Touche Turtle

(written on 02/09/09, posted on 13/10/09)

No-one else signed up for the wreck and they needed a minimum of 3 people. So I was stuck on local dives with the others. Well I say stuck but I actually prefer the local fun dives as you always see stuff and you can still see Sharks. This point is proved as on the first dive B, the instructor points out about 3 within the first 20 minutes. He said after the first half of the dive he stopped using the sign for Shark and just kept pointing so people could look if they were interested. Shark fatigue, I love it. One actually swam directly over my head too enabling me to watch its gills. I was in touching distance not that you’d actually reach out and touch unless you’d lost your sensible gene.

We see loads of other stuff too and as I’m not so focused on Shark spotting I see loads of other things of the smaller variety. This includes: Shrimps, Oriental Sweetlips, a Titan Triggerfish and a banded Sea Snake.

The second dive I’m told is going to be a Turtle dive. They aren’t wrong. We get some amazing views. The first Turtle is swimming alongside us a little way in front. The second is nibbling at rocks so the three of us grab a piece of dead rock to steady ourselves in the current and watch for a few minutes. It then proceeded to let go, circle back and swim directly over my head. The second thing to do that today too. If I didn’t have a regulator in my mouth and taking it out to speech would have made drowning an imminent prospect, I would have been rendered speechless.

I may have to leave soon as if I don’t someone will sign me up to do a Divemaster internship and I’ll never leave the island!