The first dive is a check dive along the wall lots
of blue trigger fish Jacks Tunas and Morey eels almost no current.
Day-2 North Male Atoll
Old Shark Point
Diving Along the walls at 30m entering nice caves
in the wall lots of fish especially blue trigger fish that dominates the reef
we run across
two eagle rays that swam away when they saw us.
Banana Reef
Bad visibility and almost no current what enable
us to stay longer at one place the reef is full of lots of different type of
fish one big hawksbill turtle swam with us as we explored the caves at 25m we
saw jacks and a giant napoleon wrasse
Day-3 South Male Atoll/North Ari Atoll
Guraydo Kandu
I have excellent memories from this place witch is
the best diving spot in the Maldives in my opinion and I'm not wrong the
visibility is bad and the current is strong
we spot several white tip reef shark above and
below us as we drift with the current lots of Tunas and Jacks we are holding
to the reef and watching 5 eagle rays swimming against the strong current
ignoring our presence a spectacular sight we continue to the channel corner
and at 28m is the usual gathering of big white tip and gray reef sharks that
ignore our presence and continue to mind there own business which is swimming
with and against the current.
We are going back to the dhoni thinking that
things can't get any better when we are seeing several mantas on the surface
in the shallows we are jumping to the water again and snorkel for 1 hour with
10 big magnificent Mantas that are swimming among us with mouths open feeding
on the plankton ignoring us a definite WOW.
Fish Head
Fish Head is a big underwater mountain (thila in
maldivian terms) when the top at around 10m we are diving in strong current
around the thila using the amazing caves as shelter from the current the caves
are full of light blue soft coral and small fish we are seeing 1 big gray reef
shark several turtles and large schools of jacks and travellies are circling
the thila feeding on the small fishes.
Ellaidho house Reef
Night dive along the outer wall of the Ellaidho
island with medium to mild current very beautiful small corals are feeding in
the current in very colorful shades of red to orange lots of jacks that in the
artificial light have blue pattern on their body groupers and other big fish
big Sting Rays are swimming near the reef and are passing near us one of them
swam above my head and I was able give him a dental test with my torch.
Day-4 North Ari Atoll
Fish Head
Dive against a strong current lots of jacks and
Spanish mackerels several gray and white tip reef sharks along the way and in
the corner of the thila facing the current a big napoleon wrasse swam with us
and the big fish continue to feed on the small ones we saw two mantis Shrimps
on the bottom.
Orimas Thila
The current was really strong and the visibility
low so we spent most of the time in the underwater caves sheltering from the
current we saw 1 white tip reef shark.
Ellaidho house reef
This time we did a day dive along the wall we saw
1 resting sting ray and one swam bellow us we saw the wreck of a Dhoni that
lies in 28m,
Day-5 North Ari Atoll
Maaya Thila
Diving around a very beautiful thila with nice
soft corals a school of chevron barracudas swims around the thila we see
a small white tip shark we reach the corner of the thila that faces the
current and watch what seems to be a gray reef shark nursery two big gray
shark with around 10 juvenile small gray sharks we start to ascend via soft
and fan corals exploring the caves in the thila in the thila top we are doing
our safety stop in the company of a turtle and two big barracudas when two big
gray reef sharks joins us one swims around us and the bigger one just swimming
between us very nice.
Halaveli Wreck
We Enter the water and we are accompanied by a
school of remoras that hassles us the entire dive it is very interesting to
see this fish not attached to a bigger fish but in a school of its own kind
big school of travelies is swimming near the wreck and lots of small fish
dwell within the wreck the famous stingrays that are suppose to be a residents
in the wreck are not there but a big moray eel keeps us company and we spot
two big groupers bellow the wreck.
Rasdhoo Madivaru
Diving along the reef that is very beautiful and
live in the beginning and dead at the end we are seeing 3 big white tip reef
sharks schools of jacks dog toothed tunas barracudas and 2 napoleon wrasses.
Day-6 North Ari Atoll/North Male Atoll
Rasdhoo Madivaru
We wake up early in the morning in order to try
and see the famous hammerheads of rasdhoo that off course are not showing up
so it is mostly blue water dive in luminaiting plankton that glows in the
early morning light and made of small luminating jelly combs, on the way back
to the reef we see a white tip reef shark and a big dog toothed tuna.
H.P reef
We are jumping from the dhoni and below us are two
eagle rays that when noticing us are swimming away the current is strong and
the visibility is bad but the reef itself is amazing soft corals of many
colors purple, blue, red, orange, pink and white growing everywhere in
a medley of colors best looking coral formation I have seen in the Maldives
and schools of jacks, big groupers, one big turtle that had hard time swimming
against the current and a school of big batfish.
Manta Point
Every time I dove in a place called Manta point no
Manta appeared so I was not surprised that none arrived this time, we did this
dive after a strong shower of rain and the sea was not calmed and so were the
underwater currents that were strong and unpredictable.
The Boat:
The pegasso is a small boat for up to 10 people
that does not specialized in diving only it has air-conditioned cabins but the
upper deck is not and it can be hot from time to time, however the chef of the
boat is excellent and the service is very good.
