Inches from my nose, a 12-foot manta ray gracefully slid up my face, arced backward and came back for a second run. Again and again, she swooped in, one time brushing my fingers. She was firm and slick, like a hard-boiled egg.
  Somewhere above us, the 2,000 passengers of a nearby full-size passenger ship were no doubt planning their foray to the midnight buffet. We, on the other hand, the 28 of us off our cruise yacht along the coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, were doing something a bit more exciting.
  American Safari Cruises’ Safari Explorer is not your grandma’s cruise ship with Vegas shows and food every two hours. Not to say we didn’t dine well, and exquisitely. But we were too busy with the water toys, the hikes, the horseback rides, the visits to lesser-traveled islands. And also the ancient war canoe. But more on that later.

Amazing aquatic show
  The manta ray show was beyond amazing. These kite-shaped creatures eat tiny sea animals. The sea animals are attracted at night by light. So we were there, just off shore, with dive lights and hope.
  “They don’t always come in,” said expedition leader Carl Faivre as we split into two groups, the snorkelers holding onto a surfboard above and the scuba divers settling on the bottom below. Beams of light criss-crossed the ink like some crazy rock concert show.
  And we were rewarded.
  First it was one small ray, barrel rolling backward again and again and again. And then it was the big girl with a 12-foot wingspan, coming in to streak past our faces. One diver even got it on video.
  This was actually act two of our critter encounter. The previous day, a laid-back one of snorkeling, kayaking and paddle boarding, included a spinner dolphin show. These dolphins are small—hardly 6 feet—but blazing fast. There must have been 50 of them in the water just yards from our Zodiacs. They jumped. They spun. They danced. Even folks with phone cameras got shots. ...

Discussion Questions

- Would you enjoy swimming with a manta ray? Why or why not?
- When you travel to a new place, do you take time to learn about the culture and history? Explain.
- Do you believe your region is losing its culture? Explain.