I found alternatives to cash, but it meant using one of the only two resorts that dealt with credit/debit cards. They also happened to be the main dive centres in the island chain, the combination fit my requirements hand in glove. After a perfectly lazy fortnight I was ready to pack my bags and head off for Kadidiri. A freeby snorkeling trip was an unexpected parting gift, so my last day gave me the only exploratory look off the actual island of Pengampa. The first site was pretty good, a lot of coral and reasonable numbers of fish. I was somewhat spoilt by the boatman anchoring into clumps of live coral. Three times I went back to the boat and chastised him, to be honest I don’t think he understood my reasoning behind the request. Each time he’d lift the anchor looking confused, then drop it back into coral once I’d gone back out snorkeling again. I nearly stopped snorkeling in disgust, I felt so angry. It wasn’t my money paying for it though, I’d been invited by another guest. I made a serious point about it with him but he was completely non-plussed. (Photo: Forbidden fruit - Malenge, Togean Islands, Sulawesi)
Anyway, moving islands was a way of starting afresh. The diving centres both ran their operations using western guides and instructors, they had to be more conscientious about the environment they earned their living from. Hearing of projects to wipe out the crown of thorns starfish on their reefs raised my hopes. I had a choice of two and the decision was an easy one, there was only one boat waiting at the ferry when we pulled into Wakai. I could have still chosen the other once reaching Kadidiri, but in all honesty the Paradise resort was in a much better setting. I actually let a couple I’d met on the ferry check out the competitors, they were back in no time having undergone a hard sell from the staff at Black Marlin. To be honest there wasn’t much difference in the quality of accommodation, prices were similar too. It really depended on what you were looking for. A younger crowd were in residence down the beach while I was there. They weren’t rowdy at night or anything, but hearing them whooping and hollering on their way out in the boats made me glad to be chilling out where I was. (Photo: Black tipped reef shark - Kadidiri, Togean Islands, Sulawesi)
While at Kadidiri Paradise I got ten dives in, all at different places, and every one different in its own way. It was great getting up close to the coral, looking in the tiny nooks and crannies, spotting the little critters. And yes, my buoyancy is good enough to get real close without risking damage to the coral. I saw some lovely nudibrachs, flat worms, and minute polycheates. But the wall dives were my favourite, just for the overall effect. Immense underwater scenes, superb cliff formations, and the chance to see some of the more impressive beasties. We did see a napoleon wrasse, but that was the most impressive sized creature we saw, everything else was on the small scale. But it’s not just how impressive the sea life is, it’s the whole experience. Weightlessness is sheer poetry, with spot on buoyancy it’s as close as you could get to being in space. In fact you are, in inner space, rather than outer space. You don’t need to fin, there’s no need for correction, can you imagine jumping out a plane and not falling. (Photo: Flying lizard - Kadidiri, Togean Islands, Sulawesi)
A couple of us had a lot more experience than the others diving, other than Gonzag the instructor. We both got some free dives by accompanying near novices. It was a chance for Gonzag to give all his attention on those who needed it most. Other than that Janique and I buddied up, it made for stress free diving, neither of us needed to worry about the other, we set our own pace and let the others race ahead. Our first 40m dive was awesome, we did a few at that depth, eventually taking a couple of others on their first dive of that depth. Though that was my worst dive, I used a different regulator, which sucked in water. I was meant to be leading the dive and concentrating on so much at one time reduced my own pleasure, For our 50m dive I was on it for personal pleasure only, but it wasn’t a difficult dive for that depth, only a quick swim through a crack starting at 42m with an exit no lower than 52m, if you squeezed through as low as you could. (Photo: Fidhal, my little friend - Kadidiri, Togean Islands, Sulawesi)
Relaxing on an evening I'd often be joined by a young lad, Fidhal, who'd jabber Bahasa at me. Any time I managed to actually repeat his words he'd compliment me with obvious glee. And to be honest I never tired of his unintelligible words.
But diving was certainly the focal point of my stay at Kadidiri, there was only one day I didn’t dive. There were even words about possible involvement on a paid level, if only I were to hang around for long enough. I’m not interested though, I really enflamed my old passion for diving, but as before I want to do it for pleasure, not money. In all honesty the level of incompetence of many casual divers is shocking, putting in a couple of dives every couple of years will never improve your skill level. There again I’m lucky, I logged a high number of them continuously for a decade. I’ve just had a four year break, but was still one of the most conservative when it came to sucking my tank dry. For me, I still needed a few dives to fine tune my buoyancy, and my air consumption would improve if I was fitter. If I wasn’t plagued by cramps from having dodgy hamstrings it would improve. The most important thing here though, is just how wonderful I found my rediscovery of diving. (Photo: Blue tailed skink, I think - Kadidiri, Togean Islands, Sulawesi)
But diving was certainly the focal point of my stay at Kadidiri, there was only one day I didn’t dive. There were even words about possible involvement on a paid level, if only I were to hang around for long enough. I’m not interested though, I really enflamed my old passion for diving, but as before I want to do it for pleasure, not money. In all honesty the level of incompetence of many casual divers is shocking, putting in a couple of dives every couple of years will never improve your skill level. There again I’m lucky, I logged a high number of them continuously for a decade. I’ve just had a four year break, but was still one of the most conservative when it came to sucking my tank dry. For me, I still needed a few dives to fine tune my buoyancy, and my air consumption would improve if I was fitter. If I wasn’t plagued by cramps from having dodgy hamstrings it would improve. The most important thing here though, is just how wonderful I found my rediscovery of diving. (Photo: Blue tailed skink, I think - Kadidiri, Togean Islands, Sulawesi)
Travelling has become tiring. Don't get me wrong, I'm not fed up with it, just weary of the hassle of organising transport and hotels. Lethargy rules, I don't want to look for yet another hotel, negotiate with yet another taxi driver. On the flip side of the coin though, I can't imagine trying to lead a mundane life either.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Any personal information sent via my comments facility will not be published unless deemed devoid of personal content. You can, therefore, send me contact information. Thank you!