Another first

Monday
17:36 hours
Canteen
Four Seasons Resort Maldives Kuda Huraa

"There's always a first time."

Today's the day off for me and I have TWO, first experiences, a good and a bad, so which one's first?

OH BOY HOW CLICHE CAN SHAWN GET...

Waking up on days off never felt easier, especially when you're going to dive, IN THE MALDIVES, WOO-HOO. I got changed, washed up and stepped out to see... RAIN. TONS OF IT.

"Let's just go have breakfast and see how it goes," I told myself and I found myself with the dive crew at the canteen, there was omelettes for breakfast! The dive was cancelled this morning but there were guests doing discovery scuba and I could follow. When I say dive cancelled it means the dive boat with two tanks per person.

Hung around the dive shop a bit until the time was up, geared up and left on the speedboat.

We dropped off an instructor and a guest off the house reef as we were heading to the house reef at Bodu Huraa and as we were about to leave, GUESS WHAT I SAW!?!?

SPINNER DOLPHINS SPINNING OUT OF THE WATER!

So the driver decided to do a mini dolphin cruise. :D

It was amazing, first we were trailing them and we were just right behind, the next moment a couple of curious ones started swimming right in front of our boats turning and crossing before our paths.

Here in the Maldives, the orca species do not face any threats from humans nor other marine animals and is very healthy actually.

Today I saw for myself how healthy the population was because before long, we were shrouded in an ocean of dolphins and I'm not kidding.

For any one of you who has been on a boat, in the middle of a channel in between two islands, just imagine there and then, all around you, all you can see is just spinner dolphins in the wild, swimming out of the channel playfully, doing flips, spins, flapping their tails against the surface of the water and just coming right up close and personal with you near the boat. Oh and it helps if you clap, they just keep coming closer and closer. They are just so fast and graceful in the water, almost fluid like, just like in one of those movies where you see a mermaid-like shadow speeding past you.

I was thinking of how to put this experience into words while on the boat when I just decided to take in the entire sight of things and just leave it to your imaginations.

I guess it was just my luck today! So that's one, good, first-experience, seeing an ocean of dolphins in the wild up close and personal. I'm getting to the other, ugly, first-experience.

As we were heading way out into the sea and the dolphins moving further and further away, even though there were still many fascinated ones who were dying to perform for us, we headed back towards our designated dive site and it began pouring on us.

Suited up and went into the water and some how today didn't feel quite right. I was just talking to some of my friends and they reckon I probably descended too quickly, but when I tried equalising (for non-divers it just means pinching your nose and blowing to clear the ears) I could hear bubbles in my ears.

Today's diving didn't feel too comfortable, pretty different from my last dive. But some highlights was I saw a huge eagle ray just laying in the crevice of the reef and when the four of us (two guests from HK) came too close, I guess it got crowded and it swam away gracefully. Also saw a lobster, my first time and I was really contented seeing Nemo today, two adult ones trying to "defend" their anemone when I came pretty close.

Getting out of the water I tried clearing my ears again but I still couldn't and since my previous dives I've had a bit of trouble with them. I kept trying to clear my ears pretty forcefully and even tried firing a hose point blank into it. Still, not clearing.

So after lunch I went back to the dive shop and enquired with the dive manager and he told me to check with the resort doctor which I did. Found out I blew my right ear so hard it bled. >.<

The ugly first.

Not to worry for those of you who are going, "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!" Common occurance in divers and I should be diving in a week's time, just have to be a bit more cautious with my descend, not to go down too fast.

I feel a little woozy and out of balance now but in good time I should be healed, I guess it has to do with youth, the body regenerates quite quickly, like my reef cut on my feet, it was gone in about two weeks.

I will spend the rest of my evening reading, "Gods and Legions," continuing my love affair with the ancient Roman empire. I somehow feel that I must have been a scholar and philosopher back in those ages, my love to question and seek answers.

A quick insight to my day off in the Maldives, will let you guys know about next Monday!

18:41