Diving in Kapalai Day 2 (Mar. 29, 2015)

Mar. 29, 2015

Before going to bed last night, I played Cribbage with the group I told you about yesterday. We had a great time playing teams, and laughed a lot during the game. Ted (30?) from Montreal is really funny and the French girl, Audrey (38), not Arlene, is great too. The Swiss woman, Lina (44) is really smart and very funny. I think we will probably play again tonight. 

This morning I got up and ready, went to eat breakfast which was yummy. A choice of Pork and Beans, French Toast, regular bread of two kinds, for toast, peanut butter, jam and syrup, cut up weiners, fruit, and potato wedges, oh, and hard boiled eggs. There is always coffee and tea available anytime of day as well. It’s really quite good and you can eat as much as you want.

Then I went to the jetty, which is the wharf where you catch the boat to go to the dive sites. I met up with my group, which was different than yesterday's, and so were the Dive Masters. I had Ahfat, a local guy who was very good. I had heard about him already from my Dive Master yesterday, and was happy to have been put in his group. There was only me, and Jessica, a German girl, in the group, so it was great. All of our dives were an hour or a bit more.

We went out to Kapalai Island, which is about a forty minute boat ride from here. The site was called Black Ray Channel and we saw some nice stuff. Visibility was great, at 20 meters or more, and the conditions easy, and calm. No current to speak of, just relaxed diving. We saw a Painted Spiny Lobster, some Blue Spotted Rays, Puffer Fish, Lion Fish, Stone Fish, Spotted Garden Eel, Bumphead Parrot Fish, and T-bar Nudy Branchs. It was a lovely dive with lots of nice coral and scenery.

For our surface interval, we didn’t go back to the Resort as we did yesterday. I presume it’s because the site is further away than all the ones yesterday, and it didn’t make sense to go and come back. So, they pulled out a huge coffee dispenser full of tea, and some home made cake, for our interval snacks. Both were lovely, you’re always so thirsty when you come up and need to drink a lot so as not to become dehydrated. I always chug a lot of water or tea.

Our second dive was a totally different site. It was another Artificial Reef, similar to yesterdays, only in a different spot, and much better. We saw some gigantic fish in the structures there, including some huge Angelfish, and Grouper. The site was called House Reef. We saw Rooftop Pipefish, a 100 kg Grouper, Painted Frogfish, Leaf Scorpion Fish, a powder pink, Batangas Nudy Branch, Manta Shrimp and a sleeping turtle. The highlight, or most unexpected thing, was a huge explosive sound underwater, that was actually people, far away, dynamite fishing, which is illegal. I had heard of this, and was warned not to be scared if I heard the blasts, but I don’t think that really prepares you for the sound that it makes. It was pretty weird, but not scary, and very far away. Water sure carries sound so it is loud, but you can tell it’s far away.

Then we came back for lunch, which was Sweet and Sour Chicken, stir fried veggies, cabbage salad, glass noodles and lots of fresh fruit, including Honey Dew Melon to die for, and Red and Yellow Watermelon. Sometimes we have Guava as well. 

The third dive was at a site called Eel Garden and was a lovely dive. This one had a brisk current that carried you along for a nice Drift Dive. The only problem with Drift Dives is that if you want to stop to see something, you have to get your legs around so that you can kick against the current in order to stay stationary. It’s a bit tricky, but you can still do it. We saw the cutest Baby Sweet Lips, a Ribbon Eel, two huge turtles about 2 meters across, Manta Shrimp, a Crocodile Flathead Fish, Squat Shrimp, Spotted and White Eyed Moray Eels, Devil Scorpionfish and a Redfish. All were gorgeous, and the coral was spectacular at this site. Alongside the coral, there is a long sandy stretch that just goes out into the deep blue, so it’s cool to swim along the edge and look left to the coral and many fish, or right to the far blue, without interruption. It’s a nice contrast to say the least. 

Supper was spaghetti and meatballs, green beans, cole slaw, fruit and garlic bread. Really yummy, with some veggies as well. After supper, I played crib with my new friends, then went to bed. I made friends with that big guy, Adam, that I dived with the first day. He is a great photographer, and today I asked him if I might take or buy his photos from this trip. He agreed to just let me put them onto an SD Card, which I have lots of. So, when I am near a connection that works, I can load some incredible photos of what I have seen, for you.

Tomorrow I will go to Siamil to dive. Apparently it is lovely and a fantastic day out.