protection for the fish. It was pretty cool to see all the fishies swimming around in their home environment, reminding me of the movie “Finding Nemo”. We also saw a giant turtle hanging out in a dark spot within one of the structures. He looked like a massive rock sitting there that you almost couldn’t notice him.
About three quarters through the tour, we saw something even more magnificent. A shark had appeared on the starboard side (we were sitting on the port side) and some people were able to catch a quick glimpse before he disappeared! I caught a quick glimpse myself but felt eager to see him again. The sub turned around (they make sure both sides see the same views to make it fair), and we drove by the area where the shark had been.
“Please come back and show us yourself”, I was telepathically calling to the shark in my head. Feeling it in my being, I was doing my best to attract the experience I wanted; which was catching a better view of the shark. Sure enough, just moments later, he made another appearance. One that was even better than I had imagined, and I was able to get an amazing video of him. It was like my “prayer”, you could call it, was answered and he even did a little 180 degree turn for us so we could see him from all angles. What a show off!
The tour ended pretty soon after that. Gracie, our tour guide, mentioned some interesting facts about the sea creatures during our ride. Apparently, female turtles have shorter tails and flatter shells than male turtles. I also learned that jellyfish are in tune with the moon phases and travel closer towards the shore just after a full moon.
As we ascended to the surface of the water, I felt grateful for the chance to have finally taken a submarine ride with my Dad. And to see a shark was an added bonus to the experience!
We unloaded back onto the shuttle boat while the new round of tourists started loading on for the next tour. As we were floating away from the submarine, we had the chance to see it submerge into the water and disappear into the deep sea. As we were doing that, a pod of about fifteen dolphins came diving over to us with excitement and spring in their energy! They were jumping in and out of the water and started following the shuttle boat back to the dock for some time. My video of them wasn’t good enough quality to post anything here, unfortunately. But it was quite the experience to see that many dolphins at once!
What an incredible experience. One I will never forget.
I started to feel a stronger connection with the ocean while I was down there. There was a beautiful stillness inside of me, like a meditation, and a deep feeling that I needed to connect with the water even more once I got home. I think it might be time to finally get my scuba diving certification and get more in touch with sea life.
The ocean has seemed to call to me a lot more actually, especially over the last few years since I’ve started travelling. I always forget that I’ve had a connection to the ocean all of my life. With my Dad through his work and my Mum by growing up as a kid and sailing with my Grandfather. It doesn’t surprise me that I’ve ended up moving to an island surrounded by the pacific ocean.
It has been on my mind for years to donate to an ocean cleanup project. After this submarine experience, I did some research and have finally decided that I will donate $1 each month from all of my paid subscribers to The Ocean Cleanup, an organization that cleans up plastic from the ocean and the rivers before it even reaches the ocean.
So, if you are supporting my work already as a paid subscriber (thank you!) or you’re thinking of becoming a paid subscriber, please know that I’ll be donating $1 a month from your subscription to this wonderful organization to help clean up our ocean water. Thank you for all for your continued support in my writing; it comes from deep within my heart and soul.
Namaste.
With Gratitude,
