Join Thor and me as we swim at night among giant manta rays off the Big Island coast in Hawaii.
NOTE: After way too many months without travel, Thor insisted on an R&R escape to Hawaii this April. He’d been keeping on eye on the very careful Covid-19 precautions in the islands, and the testing required before flying there. And now that we’re both fully vaccinated, we took the plunge – literally, for some snorkeling in the healing sea, as well as exploring the Big Island and Kauai. After this detour (series started April 24), I promise I’ll finish up my Virtual Italy Vacation series soon!
After Thor and I had gone on the small-boat tour to swim with the wild dolphins (see earlier post in this series), we decided that we would have to top that by going with the same company for a night swim with giant manta rays. The resort you can see in this shot from our condo lanai originally started accidentally attracting the mantas with floodlights in the shallow sea. Now a limited number of swimmers can join in the fun each evening.
We really like the staff and boats at Dolphin Discoveries, a small local business. The owner and staff walk the talk in practicing non-intrusive observation that makes sure the wild sea creatures are not molested.
https://www.dolphindiscoveries.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/about-image.jpg
We were surprised to learn that we wouldn’t be snorkeling, but rather skipping the fins and just wearing mask and snorkel in addition to swimsuit (and for me, a wetsuit in the cool water), while being towed on a specially-built board with lights to attract plankton. The mantas feed on the tiny sea creatures by scooping water with their cephalic lobes — hornlike projections on the front of their heads that have given them the name of “devilfish” — and into the gaping mouths. Our captain explained that this easy food concentration benefits older or injured mantas, and they often will see them (usually females) missing one or two of the lobes, as in this still captured from Thor’s video:
The mantas came thick that night, as they rolled and often nudged against us. We had been cautioned not to touch them, as it might injure the protective film over their skin.
These photos are blurry, as Thor was taking only video in the uneven light, and these are still-clips from the video. For more of the visceral experience as the 6 to 9 foot mantas rolled and swept almost on top of us, here’s a YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ujKMxx2V8
My first experience with a manta ray came as I was working as scuba divemaster guiding tourists on dives in the Virgin Islands. The encounter found its way into my Caribbean suspense novel ISLANDS in one of the dive scenes:
The reef had proliferated into fantastic shapes — tall arches, convoluted ribbons and passageways, pagoda-like spires plumed with delicate fringed plants in muted colors — submerged in flickering bands of surreal light. From out of its watery maze, a huge black manta ray suddenly lifted, flying on rippling batlike wings. The devilfish. It soared overhead, shadow touching my face, circling and gliding deeper, disappearing with a last beckoning dip.…
The ebook of ISLANDS is on half-price special, if you’d enjoy more virtual diving: https://bookviewcafe.com/bookstore/book/islands/
More recently, Thor and I had been snorkeling by a manta ray feeding along a reef off Maui, which was wonderful, but this night immersion took us to a whole new level of excitement. Mahalo, thank you, beautiful sea creatures!
And Mahalo to the Big Island for sharing its beauty. On our last night, it was hard to pack for leaving. Aloha!
Next week: A fly-by of highlights on Kauai, our next stop.
*****
You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection. It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?” The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
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