This is the oldest memory of a submarine that I have. Yes, it indeed is the one which is shown in SpongeBob SquarePants. Feeling nostalgic, right?
Well, my imagination never expanded from the fact that submarines are mainly deployed for military operations or offshore hydrocarbon projects. But as they say that great things happen when you least expect them.
Recently, I had been to Mauritius. God gracious! It is the most beautiful place I've even been to! I think the pictures would speak more than anything else!
So, on a leisure day off, I was thinking of what to do. And I asked the hotel to suggest something unique. And they gave me the idea of going for a Submarine Safari!
What? A submarine? Do we have the opportunity to dive down underwater? After having done the undersea walk (the pictures of the stunt have still not been extracted from the CD) and going on the cruise, this sounded just the perfect ending to the trip.
I quickly booked the tickets. The luck was by our side. Weather conditions were perfect. It appeared as if the ocean opened its arms for us!
We reached the Trou Aux Beaches. I think it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen! I believe all the great artists of the world who paint the sea come to Mauritius to take inspiration for their work.
A jetty took us from the shore to the submarine station where the adventure awaited us!
We entered, and took our seats. With a capacity for 10, the little wonder was a very complicated one from the inside. All safety measures, just like an aircraft has, were present in the submarine. If the submarine gets stuck, then it had food to suffice for 3 days, but just didn’t have a washroom.
The Captain came in and greeted us. One of the best things in Mauritius is that the majority of the people know Hindi. So, even abroad, it feels like home. The Captain could also speak a little bit of Gujarati. He explained to us a few things. The most interesting of which was due to the refraction of light, the colours we see change. For instance, pink becomes purple, light blue becomes dark blue.
It took around 10 minutes to go 35 meters deep down. And we started the exploration. The first thing that we saw was a shipwreck. They call it the Mauritian Titanic.
A former Japanese trawler, Stella Maru was sunk deliberately in 1987 to create an artificial reef. Located right across the town of Trou aux Biches, the wreck lies on a sandy bottom. It is inhabited by a horde of blue triggerfish.
As we moved ahead, we saw the big anchor of the Stella Maru!
The submarine further moved. We met a lot of fishies. Also, I saw many bean-sized baby sea horses.
I was also expecting to see giant turtles. Upon enquiring, the Captain replied that it depends upon your kismat (destiny). And definitely, that day, those guys were shy.
Lastly, we moved towards the place that they call the Aquarium. It was the last sight from the Submarine. 45 minutes just slipped like sand!
Presenting a little documentary from my side!
So, another 10 minutes and we came back to the surface. The moment the lid was removed, we felt a pop in our ears, just like it happens in the flight, due to the air pressure difference.
We waited for some time for our jetty to arrive to take us back to the shore.
Meanwhile, I saw another batch of divers going inside the submarine. Looking at the dive of the submarine was another learning. I used to think it just goes down vertically, but here, it made some rounds and then furthered dived.
Yes! We all received a certificate from the Captain for the dive!
It was pretty much an unforgettable surreal experience. Seeing the wonders of the marine flora & fauna, the clean and crystal-clear waters are memories that I will cherish for a lifetime!
If you have plans too, book your safari here!
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