Komodo & Maumere with a good friend
After a quick dash back to the UK to celebrate my Dad’s 70th birthday it was now time for Komodo and Maumere.
Unfortunately I brought more than a new dive light and English chocolate away with me when I left the UK as I arrived in Komodo with sinus and congestion which is just what you need when you have a week of liveaboard diving in front of you!
I was excited to meet up with my whale man! The one and only Duncan Murrell who had won this trip from a devil ray photo submission and was kind enough to invite me along on this trip.
The planning and communication on this had been quite poor and with only 2 days before I left for the trip was I informed that the boat will not be returning to the original port in Labuan Bajo instead a place called Maumere..... great!
I arrive in Labuan Bajo and again confronted with an array of taxi drivers.... who shall it be.... he’ll do! Bags all loaded in the taxi and off we go on our 7 min journey.... just before the hotel there was a steep unfinished road, and the 15 year old tires of the taxi can’t hold the road so off we go over the edge.....it’s gonna be a trip to remember
The morning of the pick up comes and I have no idea what time I’m being collected if at all, time ticks by and after many unsuccessful attempts to contact someone which also included mind power and smoke signals it looked like I had been forgotten, check out time comes and I’m just about to be made homeless when the hotel remembers that someone called to say they would collect me at 11:30..... the hotel didn’t think it was important enough to relay the message...
Anyway I’m picked up and now on the boat! Not the best I had been on but was clean and comfortable and I paid single supplement so I knew the tiny cabin was all mine!
I meet with Duncan, and he was identical to how I left him in Raja Ampat, full of life and adventure! It was also going to be his 66th birthday in 2 days! This man has the energy and enthusiasm of a 21 year old! I left my 70 year old dad who can hardly do his shoelaces up to Duncan who had just spent weeks kayaking! Evidence that working and slogging your guts out everyday is not better than living and being free!
After the greetings and hugs it was time to lay claim to space in the cramped camera room! It’s funny because everyone watches everyone else get there gear out, trying not to feel intimated that someone has a bigger rig or may know more, luckily on this trip only 3 photographers and all were great and of course the GoPro man!
Camera all set up and now time for dive gear. I worked with Duncan to get him set up and bought him a pointer, Duncan still only open water trained and the only non-nitrox Diver on the boat.... I already know the 18m will be exceeded.... little did I know Duncan would do a quick tech dive ;-)
Try out dive all done, everything good, we are all set for the morning dive.... or so I thought..
So, let’s put a few things into context.. I have over 3000 dives, over 13 years, in all conditions and temperatures, I have more certifications than the new Thai King, to add to that Trimix Diver and tech instructor I have never aborted a dive for any reason ever..... so dive aborted at 2m on the first proper dive of the trip!
Unfortunately the sinus issues was more serious than I gave it credit for and as soon as I descended the initial pressure reacted on a newly installed crown in my mouth.. the pain was so bad it was if someone was pulling my tooth out! Nothing I could do would allow me to get past 2m, so dive aborted..... cursing and swearing at the thought the Indonesian dentist had created the issue I then started to think that a denture problem would more likely occur on way up as a bubble would increase not on way down.... so why the pain?.... the next few dives followed the same course but I found a solution that if I kept pressure in my nose I could get down.... as soon as I would surface from a dive I had blood streaming from my nose, but it was a play off.... over next few days all pain and blood ceased and the cause all along was congestion and sinus! So the learning opportunity here is to not dive when blocked or to not fly so much as it’s from this I got my problem.
The diving after was ok, for me I have been spoilt with the places I have been and that’s something I need to accept. We saw mantas, sharks all the normal gang. Currents were ok, except the expected rough ride of couldron and shot gun which was good fun. Duncan did well with his diving and Ima the cruise director was excellent, patient and accommodating with him! Even a short compression dive for Duncan!
Hiked up a mountain on Duncan’s birthday and the group serenaded him at the top, visited the dragons which was good to see! But the one thing I will take from the trip was the village visit. We rocked up to this remote island and village and I was taken aback by the plastic and garbage pollution, I don’t have words and only some photos to try and show this.... these people were just living around plastic everywhere.... let’s be Frank here, I would say 75% was washed up from the sea but the rest was local village garbage just thrown to the ground.... more needs to be done with teaching, education and government bans on single use plastics!
Anyway staying around the village and playing hide and seek with the kids was lovely, they are not corrupt with iPhones and computer games, they are outside playing, smiling and albeit in poverty there was a genuine happiness and contentment here.
We played soccer on the beach with the kids who found it good fun to have these few older white men playing with them, the shy ones hiding around the corners peering around when they think it’s safe, but give a kid a ball and they all come together! Before the soccer I tried to get a photo with them all, but they ran off shy and not sure, after the soccer the picture came and I will let you judge the outcome yourself. a truly humbling experience.
A final night on the boat and farewells to everyone including Duncan, who’s path I hope will cross mine again someday, I hope he gets that book started because it’s a life of adventure, photography, conservation and action! All I will say Duncan if you ever read this.... the devil ray is your spiritual guide! You will know what I mean.
So trip over, and early morning transfer to Maumere and flight to Labuan Bajo! Mark for the time being is dived and travelled out, I need to regroup and take a break and focus on the business at home for a while, until it’s time to return and focus on tech and photography diving.
