We've seen a lot of this species elsewhere in the Caribbean;
here, too, the lovely but venomous & destructive lionfish (a/k/a shark food) thrives
From Avalon's web site: Pipin
At the mooring buoy, the reef is 15 meters (49') deep,
forming impressive canyons and caves that run perpendicular
to the coastline until they reach 24 meters (78') of depth
at the edge of the drop-off. At this point, the reef is very colorful and alive,
with huge schools of grunts patrolling the border of the abyss;
many jacks; silver tarpons in groups of 10-50 coming straight at you
and then making a swift turn five inches away from your mask,
along with turtles, eagle rays flying near the wall and
sometimes a lonely three-meter-long great hammerhead
coming up from the deep to take a quick look at the divers
and then disappearing into the blue.
In the meantime, as divers go around the canyons, 10-12
silky sharks keep swimming close to the surface near the boat;
then, during the safety stop, come to get an eyeful of the divers.
More large groupers
Sounds wonderful, no? Well the reality was a lot different.
For whatever reason there was an unexpectedly strong current on the site.
Some of the group never made it to the bottom;
they used up their air fighting to get to the mooring line and descend.
I dropped almost straight down into the lee of the reef;
even then, it was a struggle to reach the mooring point
where we were instructed to wait and meet.
A very brief swim around, watching the shark feed and then time to go up.
Sharks . . .
the Caribbean reef variety
Ascending the mooring line, gripping it with one bare hand
so as not to be blown off and away, most of the group
suffered stings, or allergic reactions akin to burns,
from some unknown venomous marine life growing on the line
(it was covered with everything from algae to small shells and crabs).
It could have been a type of sponge or a Hydroid,
but everyone in the boat had painful hands.
I said that the general treatment for stings of that sort was
1) as soon as we got back to the boat,
soak hands in the hottest water available in the sink;
then 2) treat with vinegar or ammonia (islander cure: pee on them).
I followed my own advice and the next day,
my hands were a bit tender, but I had no major issues.
Cheryl used a "jellyfish sting cream" that Kathy had along,
but she & Joseph (a diver from Germany who was on Tortuga, the floating hotel)
had hands that were so swollen the next day they looked like
second- or third-degree burns!
I don't know what, if any, treatment Joe received.
The next day Joe's hands were so bad he showed up with gloves
(not really allowed here, but an exception was made)
and he couldn't bend his fingers. It took several days
for their hands to get back to somewhat normal.
We didn't have a repeat of such strong currents for the rest of the trip,
but that was quite an experience for all.
On the second dive, Neal videos the sharks in shallow water
near and under AND BEHIND the boat. . . . HERE
Please allow time to download
Video courtesy of Noel Lopez of Avalon Diving Centers
On the third dive, THIS is what he videoed: More sharks behind the boat.
Please allow time to download
What I found out AFTER the second dive,
as I was hanging on the tag line off the back of the boat . . .
COMPLETELY SURROUNED BY SILKY SHARKS in the 7'
and longer size range is . . . THEY GET REALLY CLOSE!
Close enough to brush with your hand. Important note:
was told ALWAYS brush FROM HEAD TO TAIL . . . (think about it).
This became a regular occurrence. On a few occasions,
they brought up Caribbean reef sharks to feed on the surface
so we could see a "Feeding Frenzy" up close and personal
(from about a foot away).
COMPLETELY different diving with sharks than seeing them on the surface.
Los Mogotes was the last dive of the first day.
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