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Published: July 14th 2014
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On The Wall
I love seeing the deep blue depths on one side and the corals and small fish on the wall. Well I am almost caught up on my blogging. This is my second down day since diving Mabul and Sipadan. I dove five days in a row, three dives a day and that is very tiring for me. When I got back from diving Sipadan I got a nice hotel, showered and collapsed on my bed. I woke at twelve thirty and thought I probably wouldn't find a restaurant still open. Luckily there is one with good food and good vibes. The men were engrossed in the World Cup soccer tournament re-runs and I took my Kindle with me. I had roti for desert; just plain, but I dipped it in sugar. It wasn't too sweet and so tasty.
The trip to Sipadan began when I bought a package, three days accommodation on Mabul, dives and meals included. Two days we dove Mabul and the surrounding islands. Then I had one day diving in Sipadan. I looked forward to going to Mabul Island because then it is only five or ten minutes to the dive sites instead of 45 mins to an hour. The hotel was Spartan but OK. The Dive Masters were great. The food only so so. I
Deep and Clear
It was like diving with my buddy since I was the only diver with my dive master. did not have a rat in my room, although the manager said it is quite common since the rooms are built on a wharf extending out onto the sea. My room was number 1, right beside the common room at the front of the establishment. It was convenient and the noise as people begin to gather let me know when meals were, since I don't have a watch, and when to get ready to go diving. There were several other photographers there so I learned a little more about my camera during the two days we dove Mabul.
At last the day to dive Sipadan arrived. It is only twenty minutes from Mabul to Sipadan, but in our case it was an hour and forty-five minutes, plus an hour standing around waiting for folks to gather, because we had to go all the way back to Semporna, catch a different boat and go all the way back to Sipadan. But it was worth it. After a brief trip to the office on Sipadan to sign in we were on our way to the first dive. We started from where the boat was moored and swam to Barracuda Reef.
One of My Favorite Fish
Colorful, it looks like a cousin to the Pacific NW greenling. I did the back roll into the water, grabbed my camera and my dive master and I took off. The first dive was on a wall that went down forever. There is a whole different feel to diving in Sipadan. I don't know what it is, but the water seems silkier, even bad visibility seems better somehow, and there is a charge to the air we breathe. The next dive was on Barracuda Reef and then we had lunch. For the third dive we swam from where the boat was moored to the same reef and the diving was even more incredible. There was so much to see and photograph that I barely had time to compose a shot and I was late for the next. Amazing diving. I think Sipadan really is one of the top ten dive sites in the world.
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