A swimmer had a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a massive sea creature, something he was not expecting to happen.
Jaro Cabla, 26, from the Czech Republic was lucky enough to swim with a majestic humpback whale while diving in French Polynesia, something he described as “one of the coolest experiences.”
“Honestly, it was an experience that was just so euphoric for me,” he told Newsweek. “It was one of those moments in life you look back on and it just reminds you that we are part of something so much greater than ourselves.
“It’s really just such a reminder of how small we are as humans.”
In a viral video posted on Instagram, which has received 89,000 views since it was first shared on December 4, Cabla can be seen swimming with a group before the encounter.
“It was just meant to be a normal dive,” he wrote in the text overlay of the video. “But when my friend and I jumped in the water, we kept hearing a sound.”
He continued: “So we decided to stop, and dive down a bit deeper to find where it was coming from.” Revealing that the sound got so loud that it felt like their bodies were shaking, Cabla then looks downward to spot a humpback whale in the distance.
Feeling lucky enough to be so close already, the group of swimmers were taken aback when the beast swam up toward the surface, giving them a proper look at it.
“Our bones were literally shaking, the sound was so loud, and I was surprised that the camera was able to capture it so well too,” Cabla wrote in the caption of the video. “Of all of the places I’ve been too over the last four-plus years of full-time travel, this has to be one of the coolest experiences.”
There are an estimated 60,000 humpback whales in the world’s oceans, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Located in all major ocean bases on the planet, these are massive sea creatures that can weigh around 36,000 kilograms (79,000 pounds).
People were blown away by Cabla’s encounter with the whale, with many taking to the comments section of his video to share their thoughts and reactions.
One Instagram user, @thetravellingkangaroos, commented: “This is so wild! It’s crazy that you heard it so loud before you could even see it.”
“This is incredible,” wrote @sproutingvitality.
“One in a lifetime experience,” said @mmmong_chan.
The post Friends Go on ‘Normal’ Dive, Then See Animal Lurking Below Them appeared first on Newsweek.
