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Tofo Beach, Part Two
Our days in Tofo were gloriously lazy. The mornings were cool but the afternoons warm and sunny, although on one or two days the wind was strong enough to nearly blow Ian down the beach.
The shore in front of our lodge had a great rocky bit that made for some great tide-pooling when the tide was low. The rocks (old coral?) also protected a shallow little lagoon, complete with little fish, that provided a great place for Ian to venture into the wonderful world of snorkeling. 
(Ian calls snorkeling “snarkeling,” a pronunciation Rich and I have adopted as well because it is just so cute!) The combination of the buoyant water and his concentration on breathing through the tube made him forget entirely about floating and his swimming improved markedly over the course of the week.
But the high point of our time in Tofo was our experience swimming with whale sharks. As Ian can tell you (he knows all the factoids about whale sharks, and recited them all to our guide during the trip), whale sharks are the largest fish in the world, but only eat plankton so won’t go munching you if you swim with them. Tofo boasts one of the largest and most accessible whale shark populations in the world. The large grey giants swim lazily in the shallow waters just off shore.
We spent about 3 hours on our expedition, which involved a motorized inflatable raft piloted by experienced local guys who managed to find at least five of the big sharks for us. They’d carefully position the boat and then we’d all jump into the water with our masks and snorkels and go swimming after the shark. It was an amazing experience, one Rich calls among the most spiritual of his life. Even Ian got brave enough, after watching us visit two or three sharks, to jump into the (for him) very deep water (with his life jacket) for long enough to be able to catch a glimpse of the great grey beast himself! Our guide and the folks back at the dive shop said he was the youngest kid they’d ever had hop in the water to swim with whale sharks. Very impressive! Ian was quite proud of himself, as were we of him.
Our days in Tofo were gloriously lazy. The mornings were cool but the afternoons warm and sunny, although on one or two days the wind was strong enough to nearly blow Ian down the beach.
The shore in front of our lodge had a great rocky bit that made for some great tide-pooling when the tide was low. The rocks (old coral?) also protected a shallow little lagoon, complete with little fish, that provided a great place for Ian to venture into the wonderful world of snorkeling. 
(Ian calls snorkeling “snarkeling,” a pronunciation Rich and I have adopted as well because it is just so cute!) The combination of the buoyant water and his concentration on breathing through the tube made him forget entirely about floating and his swimming improved markedly over the course of the week.
But the high point of our time in Tofo was our experience swimming with whale sharks. As Ian can tell you (he knows all the factoids about whale sharks, and recited them all to our guide during the trip), whale sharks are the largest fish in the world, but only eat plankton so won’t go munching you if you swim with them. Tofo boasts one of the largest and most accessible whale shark populations in the world. The large grey giants swim lazily in the shallow waters just off shore.
We spent about 3 hours on our expedition, which involved a motorized inflatable raft piloted by experienced local guys who managed to find at least five of the big sharks for us. They’d carefully position the boat and then we’d all jump into the water with our masks and snorkels and go swimming after the shark. It was an amazing experience, one Rich calls among the most spiritual of his life. Even Ian got brave enough, after watching us visit two or three sharks, to jump into the (for him) very deep water (with his life jacket) for long enough to be able to catch a glimpse of the great grey beast himself! Our guide and the folks back at the dive shop said he was the youngest kid they’d ever had hop in the water to swim with whale sharks. Very impressive! Ian was quite proud of himself, as were we of him.
