Maldives - The “Sunny Side of Life”
In everybody’s mind synonymous of clear blue water, cloudless skies and white sandy beaches sprinkled with lush palm trees. But for our group of divers who landed only few hours ago in this Paradise, they seems don't care about all these trivial matters, they just cannot wait to jump on our liveaboard and finally begin what has been awaited for such a long time: It’s February, and the time has come to finally start the 13 days long dive liveaboard trip towards the extreme south of this archipelago!
These tiny islands ( more than 1,100 in total) are divided into 26 atolls and stretched from north to south for around 850km : basically from the deep southwest of Sri Lanka, they cross the Equator with the southernmost atolls.
Famous in the diving community since 20 years, the Maldives are well known and dived usually around the central atolls. But during the dry north eastern monsoon, between January and the end of April, some of the Maldivian liveaboards dare to cross all the way south, and give divers the chance to admire an exceptional array of still almost pristine dive sites.
"The Deep South Liveaboard Trip"
As it is usually called, is approachable only by experienced divers: at least advanced with no less than 50 dives. Most of the dives happen in fact inside channels, where the depth is never shallower than 30 meters and the currents can blow pretty strong.
But the items on the menu really worth some strenuous swams !!!
Huge aggregations of Gray Sharks, high chances to spot the shy Hammerheads ( otherwise pretty uncommon in the Maldives ), Leopard Sharks, Dolphins, Mantas, hundreds of shiny jackfish... And reefs are still untouched which give the idea of what the islands could have offered to the pioneer divers who first discoverd these underwater gardens. Plus crystal clear waters and a visibility that usually reaches 30 mt. A dream come true!
Besides, there are a couple of special surprises which make this trip even more unique.
Starting from north, we meet the first one at Taa atoll, just a little southern than the usually beaten tracks.
Imagine you are enjoying your dinner at the common table, talking and chatting about the sightings of the day, then suddenly... "FERHUIRHI, FERHUIRHI!!!", The crew starts jumping around super excited! You look back, and literally a few steps behind you - the dark waters begin to wrinkle and crinkle, and an enormous (TEETHLESS!!!) mouth appears from below.
Mr. Whale Shark - "Ferhuhiri" in the local langauge, the Holy Graal of every diver, comes here at night to take advantage of the abundance of plancton attracted by the lights of the boat. Despite being the biggest fish in the Ocean, this gentle giant feeds only on the tiny little plancton particles, and here he can totally fill up his belly.
There are only a couple of places in the Maldives where the nights are blessed with this special guest, and it’s not rare that other 3 or 4 individuals join the feast. The only thing you have to do, is to grab your mask and fins and jump in the water for the experience of a lifetime! ( your dinner can definitelly wait a bit, right?).
The second piece of magic is called "Foammulah".
Foammulah is a micro lonely island in the middle of the gigantic Blue, right below the Equator, around the island, a wide plateau rises up from the depth, along with upwelling currents rich of delicious nourishment... And this combination is the reason of Foammulah's great diving!
Taking the plunge here could be tricky, the currents might be really strong and unpredictable, and there is the possibility to surface from the dive several kilometers away from the jumping point. Furthermore, there is basically no reef where you can take a breath at the end of dive...
BUT!
WOW!
What we can see down there !!!
It’s a blue water dive, you never know what is going to happen until you jump in, but the resident creatures of these waters are so many, that you’ll never surface disappointed.
The list includes: SCHOOLING Hammerheads, SCHOOLING Silvertip Sharks, Tiger Shark, Thresher Shark, Mola Mola, Dolphins and, the only place in the Maldives, curious and playful gigantic Oceanic Manta Rays!
It’s not nitrogen narcosis, it’s not hangover form yesterday’s celebrations, it’s just Foammulah! Remember this name from now on, and come to check by yourself!
At this point the trip is almost over, the experience has been incredible.
Before flying back home where the real life awaits us, we still have some time to enjoy a last dinner on a desert, flower-scented beach, admiring the hundreds of millions of stars in the sky.
And sharpen your eyes: you might catch a falling one, able to grant your next wish !
YouTube video from Olga Martinelli on Youtube.
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