The research boat departs from Ensenada in Baja California. It’s still dark outside. We are told that we would arrive at our destination the next day for sunset. Only one night left. A presentation on shark identification and behaviour is followed by a night of vivid nightmares of sharks targeting humans, lurking in the darkness just waiting for their chance to attack.

6 am, alarm goes off, wetsuit on. It’s still dark when the lures of tuna heads are launched and excitement spreads through the group. It is quiet, maybe a little too quiet. Suddenly, the surface of the water, which had been so calm and peaceful, splits and a huge fin appears.

We get a sign to enter the cage and immerse ourselves in the dark blue. The slower the steps down, the faster the heartbeat. Three deep breaths through the regulator and there he is. Eye to eye with great white sharks.

In that moment I could feel everything; fear, respect, panic. But the only thing I really feel is at peace.

The feeling of being in total harmony with nature and my environment is overwhelming. I feel the exact opposite of what people think you should feel when meeting the most charismatic shark on the planet. I am only a few metres away from the most powerful predator of our oceans but all I feel is calmness.

I keep asking myself if I’m really here. The same person who five years ago would not even touch the ocean with the toes for fear of the infinite unknown and its creatures. Back then, even the smallest fish appeared like a great white shark to me. And now, five years later, I am a diving instructor, meeting a great white shark.