sv evi

awe |ô|

noun

a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear and/or wonder : they gazed in awe at the small mountain of diamonds

awesome |ˈôsəm|

adjective

extremely impressive and/or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, and/or fear : the awesome power of the atomic bomb.

Yesterday I was filled with awe and believe something truly awesome was witnessed. 

This wasn’t the ‘awesome’ used to describe the new hamburger from the fast food joint, nor the elated shout uttered after completing the 22nd level of Angry Birds on the latest smartphone game, nor the smartphone itself.  This was the awe described in the definitions above, tho in some references there was an entry for a modern, informal definition where awesome = excellent.  This was also the case yesterday.

Transiting the passage between the islands of Buliya and Vurolevu in the dinghy was adventure enough in the stiff breeze and rough seas.  When we anchored off the shelf of Vurolevu, entered the water and were immediately rewarded with a large manta under our fins.  I followed the giant (3-4 meter ‘wingspan’) for 15 minutes in one direction, constantly diving down to look in her eye.  At the turn-around point I looked up, directly into the mouth of another manta as the first made a slow banking 180 and we continued to swim together for another 15 minutes back towards the crew from Riada II.

I have been very fortunate to have many marine life experiences and specifically manta encounters.  Some have had more individual mantas, another time had the largest manta, other times in clearer water and more stunning seascape.  This time was unique in that it was the longest duration spent with an individual manta. 

Awesome!

These pix and vids can not capture the experience but may give you an idea how I spend my days.  The singing was recorded with my phone at a church service in Matuku Island in The Lau Group.  Enjoy.