....Manta Bay. Off the coast of Nusa Penida, Indonesia. One of the most surreal experiences of my life! After an hour boat ride, we jumped in and had 6 of these magnificent cousins of the shark surrounding us. Our boat captain said that they were harmless (not to be confused with sting rays, ie- Steve Erwin)... of course I didn't research it until I got back to land, but he was indeed right.
They were super curious and would swim up to you with their mouths wide open, and then turn at the last minute, inches from your face! I may have peed myself a little the first pass they made... like a sitting duck, I wasn't sure whether to swim or just freeze in place. A reef shark sighting right below us, and a giant orange jellyfish (that I accidentally backed into in efforts to not touch a manta) added to the adrenaline rush. For about two hours, we had several mantas swimming quickly toward us from multiple directions simultaneously, all seen through the narrow non-peripheral lense of a snorkel mask!
What amazing creatures. Definitely add this one to your bucket list!
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| Manta selfie |
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