AHOY, MATEYS!

Arrh — this is yer matey Wildernessa chiming in from Cocos Islands (a.k.a. "Treasure Island"), 336 miles off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

We are anchored in a bay, sheltered by tall, mist-shrouded cliffs. There’s the cry of boobies and the incredible feeling of being very far away. A live-aboard ship, The Undersea Hunter, is our home. It’s complete with good food and an amazing crew — oh, and did I mention a yellow submarine?!

It is a beautiful feeling to be far from any communication at all, and a strange one to be so far from any other land. The island of Cocos is only penetrable by one trail, and the rest is covered in thick, steep, primary rain forest; 200-year-old graffiti scratched into rocks; and a new world filled with endemic species. I feel free and wild here, like a pirate or an old crazy sea dog out to explore the deep blue.

But the craziest I have felt was when I went for my first night dive, and let me tell you, it was more than a night dive. The twilight closed around me as I stuck my wheezing regulator in my mouth and stared into the swirling dark below. What was lurking down in those depths in the shadow of night? I dove this site before in the daylight, but at night it was completely foreign to me.

Listo? ("All good?") Listo.

Over the side I dropped. There only was the sound of my and my buddy’s breath. We shined our two lights below as we descended to the ocean floor, and then it happened! A great swirling mass of shark bodies whirled about us. I held my breath. Not scared that they would hunt me out for the next feeding frenzy, but a dangling arm or my flipper might seem curious enough for an accidental bite. There were at least 30 or 40 of them. Sharks. Black tips.

But they didn't notice us, and so we got closer. I'd never swam with sharks before, and to be with them at night as they feed was entirely beyond me. Yet, it was beautiful, and all my fears fled as I watched these ancient creatures’ behavior. I was in a trance. The smooth gray skin over their streamlined bodies and yellowish eyes reminded me of some sort of dinosaur. Not to mention that ever-recognizable dorsal fin!

(Cue in Jaws music)

It was awesome. The meal was finished — an octopus — and as quickly as I spotted them, the sharks moved on to hunt more before daylight reached these depths. So, I sat quietly on the bottom of the dark ocean, taking in the sights lit by my flashlight, wondering how come I felt so comfortable down here, breathing a nitrox mixture and surrounded by hungry sharks meters from the surface.

And the truth is, I felt really alive. I was a voyeur of nature in action, and all of the sudden, amongst a feeding frenzy of sharp-toothed fish, I fell in love with a new creature, the ever-feared one with a bad reputation: the sleek and agile ancient shark. And I developed a new appreciation for their fierceness, the predatory behavior, the need to feed, and the sweet way they opened their mouths repeatedly when they slept (like they were snoring!).

So there you have it. I really do love them. But sharks are in need of help and a change in how people view them. Unfortunately, the delicacy of shark fin soup has caused overfishing, the proliferation of fishing pirates and a huge decline in shark population. If the overfishing  and consumption of shark fin soup continues, it’s estimated that approximately 20 shark species will be extinct by 2018.

I am sending two requests for all of you out there:

1. Try and learn more about sharks. Despite their wretched reputation as the bad wolf of the sea, they are a necessary part of the pelagic food chain, and they are fascinating! A billion years old – and still, we don't know much about them.

2. Learn more about shark fin soup before your consider eating it. For one thing, it is just a boiled fin that turns into gelatinous noodle-like things and has zero flavor. And, no, it is not used as an aphrodisiac but as a status symbol! By consuming an expensive and in my opinion, tasteless dish, it encourages the import of fins and more overfishing and assists the decimation of the shark population.

And, if ever in your lifetimes you have a chance to stow away on a boat to this Treasure Island, trust me, the booty you will find here is unbelievable both above and below the surface. You'll not even mind the 40-hour trip across the sea. I promise.

Again, PURA VIDA!

Love, Vanessa