The kind of spring break that I endorse is the kind filled with adventure.
Not the getting-a-great-tan kind of adventure, or the capri-pants-on-sale kind; that's not the direction to go in.
But spring break in August? Now we're getting there.
I studied abroad in Christchurch, New Zealand, and took a spring break trip to the Pacific island of Tonga, where my little adventure took place.
The journey began when we had to fly from the main Tongan island to a smaller one, `Eau. The flight lasted all of six minutes.
The airport at `Eau was literally a dirt road and a shack that only had two walls.
The whale watch was a part of a package deal with this lodge called The Hideaway. The owner of the business picked us up at the airport and told us that to swim with whales there have to be three things: good weather, no sharks and calm whales. He told us it was "up to the whales" whether or not we got to go in. He said it was very rare that people actually got to swim with the whales and that we shouldn't get our hopes up.
The whale-watching boat was very small. In addition to my four friends, there was a tour guide and the boat captain. They were both Tongan and the tour guide was only a few years older than us.
When we finally set out it took about five minutes for the tour guide to spot some whales in the distance. The rest of us just saw water, but we were getting our bearings nonetheless.
August in Tonga is the peak of the humpback whales' breeding season, and the area we were in was their prime breeding zone. We soon found ourselves more or less surrounded by whales.
Then I began to get seasick. The ocean was as calm as it gets, but there were still big swells that tossed our tiny boat around.
Then the boat slowed down. The tour guide handed us a box of snorkels and masks and told us we could get in.
As I plunged into the surprisingly warm water the effects of motion sickness temporarily subsided. They were replaced by feelings of awe as I found myself sharing water with some of Earth's largest creatures.
The first time in the water was brief as the whales dove and swam away. At the calls of the captain we hurried back to the boat to follow them. I was the last one in because my refreshed feeling was short lived and I once again had to do my best impression of a mama bird feeding her babies.
It was at about this time I realized just exactly how this experience wouldn't be legal in the United States. There were no life preservers, no swimming test, and sharks a-plenty. At times, the boat was at most 100 feet away from the whales.
The next time we went out, as we swam awkwardly towards the colossal mammals, one of them seemed to become aware of my presence. Whales are, after all, very smart and curious and, if in a good mood, often will become playful or show off for the boats.
The great beast methodically turned to face me, probably a 100 feet away and then swam towards me. Gripped with an intense combination of fear and exhilaration, I was paralyzed in the water, not knowing what to do.
He continued towards me and I looked around frantically for some kind of cue from my swimming partners.
Luckily for me, he dove before he reached me, and my heart was left beating wildly from the rush that our brief encounter had produced.
So I lay down in the front of the boat for until the trip was over. I was still able to overhear everyone having a great time, and since they were all my friends, I was still in a good mood because I could have some fun though osmosis.
It was, believe it or not, the first time our tour guide had even swam with the whales, so he was really excited too. He was so afraid of sharks that he wouldn't go more than a few meters away from the boat.
It was an amazing experience even though I threw up at least 40 times. Everyone was so wiped that we napped for the rest of the day. One of my peers, who didn't experience any sickness, said he would have paid $500 to do what we did.
My estimate would be lower (mostly because of the motion sickness) but I still had a great time and it was better than anything I could ever do in the States.
Adventures like that one don't come along everyday, or every spring break, so if anyone is ever in Tonga I recommend it.
