How To Survive Being Sick While Working On A Cruise Ship…

I have spent the last 2 weeks sick with a bad cough that often sounded quite dangerous to everyone’s health. It was apparently caused by allergies and is not contagious, although I am fairly certain my roommate has been following me with disinfecting wipes just in case. So here are a few general rules to surviving being sick when working on a cruise ship, from real time experience!!

1
DON’T GET SICK!!!!!

If this fails…

2
Drink lots of tea with honey and lemon.

3
Get plenty of rest…

‘Cause there is lots of time to rest while working on a cruise ship…NOT!
4

Try whiskey and hot water.

5
Try brandy and hot water.

If these fail…

6
Go see the ship Doctor and get to know him and his nurse on a first name basis.

Diagnosis: Minor lung infection due to allergies and ship’s air conditioning

7
Be put on copious amounts of drugs.

8
Ask the fabulous server in the staff mess to save you yoghurt for dinner, discover he starts saving 2 for you for every meal!

9
Explain till you are hoarse that you are NOT contagious, you just sound like you are.

10
Have a daily nebulizer appointment and checkup.

11
Discover there are 2 main reactions to you coughing up a lung: looking at you like you have the plague or suggesting you drink more whiskey.

12
Have an amazing roommate who can sleep through your hacking cough.

13
Become the butt of staff jokes due to your coughing…

Warning this will involve laughter, that makes you cough more!

14
Start greeting other crew members, who are also suffering from a cough, with fake and not so fake coughing sounds, since we are all part of the same team…

15
Soon you will meet guests of all medical professions, including a South African Pharmacist and an Egyptian Surgeon.

16
Just as you start to wonder if you will need new lungs, you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Don’t be fooled and don’t go towards it!

17
You have an ominous discussion with the doctor that goes something like this:

Me – Do you have something to stop the coughing??
Doc – Yes
Me – May I add it to my medication list
Doc – No
Me – ummm why (sounding fairly pathetic I might add)
Doc – maybe tomorrow, I have a plan for you!!!

18
Finally be given the legendary stop coughing syrup that contains the good stuff and make you pass out in the drool on the pillow type of sleep…

19
Start feeling better, but I still don’t recommend laughing as it still causes coughing!

20
Refer to tip #1 and DON’T GET SICK!!!!

The Cities We Dock In..: Odessa

Today I have the morning off and am currently sitting in Odessa, Ukraine, at a coffee shop near the top of the famous Potemkin Steps. There are around 150 but I am afraid I lost count around 91, so I will just have to take them at their word or maybe count again on the way down.

It is a glorious sunny day and the temperature is very mild. Birds are singing and tours are touring! I love days like these, especially the ones I have mornings off.

Some history, Odessa was built by Catherine the Great, who was a German noblewoman who married a Russian emperor. They say he didn’t have his wits about him and it was really she who ran the kingdom. She built Odessa to encourage more Germans to the area along with more trade and work. The city is beautifully set up and the architecture is beyond words.

From where I sit, I can see my little ship, MSC Lirica, looming in the distance. It is quite intimidating… that is until you park her next to one that is 3 times her size and then she looks like a rowboat. But on her own, she is fabulous!

5 Total Stops

This is the 4th time we have docked in Odessa and we have one last cruise to go in this area. The first cruise I was so exhausted I slept and only managed to drag myself out of bed for a short time. I made it as far as the base of the stairs, my eyes slowly taking in the bottom and then all 150… at that I said “Fudge this, back to bed”, perhaps in more descriptive words but my mummy reads this .

The 2nd saw me forgetting my passport. Ukraine is the only country that requires guests to carry their passports with them, this includes crew. We are given specific hours over 2 days to go to the purser’s office and pick it up… if you forget you enjoy the pleasure of boat life during stops in Yalta and Odessa. So the result was laundry done and room nice and shiny.

The 3rd time I enjoyed the pleasure of the “City Tour and Shopping”. I got to meet some fabulous English speaking guests and with it being another glorious day, enjoyed a leisurely stroll through downtown Odessa. It is fascinating to go on these tours as you learn so much.

Finally we get to today, where I have the pleasure of my own company, a large ice coffee and the best apple strudel in town. It is days like this that tempt me to make cruise shipping my life’s purpose… tempting….

Very soon it will be time to meet Kaja and Beata from the Photo department and maybe Alex (if he rolls out of bed) for some traditional Ukrainian food!!!!

Oh and not to forget the punk squirrels in the parks here:

A Day in the Life of a Social Hostess on Embarkation Day…

Genoa, Italy…Embarkation

Genoa is a day we love and dread at the same time, actually mostly dread. We say farewell to most of the old passengers and welcome a whole new group on board. The best thing about embarkation Genoa, is that it only starts at 9.15am.

Genoa is located in the North of Italy and is the main starting point for the 11 day cruises that MSC Lirica offers. We also have guests embark in Civitevecchia (pronounced Chivi tevekkia), Istanbul (usually all Turkish) and Odessa (usually all Ukranian and Russian). But Genoa is the biggest day with around 1300 to 1500 checking in.

Positions Please

Rolling out of bed, donning the uniform of blue pants, white long sleeve button up shirt, blue jacket and blue and white neck scarf while putting on my comfortable shoes (and thanking my mum profusely every time I avoid wearing my heels at her insistance I take the comfy ones as well), we head to the office on deck 5.

From there we proceed to deck 4, through security and into the terminal. We have had really bad luck in the past 3 cruises finding an unlocked door, but it appears as if we have finally located the correct one for all future cruises! Small victories make our days easier.

One of us is stationed at the check in desk. This is usually the Spanish Hostess who knows the system and also speaks 5 languages. The German host is stationed at the exit of the line where he can direct folks to open checking inners. The French hostess is stationed at the front of the line where she can check the little tickets indicating normal check in vs express (actually both the same but different lines) vs priority (for handicapped and families).

Finally there is me, English Hostess, along with someone from the animation team (as in entertaining team not drawing cartoons team). We are stationed at a desk near the entrance where we have important safety information in 5 different languages and the little tickets differentiating a guests status of check in.

Let the Fun Begin

The doors always seem to open at a different time. In the past we have stood there from 9.30am till 11.30am before we even start. But this last embarkation we started at 10am. Guests file in and we greet them while trying to guess what language they speak. It usually goes a little like this:

Me: Good Morning
Guest: huh?
Me: Bonjour/Bonjourno/Gooten Morgent (sp??)/Buen Dia
Guest: huh?
Me: Francais/Italiani/Deutsch??
Guest: ahhh Italiani
Me: MSC Cruise Card member?
Guest: huh?

And so on for all 5 languages. If an English speaker comes along I introduce myself and invite them to the travel talk in the afternoon.

For the first 3 cruises we stood like this for 5hrs, no break. But thank the heavens, the message got through and we were all relieved for 30minutes yesterday. Unfortunately I had not realised this and had not brought any money to buy a coffee or drink, it was pissing with rain outside and after 20min I got bored of sitting so went back.

2pm!!!

Finally, just as it feels as if our legs may never recover, our replacements arrive and I have to suppress the urge to kiss him and offer to give him children!

With barely an hour before our next task, we bound into the ship and head up to the buffet where we inhale food. Then down to the room to put feet up for about 15min.

Travel Talk

3.15pm Monique, French, and me gather in the office to make the announcement for the upcoming travel talk. This round mine was in the Lirica Lounge on deck 7. I had a rather good turnout of around 25 folks, considering I only have about 100 English Speakers onboard. Now English speakers do not necessarily mean NATIVE, but rather everyone who can’t speak one of the other 4 languages, often that means they don’t speak English either. But all good! This round I have a group from Norway, some dutch, a couple from Singapore, Japan, England, USA, even a couple from Namibia. The most surprising thing was to meet a lady from Eugene, Oregon who lives just a few minutes from the folks. Mmmmm potential courier for stuff dare I wonder.

The travel talk is around 20minutes and covers everything from life on board to excursions. Finally being able to go on excursions means I don’t have to BS as much as I have been. At the end we do a drawing for 50% off an excursion of their choice.

Safety Drill

After answering numerous questions and meeting folks I manage a quick 1 hr feet up before grabbing my life jacket to man my station for the safety drill. I am crew number 0626, muster station S, lifeboat 8. This is inside the casino, which has been pointed out as potentially not being the best spot of the ship is going down, but hey at least we can gamble on it!!

Standing at the entrance I collect the red cards. These are small ID cards given to guests at check in. After the Costa Concordia incident, this method was implemented to ensure all guests attend the drill, if their card is not collected a message is sent to their cabin to join the one the next day in Civitevecchia.

Moving to my spot for all those in lifeboat 8, I stand holding a lollipop sign until the general emergency signal (7 short, one long blast) is sounded. I then don my lifejacket and wait until we start the instructions for lifejacket presentation.

Grinning like a cheshire cat, I take the lifejacket off and go step by step showing how to put it back on while announcements are made in all 5 languages. I am finally reaching the point where I understand what each one is saying.

Disembarkation Talk

Drill complete I potter off to the Theatre where I have a disembarkation talk explaining procedures for guests leaving us in Civitevecchia. This takes about 20minutes again with questions after.

Sleep or Dinner

My biggest decision is then to whether or not to eat or nap first. Yesterday eating seemed like the best choice to ensure a longish nap. And oh how blissful that nap was, unfortunately it felt like my legs were going to cramp when I finally moved them.

Hospitality Desk

Since it is the first day we remain in our uniform all day and I must note that 14hrs in polyester long pants is not overly comfortable.

Our hospitality desk runs for an hour and we get to meet and greet and answer any questions new and old guests may have.

The Remainder of the Night

Now the evening begins to wind down. 7.30-8.30pm is Hospitality Desk. From 8.30pm to 9pm we wander around deck 6 socializing, or lapping as I prefer to call it. From 9pm to 9.15pm we stand and welcome folks into the theatre. 9.15pm is our evening meeting with details of the following day.

At this point we have a short time to pop upstairs to the buffet and see if we need something to sustain us for the rest of the night.

Our last duty before sleep is to man the Lirica Lounge and welcome guests to the evening activity from 10.15pm to 11pm.

BED!!!

Finally the day is over and we can collapse into glorious slumber, only to roll out of bed the next morning at 5.45am….

However….

I must note that presently I am sitting at a cafe in Rome, overlooking the Colosseum. I was placed on the Rome on Your Own tour, which involved me counting folks on the onset and then recounting at the end. Inbetween is free time!! It’s a glorious day and after my cappucino I am beginning to feel human. I think I may hunt down pizza for lunch….

Welcome to Ship Life

All Right Folks I finally completed the first ship board entry…sorry about the wait!

The Start of It….

Almost exactly 1 year ago I stepped on a plane to visit someone… ultimately it would lead me to this moment, sitting in my little cabin onboard the MSC Lirica cruise ship. Since then I have experienced every emotion from heart ache, to anger, to finding an inner strength that surprised me. Now, I start my new adventure as the English Social Hostess on a ship that carries 2199 guests and 701 crew when at capacity… who knew life would lead me here!

Making it All Worthwhile

Presently I am sitting in my little cabin, listening to music and waiting to go check on my laundry (it is a highlight of my week when I find time to do it). Spent the morning with a friend walking around Civitevecchia, the port city of Rome, having a fabulous cappucino and an enormous panini with roasted zucchini, ham and mozzarella. I can’t believe that I am living the ship life… after all the craziness and effort to get here… I find moments like these making it all worth it!

Flights

With less than a week before departure I finally received my flight details. Leaving Eugene, Oregon around 1pm I would fly to San fran, then on to Munich and finally arriving in Genoa, Italy at 11.20pm. A total travel time of 23hrs…. After collecting luggage and finding a taxi I made it to the MSC Lirica around midnight for check in.

She seemed enormous, looming in the moonlight and I was faced with a rather daunting set of metal stairs offered as a gangway. Not a problem under normal circumstances but with a bag that is exactly the Lufthansa weight limit, this proved a difficult task, especially in my lack of sleep state.

Making it up the ramp I was faced with security. All security onboard MSC ships are Israeli, and it’s hard to get them to smile. Luckily there was another girl waiting behind me and we soon got to talking. Biljana, Macedonia, has had a few contracts and works in the Casino. She helped me settle in. Security is very thorough when checking your bags, you are not allowed to bring liquids or such and they discovered my tiny bottle of Marmite (all English and South Africans will understand this). I made big sad eyes and begged him not to part me from it… He acted like he would remove it and then at the last moment, slid it across to me conspiratorially. Maybe I will make friends with security after all. We were both introduced to Francesco the T&D (training and development) manager. I swear he is the Italian double of Mr. Bean, especially when he smiles. It will be very hard not to call him that by mistake.

Biljana and I helped each other with our bags down to deck 4 and went in to the Chief Purser and sign a few things (apparently it was my contract, but I was so exhausted I didn’t realise until a few days later). Mr. Bean…. I mean Francesco had a special surprise for us, we were allowed onto the bridge to collect our keys and cards. It was quite impressive but in that state at 1am I don’t recall much I am afraid. Biljana and I went to her cabin first, which was clean…ish, definately needed a vacuum. Apparently when people leave they are meant to clean their rooms… meant to being the key phrase. Then it was onto my room. On first inspection it seemed there were still people living there. We found clothes and suitcases and piles of trash everywhere. Biljana called the Night Steward and he took one look and called 2 cleaners. It took them over an hour to make the cabin livable… 2 boys, entertainers, from the Dominican Republic had been the previous tenants. I flipped the mattress just in case!!!

First Mornings

I woke up about 7 hrs later in a bit of a dwaal, as we would say in Afrikaans, a little lost and confused. Apparently breakfast had ended already, I had no idea where to go, who to ask, what to do until I saw … Mr. Bean! He managed to rustle up some croissants and a form of coffee and gave me a short run down of some things. Then he took me to meet my boss, the Cruise Director. He left me in the office and after about 2 hrs I asked if I should return later as no one had had time to even ask me how my flight was. I spent the rest of the day unpacking, trying to find my way around and meeting the whole Casino staff, thanks to Biljana. I didn’t meet any of my team until much later that afternoon.

The one good thing about arriving at that time was being able to choose the bottom bunk. Unfortunately, a roommate did appear in the form of Monique, the French Hostess from Canada. She is around 60 and had given up a good job to follow her dream of travel. I take my hat off to her! But I think it may be interesting living with someone almost twice my age. I did make the tentative suggestion, ok more like a query, if she wanted the bottom bunk. She assured me she was fine and I decided, perhaps selfishly, not to insist. I did have to survive 7mths at sea and being able to flop into the bottom bunk is much easier than climbing the ladder, especially in rolling seas.

The Team

The Social Host/ess team is 5 strong. Martina from Italy, Paula from Spain, Peter from Austria, all have numerous contracts under their belt, and Monique and I. Peter only arrived the day of the first cruise, giving everyone quite a scare that he wouldn’t make it in time due to strikes by Lufthansa (apparently I missed them by a day).

First Cruise

We are already almost finished with cruise 3 and will start number four tomorrow. But a run down of the first cruise goes a little like this:
Started with embarkation and 5 hrs of standing, I was very excited to wear the new uniform and my new “clarks” 2inch heels…. I lost feeling in my big toe for 2 weeks, I am not kidding!
About 300 English speakers from all over the world including 5 South Africans…woohoo…scored biltong, bigger Woohoo!!!
This meant my first travel talk was in the theater, which is always intimidating. Arrived early to prepare and wait for the masses, 20 arrived!
Worked constantly with only a few hours each day to pass out. gave up the rare shore time for sleep. No excursions allowed due to training and translations.
Had great fun minglinig with guests and getting to know everyone. Was sad to see a number of them go.
Truly it was all a blur and then the second cruise started.

Second Cruise

Started with another round of embarkation lasting 5 hrs with no break and all standing. But this time I chose my “clarks” flat shoes that my mom insisted on buying me, thank God Mom’s are always right!!!!!
Only about 250 English speakers from around the world, didn’t make as many contacts as the first one. But met a great family from Scotland, when Agnes (a middle aged lady with a slight mental handicap) was in my group for the safety drill, as we walked back she said “that was fun can we do it again”. I met her whole family and enjoyed their company. Paul and his wife, Marion, were with Paul’s brother James (also with a mental handicap) and Agnes was James’ friend. Paul blew us all away with a spectacular rendition of a classical number originating in Naples at the MSC talent show. It was so good that a man from Naples came up to him, with tears in his eyes, and thanked him profusely. He got a standing ovation. Marion will return in July with her sons, I can’t wait to see her again.

Also a couple from England guests who had their 70th birthday on the same day. Super sweet couple and I was able to do a number of small things to make their day special. Excursions and I made a sign giving them priority seating on the tour bus, then I had invited them to a quiz and actually had the Animation team call them up and all of sing happy birthday and give them a bag of goodies. They invited me to have birthday cake with them at dinner, which was delicious but which I had to wolf down at great speed in order to get to the Captain’s cocktail party. I suffered a little trying to look demure and professional with a stomach ache…

The at sea day before Piraeus (Port of Athens) we had a crew party in the guest disco. Much fun was had and much stress released… I believe it was the exhaustion and nothing to do with the alcohol that made me tired the next day

We had a guest needing helicopter transfer to land due to illness which was quite a thing apparently. It all went very smoothly, but is never something a cruise ship wants to deal with.

Cruise 3

Couldn’t believe it when cruise 3 started… another 5 hrs, this time I spoke to the boss after and he was horrified to realise we weren’t being given a break. So here’s hoping for cruise 4 embarkation to be easier. Our first day is Genoa, Italy and the next we are in the port of Rome, Civitevecchia. On this cruise we were barely and hour and a half out of the port when we had to return for a medical emergency. Apparently a guest had attempted to go out on the top deck but the wind had pushed the door and knocked her over, breaking a hip. This time we were close enough to return to port and no need to call a helicopter. Luckily the Captain employed both the horse and the hamster and we soon caught up time before Istanbul.

Istanbul was the first port I got to go on an excursion and it was fabulous, truly amazing. I went to the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and finally the Haggia Sophia which is simply mind blowing. You look at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican city and my first thought is “wow”, simultaneously I think “all this wealth could really help some folks”. In the Haggia Sophia, everything is ancient and it is all mosaics and paintings and so ancient it boggles the mind. There is truly a presence felt there. I hope to go back and just sit and take it all in. But next Istanbul it’s going to be all free time exploring the depths of the Grand Bazaar!!!!

Odessa, Ukraine, I got another excursion opportunity and enjoyed a relaxing day exploring the city. It was clear and sunny and met some fantastic guests. There were also amazing dogs all over and well taken care of. Photos will follow.

We had a crew show last night, with the poor dances (after having 2 shows for guests) doing another show for crew late in the evening. But it is great to be able to all come together and enjoy what the ship has to offer.

And now I am in Sorrento in the South of Italy and hometown of MSC. I just had a meeting with our big boss who said she had only heard great reports and that she could tell I was smart and a quick learner. I asked her to send a message in that regard to my dad… just in case he had doubts!!

So here I am sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tender boats bring guests in and out. The Lirica moors in the bay and then uses it’s lifeboats to bring guests back and forth. I have had my espresso machiatto, and a piece of focaccia and enjoyed a relaxing hour. But soon it is back to the grindstone and preparing for another round of guests and activities and exploration.

I promise to try write more often, but life on board is certainly a new way of living.

A Cruising We Shall Go…

Today is March 19th, 2013 and I am waiting to leave for Italy to start a 7month contract on the cruise ship MSC Lirica. Don’t worry it is not the cruise line Costa or Carnival, however there is a good chance the captain will be Italian.

The route does 11 day cruises from Genoa, Italy via Rome to Athens, Greece, on to the Ukraine, Turkey and back to Genoa. It changes course in June and misses the Ukraine returning to Turkey and adding Cyprus and Israel.

I will try my best to blog when I can but internet is not very reliable on the ship and rather expensive. But I hope you will be patient and enjoy the posts when I can.

As some of you know I initially applied because of a boy, but he broke my heart and instead of giving up, I figured I would continue the adventure on my own!

Island Life in Photos

Before I start with photos of Island Life I wish to expand on my final dives. I forgot to mention a very important piece of equipment that I grew to love and also provided many giggles for guests and fellow divers alike.
MY SOCKS!! On my first dive since I was wearing closed heel fins, my instructor suggested I wear a pair of socks to prevent chaffing on my ankles. The first pair I grabbed just happened to be Christmas socks, and I ended up wearing them through over 50 dives. They served me well.

Island Life Pics

Here are some photos of day to day life on Koh Phangan Island. They are in no particular order, hope you enjoy a glimpse of what it was like.

Thai Fishing Boat in Chaloklum Bay

Full Moon as Seen From my Hammock

Creative Coconut Palm

Sunset Near my Bungalow

Boat near Thong Sala Beach

Local fishing at Chaloklum Beach

Crab!

My breakfast spot on non diving days

Lotus Dive Center Kitties

Island Life is Tough!!!

Our little kitties almost all grown up!

Lotus Dive Center

I nicknamed this local stray, Hyena Dog, due to his scraggly looks and general mannerisms. He was known to be quite the contortionist when wanting to get into something, he was a constant threat when driving as he refused to give way…and yet I kind of admired his spirit.

You can understand my fear of falling coconuts!!

One of the roads after heavy rain

Sunset over Koh Mah beach from viewpoint

Keeping a look out

I discovered too late the amazing Icecream place near the main town of Thong Sala. All icecream is made from natural ingredients and it tastes divine!! There were so many choices you don’t know where to begin.

Phaeng Noi Waterfall

Roots

Elephant feed delivery

On the way to the gas station just out of town I had to pass the Phangan Safari and see the elephants every day. A highlight every time.

Great spot to learn archery and have a beer…

The owners and cooks of my favorite dinner spot

Good friends who came to say farewell, will miss them and can’t wait to see them again.

Panorama from the pier

And Finally my favorite kitty from the dive shop, Momma Cat!

A Big Thank You

A big thank you to everyone I met on the island, to my Instructor Ricardo, to the staff at the dive shop, John, Marc, Gem, Andy, to their better halves, Thong, Linda and Steffi. To Monique and Neil and the rest of the Sail Rock crew, great fun was had by all.

See you all again in January 2014!!!

Island Life… visa runs and final scuba days

Koh Samui Visa Run

Thailand visas are not as easy to get as other countries. Most places I have visited give you a 90 day visa upon entry. Thailand, however will only give you 30 days, unless you apply for a 60 day tourist visa at an embassy out of the country. I had got mine in Seoul, Korea, originally applying for a 90 day education visa. Unfortunately, the letter from the dive school was from my email and it needed to be an original, so I got a 60 day one instead. This meant that I would be 10 days overdue when I flew out, the fine is around 500 baht a day. In comparison I could spend about 2000 baht to get a 1 month extension at the immigration office one island away on Koh Samui. Or take the overnight bus to the border of Malaysia and get a 15 day extension with a possibility of a month. Both cost about the same, but Koh Samui took about half the time.

Taking the 7am ferry meant I was awake before 6am on the road. It was barely light and I arrived to fill up just as the gas station opened. There was little hassle getting on the ferry and it turned out I met 2 of my French neighbors also going for a visa extension.

Early Morning Ferry Ride

A bunch of us shared a taxi and joined the large group already waiting at the office, which hadn’t even opened yet.

As soon as the doors barely cracked and the forms were handed out a mad rush ensued. Everyone desperately trying to fill out the forms and give the cash and hand it in hoping they would be done before the last ferry. The estimated pick up time was 20min after the ferry left… this did not look good. Luckily one of the ladies told me to come back in an hour and see if things were ready.

I popped over to a cafe and ordered some breakfast, another visa runner asked to join me and we ended up chatting about her yoga training and how we both got here. Then we explored the area a little and finally returned. We were in luck and our passports had just been put in the pile. Woohoo! Then it was a mad dash to return to the port as the ferry was due to leave in 30min.

All in all another crazy travel experience. Something I will get lots of practice with when I return.

I am not sure what this means, but I know where to go if I am ever involved in transitional crime…

Final Days of Diving

They say “all good things must end”, and unfortunately my time diving in the tropical waters of Thailand were rapidly coming to the end. I got to assist all the instructors and divemasters at the shop and a number of the freelance guys as well. Marc, Divemaster from Belgium, required someone to play a guest in a video a friend was shooting as a Christmas message to family back home and I got the supreme honor. It was quite awesome as I got a copy and could show it off to my friends and family. It also meant I sat and criticised my swimming techniques, but at least I know what I need to work on now.

On one dive Instructor Ricardo had me brief and lead the dive. The visibility was beyond crap, barely able to see our hands. As we swam along I would stop periodically and have to wait until all 4 divers were almost right on top of me to be sure I hadn’t lost anyone. I had been a little under the weather before the dive and had felt a bit of vertigo so only hoped I wouldn’t get turned around in the muck. As we circled one pinnacle I turned to count and as I turned back and continued round the rock, I just hoped the vertigo hadn’t thrown me off track and leading us in endless circles around the pinnacle instead of the main rock… let’s just say we can laugh about it now… oops! When low visibility and vertigo let you down! On the second dive we had a diver with issues so I ended up taking him back to the ship and Ricardo led the dive through what can only be called pea soup.

All too soon my last dive day arrived. I most likely could have dove the following day as well but after 6 days straight of diving and still packing to go I knew this would be my last, I only hoped it would be good. Boy was I not let down!! The 3 whale sharks, who had been there for 3 days were still in the area. The smallest one continued to loop from the rock to the boats and back, seemingly fascinated by all these strange sea creatures. Ricardo had a group of 6 Spaniards and our new instructor from Holland had an open water. It was decided that I would swim in the water column between the two groups and therefore be ready if anyone needed me. As it turned out one of Ricardo’s found she had issues with breathing and became a little panicked. I took her back and she seemed very upset, luckily a snorkel session with the inquisitive what shark perked her up and I suggested the she swim with me, we would take our time and only go as deep as she was comfortable.

We descended very slowly to about 6m, she held onto my arm as we swam along and I would give her the “ok” sign every so often and wait for her response of “ok” in return. After about 10min we heard the signal from Marc and he indicated that a whale shark was in the area. I realised it was the smaller one and for some reason I just knew where he was going to head towards. I slowly manuevered her towards a smaller pinnacle a little away from the main rock and we reached 9m. As we got in position the whale shark did exactly what I hoped for, he turned and swam right for us passing above our heads with just inches to spare. We could have put our hands up and touched him (but this is strictly forbidden). It was dream like and I still get chills when I think about that encounter. Afterwards it became apparent that my diver was thoroughly enjoying herself and there was no way she wanted to get out of the water. We reached the point on the rock that would be our spot to surface and spent a good 15min just looking at what we could find on the rock. I showed her fish, and anemones, and chrsitmas tree worms (her favorite). After the dive and on the way home all I heard was a torrent of Spanish interspersed with “KATHY” and “Whale Shark”… It made my day if not my entire time on the island to have a diver enjoy a dive so much. It also made me realise how much I enjoy this job and maybe just maybe this is something I could see myself doing in the future….

This wasn’t our shark, but it pretty much sums up the experience.