There Are Sharks in the Shark Hotel!

We saw sharks on almost every dive we did in Turks & Caicos! Both reef sharks and nurse sharks anywhere from about 2 – 9 feet long. No matter where we go, everyone seems to get so excited about seeing sharks and this trip was no different with people scrambling to take photo after photo of them but, personally, I like the more colorful fish such as the angelfish or parrotfish. Or the odd shaped ones such as the hogfish or the puffers. Sharks are just a dull silvery grey color.

Having said this, the sharks did provide some entertainment with their apparent friendliness. On the night dives in particular they followed us around and also followed the boat one day as we moved a short distance from one site to another. As far as the boat crew knows, none of the boats feed them so it’s odd that they do this.

On our second last dive, which was a transitional dive (got in while it was still dark, got lighter throughout the dive, and sun just coming up as we got out) a little nurse shark came up beside Andrew and rubbed up against his regulator similar to the way a cat would rub up against a person’s leg. Spending our last few minutes around the mooring before coming up, our dive master Lynn put her hands down in a push up position and was looking for small things in the sand when a shark came up from the side and nudged her hand. It startled her but she put her hand back and moved a few inches away. The shark just lay there beside her. She moved a few more inches away and the shark moved the few inches with her. This went on for some time, which was so interesting to watch! When a second shark came along Lynn decided it was time for her to move on. Someone earlier had referred to her as “The Shark Whisperer” and the name is aptly suited!