Ana Hernández Sarriá gets stunningly close to humpback whale, calf in the Maldives

November 1, 2022

A diver experienced the thrill of a lifetime when she filmed a humpback whale and its calf swimming nearly within arm’s reach of her in the Maldives.

Ana Hernández Sarriá filmed her close encounter while swimming in the warm Indian Ocean waters near South Male’ Atoll Maafushi, one of the Maldives’ tropical islands, in September.

In Sarriá’s video, the humpback whales can be seen swimming side-by-side with the mother on the left and the calf on her right. All around them, the water is a deep, cerulean blue with rays of sunshine streaming down into the ocean’s depths.

The whales appear to be unbothered by Sarriá and her fellow divers, giving her a near-perfect profile view of their enormous fins, tails and bodies.

Then, they turn left, swimming away from the divers. As they swim, Sarriá’s left hand enters the frame as she reaches for the whales as they disappear in the bubbly white surf and dark blue waters.

Sarriá posted her video of this experience to her Instagram account on September 18, saying that “life is just amazing.”