Diving with a dugong

Vanuatu, Paradise cove

In June, before the 2010 Mind, Body, Spirit Festival,  I went to Vanuatu for a bit of RNR.

While I was there, I did some scuba diving on Boring Dive, just outside where I was staying at Paradise Cove.  While under the water, a massive sea creature came up from behind and passed silently between my dive buddy and I, passing only inches away from each of us.  I was in awe.   It was a Dugong! For more than an hour, we swam and played with this astonishingly affectionate creature.  Taking turns,  we rode on his back, stroking  and patting him. He loved the attention.

Just prior to this experience, I had been out on a wreck dive.  Whilst swimming around,  some ancient, deep fear surfaced in me and  I struggled not to fall into panic.  When the dugong visited,  I felt its mighty heart resonance cascade through the water, clearing all the remnants of this old trauma.

My heart was blown open by the presence of this creatures’ extraordinary consciousness – so gentle and playful, an emissary of the heart of Poseidon.

Photos copyright Guy Bennett 2010