Channel of Sharks.

The next adventure was another big dive we were looking forward to:  Catalinas!  These are a bunch of small islands out about 45 minutes from shore in the opposite direction as Bats.  These dives are known for all of the rays that frequent the area!

This dive trip was also the very last one for my poor Xcel wetsuit.  It is no more for I have destroyed it.  Luckily, it was free ;)

We dove at the first site which was on the calmer side of the rock island.  We were down for about maybe 10 minutes when finally Spanish Jemaine (remember him from a previous post?) decided to cancel this site.  We surfaced and he said, "I refuse to dive in such a place as this.  I refuse to do only 3 meters."  That's right, the dive was maybe 15 feet deep with pretty much nothing to see.

We hopped back on the boat and went on the other side which faced the open ocean.  We dove to about 70 something feet and were greeted by beautiful schools of fish.  As we cruised around, we found a giant Red Snapper and many Eagle Rays, which we never tire of.  We saw another turtle but it was difficult to determine which type it was because the visibility was less than it had been.

We did a total of 4 dives, if you count the little "pre-dive" and they were VERY intense!  The 3rd dive was amazing!  This site was called Sharks and we found out why.  It was full of channels and a crazy surge.  In the main channel we came across a mama White Tip Reef Shark with 7 babies!  We sat and watched them forever as the surge moved us back and forth.  It was just incredible to see them all swimming in this surge and all so close to us!  Kat did super well for her first time in such a surge.  We were all very impressed!

(FYI, I did not chase this shark.  This was actually the surge helping me get this video!)

As the diving continued we saw more Octos, Eels, a couple of gorgeous Round Rays, and more!  This area was definitely worth the trip out!  And of course, we more sun while eating the delicious pineapple between dives.

(Poor wetsuit.  That was just the beginning!)

By the time we got back we were all so super tired -- the usual.  You just don't realize how much work you're really doing when you dive!  It's all so relaxing and just peaceful that it's easy not to notice!  As per usual, we took a dip in the pool to wind down and had our Monkey Time.  Then we decided to start getting ready for dinner, which was at La Caveja again like the night before with the owners of the dive shop.  Hey man, the food is good and who knows when we're coming back!  As we were about to leave the rain came pouring down!  It poured and poured and that's when the thunder started.  Let's just say I'm not so good at pretending I'm not terrified. :(  We were eating in the restaurant and the girls were trying so hard to soothe my nerves.  Let' just say I may have made myself sick after such a freakout.  The lightning was literally right over us.  It was insane.

(Proof as to how close the monkeys really are here!  That's Kat standing outside her and Risa's room!)

(Just after checking out his reflection by mine and Jen's room.)

(Sweet mama and baby.)

We made it back to the hotel, thanks to Jen's skill of driving in the snow, and got ready for bed.  Of course, the thunder storm continued and I did my best to try to get use to it.  So, I decided to join Risa in trying to capture photos of the lightning!  We didn't do so hot, but at least it helped get my mind off of it. Finally, we all got too tired to stay awake and I'm pretty sure we went to bed at about 8:00pm!  We're such grammas on this trip because we are so active during the day!  The sun goes down, we go down!  It's been so amazing though, I wouldn't change a thing!