Blue Portal

For the longest time I was accustomed to seeing the ocean as a portrait. With the exception of an occasional snorkel or swim by the shore, it was something to appreciate from the comfort of a terrace or afternoon walk from afar. I never considered the ocean to be an integral part of my existence or that I depended on it equally as much as the land — even though I’ve always lived relatively closed to it.

It’s not until you are submerged tens of meters deep that you begin to see the ocean completely differently.

Photos and videos never do a dive any justice. Many of us have seen ‘Shark Week’ or NatGeo photos that offer only glimpses. It is an entirely other experience to physically feel the pressure of the ocean above, the weightlessness, and vulnerability to the slightest current. It is a humbling set of circumstances that force you to appreciate all the life that you encounter below. You are no longer dependent on a snorkel that can allow you to gasp for air at any moment. Submerged, you are momentarily integrated with an ecosystem that’s been largely foreign to you, until now. It is an experience many have yet to try, but is crucial in understanding that we co-inhabit our planet (most of us in disconnect) with an obscure blue world.

Last week I dived with bull sharks for the first time, which are infamous for being an aggressive species and are often compared to great whites and tiger sharks. Of course, their preceding reputation elicits a fear if you are not familiar with their behavior. The immersion point where we encountered them is frequented by divers on an almost daily basis, so naturally the sharks were not surprised at our presence. I can’t say the same for myself.

They approach with no warning, emerging out of shadows with ~10m of visibility, and oftentimes appearing from the periphery of your goggles. Measuring up to 3m in length they curiously patrol around, at one point five at a time. They have incredibly sensitive electroreceptors, picking up the electric fields induced by the animals surrounding them. This allows them to even perceive the action potentials firing at your synapses — detecting if you are calm or panicked. Needless to say they could cause serious harm if they wanted to, but they know humans are not food. You are in their domain and are unmatched by their immense size and power, forcing you to tread with caution and nothing but respect.

We dived twice with them, each time more fascinated by the unusual physical encounter with a species you hear or read about so negatively. It is a radical change in perspective, allowing you to view marine life beyond simply food or a Sunday docuseries. To anyone who has an innate passion for exploration, diving offers an extraordinary window to a truly hidden world. Even in the same location no single dive repeats itself, each time offering a unique display of all of the moving parts that sustain our oceans.

I wish more of us have the opportunity to venture out and connect with this side of the planet that we seldom interact with. It highlights the importance of taking up practices in our everyday to care for the ocean, especially when many of us don’t firsthand see or live the negative impacts. Coastal populations depend on the ocean even when we do not, and sharks play an integral role in keeping the ecosystems that ultimately sustain and feed us healthy.

Sin azul no hay verde.

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