After DEMA, I headed to Freeport, Bahamas, to spend some time with world-renowned shark guru: Cristina Zenato at UNEXSO. Cristina is very well known for her unique way with Caribbean Reef sharks, and also her significant cavern diving and exploration throughout the Bahamas. I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks learning from this inspirational woman, and participated in her shark handling courses, and even had the chance to try my first ever cavern dives!
Cristina runs an intensive, but interactive three-day shark handling course, designed to give people a very unique experience with sharks. This course is taught one on one, and I was fortunate enough to observe Cristina teach 2 complete courses. Cristina also took me down with the sharks in between the course programe so I could understand the shark experience that she teaches. I will never forget my first dive with the sharks wearing the full chainmail suit, it is still vivid in my mind.
I was nervous and excited, but trying to keep myself calm as we descended down the mooring line. Already the sharks were abundant, swimming around us in numbers. We got to the bottom, took off our fins and walked out to the ‘arena’. Instantly sharks started to swarm around us, bumping into me from all directions. I can remember thinking about nothing but how much I was just enjoying the moment, being in amongst these creatures in a way that is impossible to describe. The chainmail, while only used as a precaution allows you to interact with the sharks on a completely different level.
At one point throughout the dive, Cristina put one of the resident sharks to ‘sleep’. She literally kneelt down, and the shark (Foggy Eye) rested her snout on Cristina’s knees while she stroked and pet her. Cristina called me over and invited me down next to her and allowed me to gently stroke this beautiful shark, which appeared to be extremely content and relaxed. This was truly an incredible experience. Cristina is a huge shark advocate, and is a key educator for shark conservation. She has the ability to show people how beautiful these animals are, and that they’re not the mindless killers that they are often portrayed to be.
Cristina and UNEXSO also support a local education program run through one of the local high schools. Eight students are selected at the beginning of grade 10, and for the next 2 years they are part of an intensive education program that teaches them coral and fish ID as well as their biology, conservation facts and ways to protect their local marine environments. Additionally the students are trained from their open water course, all the way up to Dive Master level. I had the chance to spend a few days with some of these kids in the classroom, and also in the ocean on their navigation speciality course. At the end of their school program, some of the students can choose to then work at UNEXSO as their first job out of school. Jervis, one of the supervisors at UNEXSO was part of this school program over 10 years ago!
As I mentioned earlier, Cristina also led me on my first ever cavern dives. While I was in Freeport we had the chance to dive Ben’s cavern first (appropriately named if you ask me!), and Mermaids Lair. Both were incredible, as I was in absolute awe while diving through these beautiful underground openings with intricate patterns forming in the bedrock and limestone, fossilised corals and gastropods, and incredible haloclines. I was absolutely amazed by the intense halocline at Mermaids Lair, you can actually see the sudden change in salinity, and I remember floating above the salt water in the fresh, and for a second though I was in atmosphere, looking down into water, it was so bizarre! Check out the photo below so you can see what I mean.
I had such an incredible time working with and learning from Cristina, and I look forward to seeing her again. She has definitely left a permanent impression on me!
