[Maldives] Trip Report : NOV.16 – 20, 2019, Male – Ari Short Trip Vol.1

[#Maldives] Trip Report : NOV.16 – 20, 2019, #Male – #Ari Short Trip Vol.1

Hi! We just came back from another short trip, which goes and dive around Male to Ari atoll within 3 days. The weather was okay, sudden squall and cloudy one day and clear up next day. A typical weather we see here in Maldives during this time of the year, turning from the rainy season to the dry season. The 1st dive of the day was at Maagiri Rock in the North Male atoll. It was a perfect condition, almost no current, for a check dive. Bluestriped Snappers welcomed us as usual.  We found cute juveniles of Yellow Boxfish and Midnight Snapper, while introducing Longnose Hawkfish, Starry Dragonet or so. My favorite one was the juvenile of Palette Surgeonfish, which was very rare to see in the Maldives. The 2nd dive was at Maaya Thila in the North Ari atoll. The visibility went down in the Ari atoll that day. Still enjoyed to observe Neon Fusiliers, Double-lined Fusiliers, Giant Trevallies, Bluefin Trevallies and Grey Reef Sharks. A Hawksbill Sea Turtle was resting in between the rocks. On the top of the reef, we could observe Maldive Anemonefish in sea anemones. I noticed some of the anemones has gotten whiter. I am concerned about it. The 3rd dive was at Maayafushi Lagoon as a night Manta dive. We saw total 4 of Manta Rays. Besides Manta, more than 100 of Striped Eel Catfish appeared! It was a surprise! The air temperature was 26-31 deg.C.  The water temperature was 28-29 deg.C. The 3mm or 5 mm wetsuit was recommended. The visibility was 10-30m. To be continued…