Sometimes, what divers see from the surface can be as impressive as what we see underwater. This week in Bunaken, an extraordinarily large dolphin pod kept us company not once, but two days in a row. We estimate the pod of around 100 at times, circling both boats. And even seasoned dive guides get a little excited by that.
Our guests on Silvia had encountered the pod first, and whilst there were lots of ‘oohs’ and ‘awws’ from the deck, photographers were kneeling on both sides of the bow to get the best shots of the dolphins riding the bow wave, senior dive guide Fenly made it to the top deck, where he could be seen dancing and heard singing. Maybe that’s what attracted the dolphins in the first place?
All the action wasn’t missed by our guests on nearby Blazing, which quickly drew closer to the action. For a while we had the pod playing between both boats, swimming across, breaching from time to time and simply enjoying the ride.
With Easter fast approaching, the dive centre has been busy this past week, with two full boats out on most days. Our most recent day trip to the northern islands of the Bunaken Marine National Park, Mantehage, brought sightings of a large schools of Barracuda and our guests enjoyed having all three dive sites to themselves.
Sadly, we had to say good bye to newly qualified PADI instructors Roya and Simon, who completed an internship with us after their instructor course, but hopefully we’ll see them again, as guests or colleagues. Miss you already!
