Fakarava Dive (North pass)

Eric and I went out with a local dive shop to a spectacular reef for a one hour (!) dive. The coral itself was worth the trip! I've never seen such healthy and colorful coral and so full of life. Truly overwhelming! We swam along the reef surrounded by thousands of colorful fish, big and small. They appeared totally unaware of us and some were even curious enough to come for a closer look. Several Grouper and a meter long, olive green fish new to us called a Napoleon showed up several times to check us out. At a depth of 50-60 feet, we came upon a group of gray sharks halfway through the dive. The dive master had prepped us they'd be there. It's mating season so the males are here too, biting their way to intimate relations with the females. These were gray sharks - 6-8 feet long who made close passes and, although not concerned that we were there, they certainly were not shy. At one point, I counted fifteen sharks on all sides of us. But I wasn't nervous. There were enough divers (8 in total) and they do this dive everyday so the sharks are used to seeing people. The slight increase in my pulse just added to the thrill of the experience. This dive shop's motto is: "If you don't see a shark, the dive is free." Hmmmmm......

Ann