Tuesday 6 January – the men go diving and see more Manta rays

Rowan and Dani were off to go diving just after 8am, Phoebs and I were both in need of a recovery day doing nothing. The men had gone diving with a local homestay, very relaxed, and just the two of them diving. The crowd we had tried to book diving with Clint and Xavi were totally unreliable. This guy took them straight down to the feeding station, because of the current you have to hold onto something otherwise you are just swept away. They saw 7 mantas in reasonable visibility so it was a great success, one was the enormous Oceanic Manta which was very impressive.

Dani went for a second dive in the afternoon and saw some lovely coral and colourful Nudibranch. It’s a type of slime-oozing sea slug in amazing colours and patterns. Dani had a great time diving and looking at them close up as they are pretty small. When he got back he and Phoebs went for a walk on the beach. I was lying beneath the fan! It wasn’t long before a big squall descended, it seemed like our anchor was dragging, as we were getting very close to the reef, so I had to get up and help Rowan get us forward. Phoebs and Dani returned in very choppy water, my goodness the state of the sea can turn so quickly. When the squall had passed we picked up the anchor chain and moved us forward a bit. Plus we had to retie our stern line as it was rubbing against a bit of rock. Never a dull moment. That finished off the evening for us. Rowan had invited the two boats to join us for drinks but Phoebs and I were not up for it. The drinks relocated on another boat, Rowan paddle boarded over with his beers to join the Aussies and had a very jolly time. We had not even noticed Banana Split leave the anchorage in the morning.