Day 6: Diving at Giraavaru

August 31st ...Merdeka Day in Malaysia!!! ...but the Independence Day celebrations back home were of no consequence to me...for we're going DIVING!!!!

We went to Planeta Divers, the dive centre at Giraavaru Island Resort ...after breakfast... to get signed in... shore dive...out on the Giravaaru house reef, just a few steps away from the dive center... Planeta Divers is managed by Jutta Andreini, whom I thought resembles Cameron Diaz...he he....assisted by Elizabeth Gomes, also a dive instructor (incidentally, her ex-husband is Nuno Gomes, world record holder for a 318 meter dive) and Latheef, a local dive instructor...

Jutta Andreini, aka Peter's angel vs. Cameron D.

(any resemblance??)

Liz Gomes

Latheef

After our shore dive, we did another dive in the afternoon at Feydhoo Canyon...about 45 minutes due-east from Giravaaru Island... again, I noticed that the coral bed was quite depleted...just little patches of soft coral here and there...a haunting reminder of the 2004 Tsunami...there were quite a number of hawkesbill turtles at the dive site... lion fish, BIG ones...oriental sweetlips and a school of giant trevally in the ... we mostly hung back near the hangover at the wall...current was negligible but I was slightly disappointed with the visibility though...thanks to the rain the nite before...

Hawkesbill Turtle
Lionfish