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First things first, a weather check – a stroll down the jetty reveals amazing conditions – no wind, no waves and an ocean that resembles a mirror, a perfect day for a Snorkel Boat trip! Abdulla from Saaraa Boat comes to say good morning and wants to know how many people we have for the boat; he likes to prepare for the snorkel day ahead.

Back to the Dive Center, open the doors, type up the boat list and we are ready to take the guests to the boat. Once onboard, the procedures are explained and we set off for the first snorkel site.

But wait, in the distance I see dolphins jumping; I tell Jupitey, the captain of Saaraa Boat, to head for the dolphins. As we get there I see Nika’s boat, Nika is jumping around and yelling something, I can’t understand her but as I look closely I see Pilot Whales in between the dolphins. Now I start jumping and screaming as well! For those of you who have never seen a Pilot Whale, it looks like a giant fat dolphin. The Pilot Whales were accompanied by a school of bottlenose dolphins and a sailfish. The whales were jumping, the dolphins squeaking and swimming next to the boats and the sailfish was showing off his beautiful black and dark purple fin while circling us. I have never experienced anything as beautiful as when the whale jumped out of the ocean, two meters away from our boat – it was as if he looked straight at me with those beautiful and innocent eyes. A moment like this cannot be explained and also never forgotten. We spent about one hour with all these amazing marine creatures before heading for our snorkel sites. You never know what you’re going to spot whist out on the ocean and spontaneous stops such as these are always appreciated.

As well as a spot of whale watching, guests can also experience ‘Manta Madness’. Recently the Manta Rays returned to the Lhaviyani Atoll and have been spending their days eating plankton and getting cleaned in the Fushivaru area – our Manta Search Boats try to go there as often as possible. On these trips guests get a short explanation about these amazing animals before jumping into the water with them. There are two really important things to remember when snorkeling with mantas – never touch the manta and never chase the manta (you won’t catch it anyway as it can swim much faster than you!). Recently we have had 6 to 9 mantas on every trip and have snorkeled with them for nearly two hours each time. The mantas perform barrel rolls, come up to you as if to say ‘Hello’ with a massive smile on their face, swim in lines behind each other and so much more. Snorkeling with mantas will be an experience to treasure forever.

By Simona, Kuredu Snorkel Guide

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