The first activity planned for the day was a visit to the caves. Helen had woken to a sore throat and, having seen them before, stayed behind. We all wanted to get there before anyone else so we left around 8am. Just before we left the villagers turned up with lobsters. Only they went to the big posh boat next door and sold them to them instead. Shortly after, a kid came round on a small banged up kayak selling some pretty small lobsters. As it was all we were going to get we took them.
At the caves we found the entrance locked. With the alternative being to wait til later we decided to climb over the wall that was there to keep us out. We had money and had every intention to pay our way. We made it in and were soon in the water. I had a couple of goes trying to climb up to the ledge to jump in and failed both times. We first visited the spitting cave on the right hand side. Brian got an attack of claustrophobia and decided to stay outside. The rest of us went in and swam to the chimney. All enjoyed the experience.
Next was the wriggle through the pregnancy cave. This time it was just me, Holly and Ben. Once up inside the cave it wasn’t too difficult to make our way through and out through the water on the other side. I made another attempt to climb up to the ledge and this time made it. I would have been really unhappy if I had not succeeded this time so I’m glad I did. After a brief rest I dove into the water.
By now the water level had gone down a little and Brian was able to make it into the spitting cave. With Ben we made the swim to the chimney. On the way Ben noticed an offshoot passage to the left. We had a look down there. Soon it turned into an underwater passage going off into the dark. I descended to look up and see if the were any air pockets. There weren’t so we didn’t go any further.
As we were leaving the caves they were opened up and the next lot of people came in. The guy looking after the caves and collecting the entrance fees was a bit cross and gave us a lecture. What else could he do? Eat us? We paid up, said our thank yous and left.
The water was now quite flat so we decided to fire up the hookah. Ben, Brian and I used it to explore the edge of the reef by the shore here. There is a mini-wall all along, perfect for an introduction to hookah diving. We saw quite a lot of fish. some colourful clams and plenty of vibrant coral – the reefs here being very much alive.
By now it was lunch and time to eat. I felt exhausted so went for an afternoon nap along with practically everyone else. In the afternoon Brian explored the shore. Later I took Janine and Holly out, meeting up with Brian, to collect firewood for an evening fire. Once that was prepared Janine and Holly took the kayak out to explore some more. I needed another rest. Somethings got me pooped.
After dinner we dinghied ashore and sat around the fire while the sunset and the sky went dark. John from the village turned up towards the end. It was good to see him again. We had hoped to meet him earlier but he’d only just arrived. He was hoping to borrow my wetsuit to go spear fishing. We asked if he could catch us a lobster and he said he’d try. In the end I loaned him the dinghy too to make things easier.
We finished the evening watching a movie during which the villagers who’d sold the lobsters to the other boat showed up with some more. Brian negotiated a price for them which we’ll eat for breakfast. John showed up later with another nice size lobster and a slipper lobster. Breakfast will be sweet.
The plan for today is to sail south to Manta Ray Resort where we have just enough daylight time today to catch a sight of the mantas. Hopefully. We may well eat out at the resort tonight.
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