I was attacked by a shark.

A lemon shark to be precise. A large, scary, 10 Ft. lemon shark, in the shark infested waters of the Caribbean.

I began this journey deep in the isles of the Caribbean's Exuma Cays, on an adventure I will most likely never forget. Rachel and I took a cigarette boat from Nassau to Exuma on a guided tour of the area. We first stopped at Alan's Cay and hand fed the wild iguanas that populate the island. These guys are quick and agile, not the fat lazy ones you see in Mexico. That alone was an amazing experience, but the best was yet to come.

After a few moments, we were taken to a private island owned by our guide, and we noticed upon arrival, there were sharks everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. Untamed, unflinching, large, in-the-wild sharks. I noted 3 kinds that day: nurse sharks, reef sharks, and lemon sharks. Our guide told us that hammerheads were also common in the area but we did not see any. There were also lots of huge stingrays and barracudas in the mix as well. We docked, and as the rest of our group headed to get drinks, I had to get a closer look. I was invited to get INTO the water by one of our hosts, and he told me not to worry, that they usually don't attack right away. Not entirely comforted by this, I hopped into the water and was immediately set upon by the stingrays. Mind you, I have never really thought stingrays to be dangerous, but Steve Irwin was always in the back of my mind. I was told not to run away or make sudden movements and I would be fine. This worked out well, and I soon became good friends with the local stingray population. I even took to feeding them squid. Rachel joined me, but decided to discontinue feeding them after her finger was ground up in one of their powerful little mouths. OUCH!

Now for the shark attack.

I will at this point tell you I was not actually bitten, nor will I have any cool scars to show, but it occurred nevertheless, and it's all on film!

Let me remind you I am in the ocean, not an aquarium or fenced in reserve, but the wild open ocean, and I see at least 30 sharks surrounding me (lemon, nurse, and reef). I'd like to think I'm brave, but this was rather unnerving. On to the "attack":

To be fair, we did tie a large fish to a rope and throw it in the middle of the biggest sharks in the area. A large lemon shark immediately attacked the rope (that I happened to be holding) and began to swim away at quite an alarming rate. Tug of war with a lemon shark is:

A: probably not a good idea to begin with.
B: not as easy as it looks.
C: fun.

That was the most adrenaline filled moment of my recent life, trying desperately not to be dragged into the shark-infested waters, determined to drag this shark to human-infested shores. We fought for what seemed like eternity, neither wishing to go the other direction. He eventually got the fish off the rope and swam away, and I yielded my rope handling to a fellow shipmate. I opted to put on a mask and snorkel, and swim out a little bit to see the wrestling of the sharks up close. I got exactly what I had hoped for. The next throw of the rope yielded a slightly smaller shark, and he was pulled right into me… literally! I now have a 6-foot shark thrashing wildly, 6 inches from my face, and because I am underwater I am in no position to "run away". Everyone around me began screaming and JUMPING OVER ME TO GET AWAY, scattering like cockroaches in the light. Granted, I would have done the same, but alas, I am lying prone underwater and the shark literally LANDS on TOP of me! I push him off and he lets go of the rope and tries to eat me. I'm sure this is not REALLY the case, he's just pissed off that he doesn't have his fish and he's in the open air, but I'd like to think he’s trying to eat me. His tail whips around and catches me in the face and knocks my mask askew as I push backwards in the sand, (startling a stingray in the process who thankfully doesn't sting me) and the shark falls off me and swims away. Heart pumping wildly, and thankful I've not been bitten, I decide to label it a shark attack because after all… he did smack me in the face. The bonus: It’s all on video.

The Bahamas was an adventure I will never forget, and I would recommend this tour to anyone.