Imagine hovering along a mound of coral and rocks. It’s murky — there is a wall of green-blue water behind the variety of fish you see going about their business. Some check you out, most have more important things to do. It’s just you, your small group of dive friends (on the boat better known as Team A), your dive guide and the marine life that thrives there. You’ve given up hope on seeing a manta (this dive), so you inhale, exhale, hover, check out the little things who are just as beautiful. All of a sudden you sense something behind you. A large manta ray glides in from the distance, swoops down within inches of you, so that it can look you in the eye — deciding whether or not he (or she) wants to spend more time with you. The manta is so close, in fact, you turn onto your back, so that you’re both belly to belly, swaying in each other’s wake.

In that moment you’ve forgotten all about your age, weight, gender, socio-economic status (all the stuff that seems to matter on land). You feel so beautifully alive, and you cry at the wonder of sharing the same space and time with this majestic being, who then moves on to do the same with each of your friends, until he flies back into the dark. A few minutes later he returns with his friends.

That is what it’s like to dance with mantas.

Turns out those mantas weren’t the only ones wanting to waltz water with us. LOL this guy made sure each and everyone of us got some face time with him. He kept looking at me; I swear saying “What am I? Chopped Liver?”

It’s been a week since my liveaboard dive trip ended, and I’m still glowing from its magic. Most of my favorite dive buddies (sadly a few couldn’t join us) and I got to spend Thanksgiving week aboard the Carpe Novo, cruising around several Maldivian Atolls and diving into their waters.

We had such an amazing time with each other, our new dive friends we met on the boat, and, of course, the many, many personalities we met underwater.

Our very first dive included a spotted eagle ray swimming above us — I like to think she was blessing us with “come play with us” vibes. We saw so many sharks, anemone (and their adorable buddies), and schools of fish (including the largest school of barracuda I’ve ever seen). We also got to mingle with a variety of nudibranchs, eels, shrimp, crabs and octopuses.

Again, I don’t take pics under water, so all of these pics are from Dive Diva (Ina Francisco), Bennie, Susan or Shane Blaz. I’ll update with more pics when my other buddies share their goodies.

During some of our surface intervals we got to snorkel with mantas AND a whale shark. Sadly, the whale shark was only under us for a few seconds before diving into the deep. I don’t blame him — lol who wants a bunch of pesky humans frantically swimming this way and that just to watch you eat.

One of my favorite dives (the dance with mantas was number 1) was also my 301st dive. Our guide surprised me with a sign I will have framed. I had originally planned on skipping the prior dive because I’m being careful and it was a deep dive, but the currents weren’t strong, so I decided to do it and hover a little higher than everyone (and, of course, I absolutely loved it). Anyway, back to the 301st. We dove with the largest, most playful nurse sharks I have ever met. As we were descending they swam between our legs (lol one smacked Susan in the rear with its tail) and alongside us, practically guiding us to their den. Once we got to their favorite place, they lounged on the sand while we took pics (lol I’m the one wearing orange and Betty, I never corrected our guide. I’m pretty sure Rio isn’t his real name, and that I didn’t say it correctly)

Team A lounging with our pups.

The pack of sharks (pic only shows two of them) laid docile until we ascended for our safety stop. They followed us up, swimming around us as if begging for a treat. I was so tempted to rub their bellies, but we adhere to the no-touch rule.

Above water we humans also had fun bonding and getting to know our Maldivian and Sri Lankan crew and the other divers from the States, Canada, China, Tenerife, Austria, Germany and Poland. One of the best things about diving is the people you get to meet. In real life we bore others with our stories about what we see underwater. Sea slugs and pipe fish just aren’t all that exciting until you’ve had to go 60 plus feet under to squint your eyes to see them. Plus, we literally trust each other with our lives under water and we share the post-dive shiver of shame — we might look good in the snaps we share lol but trust me coming out of the water we’ve all struggled with knotted hair (well the short hair or bald folk don’t), um our own nasal slime, and getting our carcass loaded with gear back on the boat, and then there’s the de-robing of our wetsuits and/or skins on a boat that’s rarely sitting still.

A trip like this doesn’t come without its hiccups. Much of the week we were in the outer bands of a nasty storm that caused death and destruction in Malaysia and Sri Lanka. One night the boat rocked and creaked so much, we all wondered if we should sleep with our life jackets on. I would not make a good fisherman on one of those arctic fishing boats. I regretted not bringing my wetsuit because I was chilly some of the time. We had a few days where nothing dried, so we divas had to endure putting on wet bathing suits and skins lol so we could jump into the water. I type this knowing full and well how spoiled I sound. Our flight home was a nightmare. Long story short we spent an extra night in Male in a hotel we would not have chosen, eating a meal of what we’re not really sure (they said it was chicken), and dealt with the frenzy that comes with airport madness when your flights don’t go as planned. This was definitely a shock for us because life on the boat included amazing meals, spacious rooms and a crew that took care of everything for us. Turns out I really like yacht living.

That said we were never miserable. Exhausted and occasionally snippety (I had a moment maybe two, but lol they didn’t last long), yes. Unhappy, no. We made the best out of our worst and best situations. Would I spend a week on a boat in the middle of nowhere with this group of friends again? Or, take a three-day journey home with them? You bet! As they’ve all heard me say sooo many times, “I love my life!” And, they’re part of the reason why. I’m a lucky girl.

Next up, another reason why I love my life so much: my family. I get to see them in just a few weeks, and I cannot wait!

Happy Holidays Everyone. Love, hugs and bubbles from my corner of the world to yours.