October 15th - Bicycle
As always we are ready way too early. We can also wait at the airport, so we decide to leave anyway. A quick detour to ICI Paris for sunscreen and some other stuff. Bam .. scream ... aauuwwch. Petra hadn't seen the bike. He, the "hockey/Floris" type, didn't expect her to cross the road. And there she lay, in the middle of the street. Luckily they hardly touched. But this could have been a very ugly start of the holidays.On to Düsseldorf airport. When entering the parking it seems my new credit card is not recognized as having a prebooking on it. We'll see when we get and whether we need to claim the cost back. After a nice pasta we head for the check in counter. Our dive gear bag is deemed quite big and we're asked to drop it at "Sonder Gepäck".
First time in a A380. Inside you have no idea that there is an additional floor on top. Space is nice, seat width as well as leg space.
// I have a nice conversation with the Deutche Bank IT guy next to me. Middle East and Africa are his regions. Especially the latter is his favorite. The dozens of pictures he shows underline that. //
Touch down in Dubai after a 6 hours flight.
Clean, well organized airport. During the safety check to the connecting flight it proved that stopping at the ICI Paris was a good idea, as liquids - bought at the tax free shops in Düssledorf - can't pass through!
October 16th - 220
The Boeing 777 for the 2nd stint is a lot less clean and spacious as the A380 on the 1st stint. It's a short 4 hours flight and everybody tries to catch some sleep. The crew is very early serving breakfast. Not so handy, but I managed to catch a bit of sleep afterwards. Petra is woken up by the crew for landing (put your seat in the upright position ... ), and seems in a coma.
Passing immigration / customs smoothly. And at the luggage belt our dive gear bag already arrived. The other one, with all our regular clothes doesn't show up. As it is just us and some Germans left at the end we think there may be an issue with the luggage from Düsseldorf. When I ask I am told there still one container coming. And yes .... there is our bag :-)
Next stop: Water plane check in desk. 16.8 kg over-weighted sets us back $75. Auwch, but expected. In less than we're in our plane for our 20 minutes flight to Vilamendhoo.
On arrival we are asked to go to the bar, rather than to reception. Are we in for a an unpleasant surprise? Overbooking? No, just a special welcome and subsequent cocktail as being a repeater guest. Nice.
And the room? 220. Which is connected to 222, the one we asked for as we liked it so much last time around. Can't be better. Time to quickly make some nice pics ... rain is coming. We are prepared for not the best of weather this time of year. Hopefully we're lucky.
October 17th - House Reef
Unfortunately yesterday's rain is still here. Some dry intervals in the morning, but after lunch it stops raining mildly. Wind and poor down. Nothing you can do about that.
The day until now. First a long sleep. Very much needed after the long exhausting trip yesterday. 8 to 8, nice 12 hours of sleep. Delicious breakfast. And than for a walk. Which only takes us to the dive shop. Petra had great hesitation diving today, but when she saw there was a 2-Tank Manta trip on tomorrow, she wanted to get into the water ASAP to make sure all is working fine! Exit 7 or 8? I decide 8 as I want to make sure we reach exit 10. A good hour later we're in the water. O boy, quite a current. We need to plan many stops and take it slow, otherwise we'll be at exit 10 - the last one - in a blink of an eye.
Jos: 17.8 [m] / 57 [min] | Petra: 17.5 [m] / 56 [min]
Some additional sleeping after lunch.
October 18th - Manta Manta
Yesterday I thought today's story was going to be a sad one about wind and rain. October and November is the change of the season, making the weather unpredictable. And until now we hadn't been on the lucky side of unpredictable.
Breakfast at the main - larger - restaurant today. We are arrive before they open. "You go diving?" tells me they are used to early birds like us. But where to sit. "Take any table you want sir". Okay. Although his colleague thought different, as he told Petra to move somewhere else. She ignored him and when I joined her at the table he gave up.
To the dive shop. The "blond" dive guide is already there. We're on the other boat, with Roman. They have had a lot of cancellations, but still 2 boats go out.
As per the briefing we swim slowly to the cleaning station coral block and wait for the Manta's to come. If they come ... . We wait. And wait. And wait. Nothing. Pity. Roman leaves and we follow him. We make a small round tour over the reef and return at the cleaning station. The divers from the 2nd boat, who were sitting besides us earlier, have left. TING! TING! Manta! Manta!
It's "only" one Manta, but what a beauty. She will stick with us fore the next 25 minutes. Hanging upright. Circling over our heads, enjoying our bubbles tickling her. And back to the coral black. Again and again. Man, what a how! When we surface all smiles around us.
The plan was: 1) If we see Manta's at Coral Hills, we dive the site twice. 2) If not, than we do a 2nd dive on Mahibadhu. The captain decides different. It's too bumpy to get back in the boat on these dive sites. We return to Vilamendhoo to dive Coral Garden, the opposite side of the channel around Vilamendhoo. Roman promises the dive site won't disappoint us, and he is right. Especially at the corner where 4 White Tip Reef Sharks are on patrol (rather than sleeping on the bottom as they normally do). A nice desert. As is the sun that shines when we surface. But short lasted. Now, 17:30, it is poring rain again.
Jos: 19.8 [m] / 63 [min] | Petra: 18.6 [m] / 63 [min]
Jos: 23.2 [m] / 60 [min] | Petra: 19.8 [m] / 60 [min]
October 19th - 28-27-26-25-?
I have difficulty waking up. Slept 9 hours in one go, despite the heat and humidity (we left the airco on). In a coma. Today we have breakfast at our own restaurant (the smaller one, at the adults only side of the island). When telling our waiter, Shiraz, yesterday "see you at lunch as we are diving tomorrow morning". He said: "we open at 7:15 for divers". Okay. Nice.
At the dive shop Leila is waiting for us. "Deutsch" or "Schwytzer"? "Holländisch". Okay, the language for the day will be German.
As MV Kudhima was cancelled yesterday, they want to do that one now. The initial planned dive at the outside of the Atoll is not possible due to the wind and the waves. Okay, Kudhima Wreck was on the To Do list anyway. "I also speak Dutch" we hear behind us. It is Evelien from Rot Kreuz in Switzerland. She has a Swiss father and Dutch mother. And since she spent a lot of time at her mothers parents during her youth she speaks remarkably well Dutch. Later in the afternoon Petra tells her her sister works in the Löwe Hotel nearby in Zug. "Elly?" "Elly is your sister?" "Yes" Yep, it's a small world after all.
Analyzing the Nitrox on the boat. Yesterday the percentage was already low. 27% to 28% in stead of the usual 32% O2. Todaay it's only 25%. Tja, so we are actually diving plain air. Leila explains that the membrane (to filter the N2 out of the air and hence get a higher O2 percentage) is already quite old and delivering the new one takes forever on the Maldives (ordered too late I call that!).
The viz at the wreck is quite okay. A lot better than 2 years ago, but nothing compared to what we had the 1st time around in March 2011. It is nice to do this dive again. The Stonfish' are still around, but I see only one Batfish. At the end of the dive we crossover to the reef. OMG. All is dead! This is not how I remember this place. Later Leile explains that they had 30°C to 31°C water this summer (El Niño?) and not all coral had recovered. Pity.
The second dive is called Bopalli (or something like that), which means Batfish in Maldivian. Nice fish and a playful Nemo. But due to the lolw O2 percentage I hit my deco already after 30 minutes. No other option than to "hang" at the highest point of the Thila (~9 meters) for the rest of the dive. No problem as it is quite a nice view.
Jos: 28.4 [m] / 53 [min] / Petra: 28.7 [m] / 53 [min]
Jos: 24.7 [m] / 61 [min] / Petra: 26.2 [m] / 60 [min]
Afternoon nap. Tring, tring. "Reception. Are you okay for a management dinner tonighht?" "Okay, see you at the 7 @ the Sunset Bar". Let's see.
October 20th - New Manta (HOT) Spot
I still wonder what last night was all about. At the Sunset Bar Ivan (Head F&B) and Jens (GM) were waiting for us, accompanied by another 2 couples: 1 British, 1 French (we were thought to be from Nicaragua - guess that's why were picked) . Some drinks and chitchats. We continue at table in the restaurant. The 2 gents elaborate about their lives while we enjoyed the buffet. Strange, but nice evening.
Today we are going to look for Manta's again. At Mahibadhoo (capitol of this Atoll) Madivaru (Manta Point). A spot they had discovered only 3 months ago. Followed by Coral Hills. Dive guide is Adria. After the current check she reports back: "small to medium current, many divers [yep, we had already seen that from the boat], and no Manta's". Hmmm bummer. I hardly had my head in the water and I see a Manta. Yes, they are around! When we arrive at the cleaning station we see many divers. But also many Manta's - Yes! We are in for another hour of Manta Show! Petra counts 8 Manta's!
The number of divers starts to decrease and so does the amount of Manta's. There are only two left. Three. Four. ... The're back! When Petra enthusiastically signals "Nine" to me, I point number Ten out to her, just popping up behind her. Yep, we're staying to watch this.
The Manta's are getting closer and closer. One of them seems to really enjoy our bubbles and hangs above us. Lower and lower. At one point the Manta lands on my head! I can feel it's belly bulging in above me. Ooh man, this is awesome! This never get's boring.
Second dive is at Coral Hills. No Manta's this time around, but still a beautiful reef to enjoy. And that's what we did.
Jos: 15.5 [m] / 64 [min] / Petra: 18.4 [m] / 64 [min]
Jos: 19.8 [m] / 60 [min] / Petra: 20.6 [m] / 59 [min]
October 21st - Camera Trouble
Broken Rock is our first dive site. We have been here before. I remember nice corals on the top and often current. And the "Channel swim through attraction". Filip is our dive guide today. Serbian and Tech Diver. The latter is noticeable, I have never ever had such a detailed briefing. [also nice: run through the event after the dive]. We are hardly landed on the Thila when Petra bengs: A Grey Reef Shark. Filip also pointed out a Napoleon when descending, but the viz is so bad that we couldn't see more than a big shadow with the shape of. As we enter the channel the Grey Reef passes by again. I push the wrong button (camera off). When switching the camera back on I see squirt of water. And again. And again. Damn, my waterhouse is leaking! The White Tip, the Eagle Ray and again the Grey Reef I let pass by with taking a video or photo. I leave the camera switched off and hope for the best when we return.
Back on the boat I open the waterhouse. The silica bag is dripping wet. I decide to leave the camera on the boat and not take it down for the second dive. O, Broken Rock. The top was a barren spot. By far not the coral beauty as I remember it. Sad. Second dive at Kuda Thila. A shallow dive. Little bit more current than predicted. Nice but nothing special.
Jos: 27.8 [m] / 58 [min] | Petra: 27.8 [m] / 58 [min]
Jos: 25.6 [m] / 60 [min] | Petra: 25.6 [m] / 60 [min]
Back in our room we see the big dark clouds heading our way. The next 2.5 hours it's poring down again. Good time to sleep. Something we do a lot here. And after rain ... beautiful sunshine. Time to get up and have a stroll around the island.
October 22nd - And Again!
Checked my camera yesterday. Where I first thought that one of the O-rings of the buttons was bad (still some leakage when checking in the Jacuzzi), it later on seemed to have solved itself. Maybe a grain of sand or salt in the button. So I am bringing the camera again today. Already on the boat the camera was fogging up. It's also very humid here. Quickly open, and close, and the fog is gone.
Today we go to Reethi Thila. Filip said he would switch it to 7th Heaven (because he is dying to go there), but obviously not. Due to the bad viz Filip wanted to jump on Huddu Thila (as it's big so you can see it from the surface) and swim towards Reethi Thila, which is very close by. I jump. See Huddu Thila. But all swim away? During the briefing we agreed to gather under the surface before swimming towards the Thila. And than, we're all already at 20 meters, Filip cancels the dive?!
A bit of a chaos but eventually we all surface. Filip is cursing at the captain. All back on the boat for another try. The captain had dropped us at the wrong side of Huddu Thila. This time we're dropped correct. Man, what a beautiful small little thila this is. Bummer, we can only do one time swim around the thila. With "Nitrox" of 25% you reach your deco quite fast below 20 meters. So we descent a bit, hook up, and watch the local White Tip cruise by. 50 bar, time to go up.
The 2nd dive is at our doorstep: Vilamendhoo Thila. No, the local Eagle Ray family doesn't show themselves, the school of - more than a hundred - Batfish is hard to miss though. They are quite curious and one by one swim by to take a look at us. Again we need to descent early. So we hook up and look around. It's a nice reef, bummer that the viz is not that good today.
Jos: 27.4 [m] / 54 [min] | Petra 28.0 [m] / 54 [min]
Jos: 27.4 [m] / 59 [min] | Petra 27.4 [m] / 59 [min]
On our way back to the island Filip is still talking about 7th Heaven. "You can already put us on the list" [when we check later that night we're on, together with Switzerland].
The plan was to skip a day on Sunday and enjoy the champagne breakfast. But when a - mega - wind picks up in the afternoon we kinda forget about that plan. We also have no idea what to do whem the weather continues to be so bad. So we put ourselves on list for tomorrows 2-Tanker. Maybe we're lucky: Manta Manta. Fingers crossed.
October 23rd - Manta Manta
Today a perfect Manta spotting day. As Andy (Andrea) initially planned to go to Coral Hills followed by Mahibadhoo Madivaru, and the other time we did this (with Roman) we returned after the 1st dive, we had low hopes for today. Maybe she didn't want to go to the other dive site with the inexperienced couple that joined us? Even after half an hour at Coral Hills without a Manta I thought "is going to be such a day?". But just as we wanted to move on ... the Manta arrived (déjà vu). Yes, a lovely show ending our dive.
Hee, we're not returning. We're going to MM as planned. Nice. Only one boat on the spot. Snorkelers only. Going there we saw Adria and Roman returning, signaling 2 or 4. From the snorkel boat similar signals. So they are around.
Impatient we are waiting to jump in. Yes yes 1 hour surface interval. Tap tap tap. And ... in we go. Soon after we see 2 Manta's. But where is the cleaning station? Ah, there is Andrea. And there is the cleaning station. Man, what a show ... again. Four Manta's continuously circle the block. At one time there are even six. Skipping the champagne was a good choice.
Jos: 18.6 [m] / 62 [min] | Petra: 18.3 [m] / 60 [min]
Jos: 15.9 [m] / 60 [min] | Petra: 15.2 [m] / 59 [min]
October 24th - Sun
We leave our room without an umbrella, as the weather seems to have cleared up. .... less than a 100 meters walking distance, just before we reach the restaurant, it starts raining again. Luckily a short shower only. Off to the dive shop. Today: 7th Heaven, with Roman and Andrea (her 1st time, to get acquainted with the dive site). Surprisingly no wind today. But the dark clouds are a clear sign. Halfway through the briefing we have to leave the sundeck and hide for the rain. Again, a brief poor-down only. The dives, 7th Heaven and Huddu Thilla, are very nice.
Jos: 25.3 [m] / 51 [min] | Petra: 25.3 [m] / 51 [min]
Jos: 29.8 [m] / 60 [min] | Petra: 26.5 [m] / 59 [min]
On our way back the sun is shining, and yes, we missed her. Great to have her back. We can have lunch outside, as it should be in the Maldives. Now, late afternoon, overcast again. Hopefully nice weather again tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
October 25th - New Captain
Okay, again another dive guide. Today Karo is our guide. It looks like she is in bit of a panic when we board the boat. The reason is becoming clear very soon. They have a new captain. And he has no idea where Kudu Rah Thila is. Next to that the GPS locates the site 12 meters off the jetty of Vilamendhoo. Not good. And as this is a small (Kudu means small) thila, it will be difficult to locate. 10 minutes later the actual GPS coordinates are loaded in the device and off we go.
// The other captain - Mr. Cool - had dropped us at the wrong location several times, and I have heard several of the dive guides suggesting to ditch him. Maybe the did.//
Kudu Rah Thila is a treat. Such a nice dive!
Outgoing current, so Karo expects us to not be too lucky on Coral Hills, so suggests to change to Vilamendhoo Thila. Okay, whatever. Not a bad choice. Fifteen minutes in the dive we bump into a Manta. She swims slowly passed us, turns around and swims - slowly - away. Nice.
Jos: 25.9 [m] / 57 [min] | Petra: 24.1 / 57 [min]
Jos: 26.8 [m] / 61 [min] | Petra: 26.2 / 61 [min]
After lunch we go outside as the weather is lovely. At the dive shop we have a chat with Hussein. He is planning a trip up North (yee!). But already warns us it may end up in a 'Thila Trip" as the weather is not quite stable.
Fingers crossed!
October 26th - Scooter
Last night Filip was already glowing like an exited little boy. Today he entered the dive site with a big smile: SCOOTER DIVE! Looks like he's looking forward to this dive even more than us :-)
We have 11 divers on the boat, almost all new faces, and 2 dive guides. Filip (our 007 guide) and Andrea. She will guide the group after Filip has dropped us off at the right spot. Just like on 7th Heaven this is her first time to guide Lucky Hell. Same entrance though, as these sites are located back-to-back. Our plan: start with the group, torn around to do 7th Heaven and than return doing Lucky Hell. We enter the water first to get the scooters handed over from the boat and clipping them on the BCD. The dive is done as planned. At the back side of Lucky Hell (atoll edge side) we meet the group again. We continue to the start and turn around. Too much current. These scooters aren't super strong. The current wins.
Jos: 29.0 [m] / 53 [min] | Petra: 27.5 [m] / 54 [min]
Jos: 30.8 [m] / 61 [min] | Petra: 29.1 [m] / 61 [min]
Back on the boat we are trying to recruit some divers for tomorrows trip up North. Not really successful. We'll know for sure tomorrow. The 2nd dive was planned as a shallow dive. Two cozy White Tips dozing in the sand making it my deepest this holiday.
Lunch time! Again soooo good. As is breakfast and for sure dinner. I need to watch my weight back home ... and loose some. I am sure.
October 27th - North Ari Trip
We couldn't believe what we saw when we checked the list last night. Another 8 diver signed in, so, with us, the minimum 10 divers! We're going North! According Filip Hussein and Leila would join. And yes, they did. Beautiful weather, no waves hardly any wind. Man, we're soo lucky. Next to us 3 Swiss (St. Gallen - 2 brothers, 1 girlfriend), a British family (mom, dad, daughter), a Danish guy and a very quiet guy (did hear one word from him the whole day). After 2.5 hours we reach Maayaa Thila. Our starter as Leila said.
// For Hussein and Leila most likely their last trip North. They tell us they are moving to Kurumba where Hussein will be the dive shop manager. //
The viz is not good, but still something to see. Especially the Eagle Ray swimming along was nice. And the strange Octopus who wanted to have his picture taken - very a typically he came out of the reef and showed off when the camera's flashed. Hide when the flashing stopped, And came back out when the flashing started again. Never seen this behavior before.
After one hour surface interval we're at Hafza Thila (my 500th dive). OMG the viz is horrible. Okay, we see the Grey Reefs. But nothing compared to the "Shark TV" we had 2 years ago. Bummer.
Lunch, and than Fish Head. Again, horrible viz. Luckily Petra was stubborn enough to go deep at the end of the dive, because there the were: the Grey Reefs (and I gladly followed my dear buddy).
Jos: 22.6 [m] / 60 [min] | Petra: 23.5 [m] / 60 [min]
Jos: 23.8 [m] / 61 [min] | Petra: 21.3 [m] / 61 [min]
Jos: 23.2 [m] / 59 [min] | Petra: 22.9 [m] / 59 [min]
That's the diving done for this holiday. Back to Vilamendhoo enjoying a wonderful sunset from the boat.
October 28th - Last Day in Paradise
There it is again, the inevitable day. The last one. Diving done. Time to stroll around the island. Shoot some nice pics. And dream about a next time (10th ... ). The mandatory credit card swipe. And than the Repeaters Cocktail (for which they had forgotten to invite us last week).
Uncomfortable, fake casual, conversation with the gathered staff. But it was nice to talk to the British family we met on the boat yesterday.
October 29th - Going Home
Wake up call: 4:30
Luggage outside: 5:00
Breakfast: 5:15
Sea plane: 6:00
"We're very very sorry, some issue with the sea plane. You're now scheduled for 6:45". And at 9:10 our intercontinental flight leaves Male. That's going to be tight. Petra is not happy. Up too early and 45 minutes to waist. Okay, let's do another final round around the island. There is the sea plane. And the dhoni already left. Hmmm, I guess that's what they were really telling us at reception. We're on the 2nd in stead of the - initial planned - 1st flight. Petra is really not happy. Just when I want to walk to reception to check whether the people waiting have also been delayed I hear they are Dutch (from Heerlen). Strange, almost 2 weeks here and hadn't seen anybody from the Netherlands, and now, when we leave, we meet 7!
No, they were scheduled on the 6:45 flight from the start. But also they need to catch the same flight to Dubai and also from there to Düsseldorf. Despite their later departure their wake up call was at 5:00. Okay, seems normal. But were still a bit worried as it really is tightly planned.
And yes, it was tight. But with a little skipping the line we all caught our plane. A small delay leaving Make, but an on time arrival in Düsseldorf.
This was our 9th time to the Maldives and it still tastes like more ...
