I Survived: Snorkeling with Seals

I would like to preface this post by saying that I survived... obviously. But leading up to it I wasn't so sure what the outcome would be.

So it was Anna's birthday and being the swimmer that she is, she decided that she would like to go snorkeling with seals. At first thought, this sounds great and happy and fun. Seals are cute, right?

The week leading up to our adventure, I wasn't so sure about participating since it was supposed to be cold and rainy... but most importantly because sharks like seals. And being in a wetsuit, me and a seal would be pretty difficult to tell apart. I voiced my fears, but was made fun of and was signed up with the company before I even said yes. A few days later, this picture was taken, easing my fears of becoming shark bait.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon (we were scheduled to snorkel on Sat) when I told my boss what we were planning on doing for the weekend, and his first response was, "You know someone just got eaten by a shark this morning off the coast, right?" No, no I did not know that. His second response was, "Why would you want to swim with seals? They're mean and they bite you. There's a picture of a lady in Hout Bay with half her face eaten off by seals with a sign that says Seals are Wild Animals, Keep your Distance." Why was I doing this again? Here's the article in case you don't believe me.
Shark Attack: Snorkeller killed in South Africa

Saturday morning came too quickly, and during breakfast our house decided to celebrate the day we may die with a soundtrack mimicking our emotions. Songs on the playlist included, "It's a Great Day to be Alive" "My Heart will Go On" "Arms of an Angel"... you get the picture.

We arrived in Hout Bay to a beautiful day, squeezed into our wetsuits, and were ready to face whatever was hiding in the water. Shockingly, it turned out to be so much fun and I didn't think about being lunch for a shark once! There were SO many seals and they swam really close, but not close enough to eat my face. They also have really big eyes underwater and will just stare at you as they swim by. Such cool animals. I guess I'm glad I went...

Yes, I realize how ridiculous and dramatic we were... but come on, how scary does snorkeling with seals sound?