The day 3, we dove in the Vaavu atoll. It was raining in the morning but cleared in the afternoon. The 1st dive of the day was at Devana Kandu. The current was appropriate. And the visibility was unbelievably good. We could see the group of Yellowback Fusiliers gathered as a big curtain, but fewer number of Grey Reef Sharks were seen than normal. And somehow there were many of little baby sharks around 50cm. The 2nd and the 3rd dives were at Miyaru Kandu. “Miyaru” means shark in Maldivian language. There were literally many of Grey Reef Sharks were found. Besides, a Spotted Eagle Ray, Napoleon, Bigeye Trevallies and Dogtooth Tunas were seen. The 4th dive was at Alimathaa Jetty. We did the entry at sunset. The Tawny Nurse Sharks were gathered very well already! They were everywhere, some of them were streaming above us, the other were sitting nearby! Besides, Giant Trevallies, Bluefin Trevallies and Pink Whiprays were attracted by the torch after the sunset.
The day 4, we dove in the South Ari atoll. The 1st dive of the day was at Seventh Heaven. This site was not well known yet. We enjoyed its beautiful and colorful soft corals exclusively. There were many overhangs, which was the habitat for many of sea creatures as well. I found Comets, which had not seen recently. The 2nd dive was at Maamigili Out aiming for the encounter with Whale Shark. There were many boats gathered for the same reason. But we all gave up. Where have they gone? The 3rd dive was at Kudarah Thila, which was one of the Marine Protected areas in Maldives. Since fishing is not allowed here this is such a popular place for scuba divers to see many fish and it is always crowded by scuba divers. Luckily we were the only ones at the time! We were surrounded by Bluestriped Snappers literally 360 degrees. After the dive, we had a nice BBQ dinner on the white sand beach. Yum!
The air temperature was 26-33 deg.C. The water temperature was 28-29 deg.C. The 3mm wetsuit was recommended. To be continued…
