Once in a Lifetime Adventure: Snorkeling With Manta Rays in the Dark on Big Island, Hawaii

When we first arrived at the spot we saw the light that they called the campfire. We noticed that it was pulsing. This is because the manta rays are swimming over it and covering it completely. When we first got into the water we weren't sure exactly how deep it was. It could have been around 30 or 40 feet. So when the first manta ray showed up he was just kind of gliding along the ocean floor and he looked like he was just about the size of your run-of-the-mill stingray. This is until he started doing his backflips so he could eat. With every backflip he got closer and closer. I could hear the nervous giggles of the swimmers around me. Within a couple of minutes they were swimming by less than a foot from us. They were so close that you could feel the water as they zoomed past. One of the things that was just a tiny bit on the creepy side was that as they're doing these backflips they're swimming straight at you with their gigantic mouth open. But worry not these guys have no teeth and their throats are only about the size of a dime so it doesn't matter how delicious you look they cannot swallow you. One of the things that I found hilarious was how graceful these creatures are until they mistime a backflip and go head on into each other. After the first couple close encounters the nerves started to fade away and then we just got to really enjoy this beautiful serene experience with these gigantic creatures. Being out in the water in the middle of the night with the manta rays was an absolutely incredible experience. Not only were we the only boat out there so we weren't competing for their attention but I love the way that the light shined down and the mantas would just appear out of the darkness and then disappear just as quickly. One cool fact about the manta rays is that you can tell them apart by the markings on their bellies. It's almost like our fingerprints. So every once in a while you would hear Alexis shouting out oh here's Koi or Akari. It was pretty cool it was like she was seeing good friends of hers. Vee and I absolutely loved our time with the Big Island Divers. They were so friendly and welcoming and informative. We just really felt like we were hanging out with friends on an adventure. We definitely cannot wait to go back.