My Journey to South Africa

                                 I think I forgot my heart on the boat. I'm in the flight and crying. A beautiful place and beautiful people and I thank God for the very special persons in my life.

                                 In Simonstown I had a felling that I had forgotten which took me by surprise!

(I make a little pause:

the attendant of the flight asked me what I would like to drink and offered me some “wine of South Africa”; I chose the red one. - Back to writing)...

                                When I arrived, eight days ago, I spoke only some words: please, excuse me, thank you and bye. Today, I speak and write in English.

                                I think that travelling is very good to me. I knew a very special person that showed me another side of the life. What we have in common is the love for the ocean and principally the sharks.

                                Diving with sharks in South Africa, made me love them (more, much much more).

(Other pause:

                                I realized that the wine relaxed me, because I had cried very much before the flight – Back to writing)...

                                The White Sharks are beautiful; Wonderful animals and I love them so much!

                                The Blue Sharks make me happy too. In the deep, a big female used to turn around us and come back to me frequently. “She” went towards others divers but always came back to me, looking in my eyes and waiting that I touched her. After, “she” go to in direction of the divers but don't was interactive and return to me. After 68 minutes underwater in her company my air tank was almost empty. I decided to go up to surface and as I did it the shark followed me (and what is very amazing) looking in my eyes as if “she” could say: “ - I see you!”

I will never ever forget this experience.

                                In the cage diving experiences, I had other feeling... In the cage, the expectative is big, but, on the boat it's better! In the cage, the sighting of the shark is very quick, but on the boat you can look in his eyes. The shark went to the cage and looked to the boat and I looked in his eyes (the action is in seconds, but I remember in slow motion). When I looked in his eyes I felt like jumping in the ocean, becoming a shark and going with him.

(Pause to comments:

I don't believe that I'm here. I don't believe that when arrived, I just knew how to say: “- Sorry, I don't speak English” or “sorry, I don't understand”. And today I write this text in English, and yesterday I talked (with owners of my beautiful house in Simonstown, South Africa) in Spanish, Portuguese and French. Oh God! Thank you so much for all!!! I don't believe!!! Dreams are truth!!! - back to writing)...

                                 Diving with the seals is very funny, but, the sharks are better!

                                 Finally the seven gills (cow shark) and the forest of kelps. It's surreal! I don't have words to describe the sensation... Beautiful animals, they are always smiling (I think so...). The image of the innocence near the bad human being: their best predator!

                                Now, thanks.

                                Thank you so much Morne Hardenberg, for everything. For the amazing experiences with sharks, for the care, for the beautiful house... I don't have words to thank you. Thank you so much too for your words:

“- Nobody is Eli!”

- Writes in 2012/April/03, on board in Flight # 334 SA from Cape Town / Johannesburg (and drink a red wine)