To answer your first question, these stingrays are not like the stingray that killed crocodile dundee and they are very used to having people around. This sandbar that we're on is out in the middle of the ocean but it's only 3 feet deep and its a huge sandbar. It took me a little while to become comfortable with the stingray swimming all over, touching my leg or swimming up onto my side. It was kind of scary when Casey wanted to feed the buggers. They had a bucket of kalamari to feed the stingrays. The stingrays mouths are on the bottom and they can't see what they're eating. They just suck up whatever they can smell so we were told to tuck our thumbs in when feeding them. After you fed them and had squid juicies all over your hand, you were told not to rub your hands on your stomach or your bumb or anything otherwise you could get a "stingray hicki" that would last for weeks! This was probably my favorite excursion of the trip. And yes, I held a stingray!