Ahhhhh.....the
splash into the great ocean, the Andaman Sea welcomes us home. It has
been nearly a year since we splashed in and it felt so good. Of course, there
was the usual first dive shake down and a bit of trepidation that accompanies
first splash. Do I have everything on ok? I know my buddy checked,
I checked, and the dive guide checked, but did I turn the air on? Yes!! Breathe!!
The
first dive was at Richelieu Rock and what a magical place it is. The dive
begins on a mooring line which all divers follow to about 40 feet of water. The
current was gently blowing by as we descended. Immediately we know we are
in the pacific because soft coral is everywhere!! Cheri loves soft coral,
especially the purple and pink soft corals. The anemone fish are fiercely
protecting their anemones all over the reef and huge schools of tiny, shiny
bait fish are swirling and daring the big fish to deftly enter their ball and
dine on them. Heaven in the sea! Cuttlefish were shimmering
together near the sea floor and an octopus slinked along the reef.
 |
| Cuttle fish |
 |
| Bannerfish |
 |
| soft coral on the reef |
Then
the magic happened…this massive darkness blocked the sun. We looked up and there was a whale
shark!!! Very first dive – OMG!! This magnificent creature was 4.5 meters long
or about 15 feet. It literally swam up
and looked John in the eye from a few feet away. Don’t believe in God – try this experience
and you will! There was a lot of
plankton in the water and it made it tough to grab an image, but Shannon was
above it and got a great video with his go pro.
So thanks to him we have a few images.
 |
| Whale shark |
The
rest of the day was spent travelling as the 8 Lithuanian's had failed to get
their visas leaving us all closed out of the "pool". Never
mind, we got to catch up on our rest which is no bad thing when you are 12
hours out of phase with your normal time.
Because
we had so much time cruising, John and I decided to finally complete our
advanced diver course. It was a good time to read the book and do the exercises.
We've been lazy about this for years, never wanting to take time out from
diving....with a day suddenly free, it seemed like the right time! Thus
way we wouldn't have any other issues with Pacific dive operators. Cheri already passed her book work :-)
The
food is wonderful! A truly Thai cook is spoiling us at every meal.
Enjoy!
Cheri & John
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