Hello Ravens fans! This is Richelle K. reporting to you on our first full day in Punta Cana. After a long day of traveling yesterday and a good night's sleep, we cheerleaders were super anxious to wake up and get going. We started out the day with a 6am barefoot jog on the beach and haven't stopped moving and shaking since!
The main event today for some of us was our much anticipated "swim with the sharks." When seven of us girls found out that shark swimming was on our itinerary, we could not believe it! And even after learning that they are docile and harmless, we weren't sure if we were convinced it was something we wanted to do.
So after our run, we took to the sea on a glass bottom boat full of vacationers and local staff and off we went—to the middle of the ocean to find the sharks! It was a really fun ride, during which lots of island music was played and tons of pictures from all angles were snapped of us. Our production crew had us running all around that boat and the vacationers were just loving it, jumping in our pictures and snapping some of their own.
When we arrived we found that they had the shark area sectioned off for those of us who are less-experienced snorkelers. So we started out small.
Of course, before we could even get near the sharks, we had to make sure our production crew got the perfect shots of us getting into the water and give them time to get in as well. Hey, if we cheerleaders were going to swim with sharks you better believe that the other Ravens staff members had to also!
When we started to swim over, I think I had a mini panic attack and all the scenes from Jaws started running through my head. Somehow I managed to calm myself down. I thought, "If I can fly through the air flipping and twisting in front of hundreds of thousands of people then I think I can handle some wimpy little sharks, right?"
Well, it turns out I was right. They weren't so bad after all. I mean, they were huge and definitely real sharks, but they mainly stayed at the bottom of the ocean, away from us. We also saw some sting rays which were a little scary and I have to admit I didn't get too close. I had an underwater camera so I just started taking bunches and bunches of pictures during this perfect photo opp to prove to my friends and family that I actually had done this!
After our swim, we got to hang out in some shallow water near by and mingle with the others on the boat and have a little more fun. Some of us stunt girls were working up stunts and pleasing the crowds like we always try to do. All and all it was a blast, and we have tons of pictures to prove it!
So now I'm just hanging out in my room getting ready for tonight – our first official shoot at sunset. We aren't all shooting tonight but you better believe we're all going to watch and cheer our friends on! So far, we've bonded so much and are having the best time. It's hard to believe it's only Tuesday!
Tomorrow there are more shoots and fun things planned which means there's more blogging to come…So stay tuned to the website to get the day by day updates of our trip and thanks for all your interest so far!
Xoxo,
Richelle K.
