Moving toward a life unplanned: My first week in the Maldives

“Shark! Shark! Shark! Stop the boat! Everyone go!” A routine chaos begins.

Feet stomping on the roof to signal the captain. Stumble down the ladder to the deck of the boat, get fins and mask, grab a camera or a measuring tape. Jump off the edge of the deck, take one more look to see which direction the spotter is pointing, and then swim as fast as possible in that direction.

For a few seconds, there’s nothing but breathing and empty water and the coral below, but then, out of the dark blue and waving bands of sunlight, the outline begins to resolve. Either the tail languidly drifting back and forth or, better yet, a cavernous mouth yawning open as if trying to drink the ocean dry; the first whale shark of the day. Or the second, or the fifth, or if it’s a really good day, the ninth. And for just a moment, everything in the world freezes as the brain tries to make sense of the scene: floating in the equatorial water above a fish that’s 20 feet long while it eats food much smaller than the ants in the cafeteria sugar bowl. Then the moment is over, and it’s time to get to work.

Sucking down that yummy yummy plankton

The Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme seems to have a lot of irons in the fire, so to speak, but for eights hours a day, five days a week, the major activity is standing on the roof of a boat as it cruises up and down the edge of the reef, looking into the water for a dark brown shape. Not just any dark brown shape of course, because the coral heads are lumpy brown shapes, and the rays are diamond brown shapes, and the turtles are small round brown shapes, but the right kind of sinuous narrow triangular brown shape that means there’s a whale shark swimming by. Once everyone is in the water near the shark, identification photos are taken, the sex is established, the length is measured with lasers and tapes, and any scars or distinguishing features are noted. If the shark is still around and not annoyed by the sudden attentions of an ungainly cluster of mammals, we get to swim with it and simply enjoy the encounter for as long as the shark wants. After that, it’s back on the boat, endorphins buzzing a little, and back on the roof to repeat the cycle. For the first three days I've been on the water, I did this routine an average of seven times a day, and every time, it’s incredible to find myself face-to-face (or face-to-tail) with an animal that I've thought of for most of my life as so rare and exotic as to be almost mythical. I don’t think that’s likely to get old in the 4 weeks I’m here.

Flying from the capital island, Male, to Rangali

Male island, with one of the highest population densities in the world

As I told many of my friends before leaving, I wanted to take advantage of some volunteer opportunities while traveling for several reasons. It will give me a chance to settle in one place for a while and connect with people, it seems like a good way to see exotic locations more economically than being a tourist, and I can have some great animal encounters while helping out organizations trying to protect and learn more about those animals. MWSRP seems to be a winner in all categories. It’s a small organization, with about six to eight staff in the Maldives during the research season, and for the time I’m here there are two other volunteers (from Western Australia), so we all are getting a chance to get to know one another well, and everyone is very friendly and passionate about what they do. The organization is associated with the Conrad Hotel, which helps provide office space at the resort, staff lodging on the nearby local island, and the use of some hotel staff areas, like the canteens. The food and lodging is a step up from a lot of the places I've been in the last couple of months, and we can use some of the resort’s facilities during our down time, so all in all, I’m feeling fairly spoiled here. The cost to participate in the program is still pretty significant, but it’s only a small fraction of what I would have paid if I had tried to stay in the Maldives as a tourist for a month. And then there are all of those whale shark encounters…

We don't just see whale sharks on the spotting trips

Heading back to port

When we’re not standing in the Maldivian sun for hours at time, there are more than enough tasks to keep the volunteers busy for the rest of the work week (Sunday - Friday morning), and keep the staff busy seven days a week. Any good research generates mountains of data, and the MWSRP tracks the whale shark encounters and sharks’ identities, as well as vessels in the Marine Protected Area, and other aquatic animals seen on the daily trips, all of which has to be entered into databases. Then there are community and school outreach programs, Conrad guest trips to see whale sharks led by MWSRP staff, social media and sponsorship upkeep, connecting with other Maldivian resorts and whale shark research programs, and all the side projects and new ideas that come up on a daily basis. Ocean conservation, whale shark habits and biology, and emerging technologies make up about 75% of the conversation topics, and many statements begin with the phrase “I wish there was a way we could…” On my off days, the options include SCUBA diving, reading and snoozing in a hammock, exploring the local island, sorting through my photos for the week, volleyball, catching up on emails and news, snorkeling, or just staying in bed, watching movies and regularly applying aloe after-sun lotion. In short, keeping myself occupied will not be a problem and I’m pretty sure I will be packing up and wishing for another four weeks here before I know it.