All of the Sunset Survivors and Irina climb into a boat. We are off to a dive resort. When we arrive the dive master, Crispin ( English and here for 25 years), wasn’t expecting us and it took a while get our gear ready. The resort is empty. Renovating post COVID. We spend almost 3 hours waiting while dive tanks were filled. This is done direct from a small compressor since there isn’t enough power to run a big compressor. This is certainly not the two minute zip from a big tank at home.
But we do get to catch up with other backpackers, eg Tim and Taco from Gorontalo.
Rats, rats, rats is the shared experience. They ate my soap says Taco, they got in my bag and the food is bad here. We came to your place to see if we can get in.
People are changing plans.. Oh, Ive heard at Una Una the rats are even worse.

If I was trying to sell tourism to Sulawesi I think at this point I’ve lost the audience.

To recap at Sunset camp we also have rats but we have good simple food. And the vege changes everyday. And the eight of us are having a good time and have become quite a team.

For our first dive we were in two groups. Crispin was the leader for the advanced and Irina who used to be a dive master was our leader. She knew we were new divers rated to 18 metres. Almost immediately we were too deep. Checking my computer I realised we were past 28 metres. We are meant to stay at 18 but Irina was lower. Much lower. Not what a dive master should do. You follow your leader and she was chasing the sharks. Just doing her own thing she was up and down like a yoyo. And I was too. It takes just seconds to descend five metres and of course I find harder to control my trim. In the few minutes between looking at my BCD computer I would be at different depth. Steve who was behind me, has a brand spanking dive computer watch. And stayed at correct depth. I will get one before our next trip. They do the same but are easier to see on your wrist.

aaagh I came up when I didn’t mean to. Too light. The gear changes. Thin Shorty wetsuit. I asked my weight last time; they said 4kg so that’s what I asked for.
I need six. I couldn’t get down. Crispin had an extra weight which he put in my BCD pocket.

I’m feeling just a little bit cranky. The diving is a bit of a challenge.

Back on board Crispin said the sharks are very fat, we call them gravy sharks. He actually said grey reef sharks. I heard it as gravy sharks and that’s so much better.

We went back to camp for lunch. Fish, rice, pumpkin in coconut. Voted the best yet.

Four of us have signed up for an afternoon dive with Crispin. Irish couple Jenni and Cal and us.
I have no idea how the boatmen find their way across the ocean to the dive sites.
We just seem to head into the blue yonder. No instruments and I can’t see what they use as bearings.

We all rolled off the boat to the count of three. Then descended down and through a mini canyon. Several spectacular huge fan corals growing vertical off the side. It was a wonderful sight.
Crispin was consistent and easy to follow. Oh, so much better. It was spectacular topography. Underwater mountain scape.
Fabulous dive. When we came to the surface. The sky was dark.
Ooh there’s a wind now choppy waves, grey clouds and we motored home with the wind and the rain in our faces, so aways the style queen, I put my goggles back on for the journey.
Coming back upstairs we met seven dogs on the stairs. We watch the sunset from our hammocks and Thierence flies his drone. OMG. fabulous footage. And Solan showed us the app they use for travel to keep the family in the loop – polarstep gives a map with your journey and one photo for a location next time.

It’s our last night with the eight of us around the table “The Sunset Survivors.” We sat laughing and inevitably looped back around to Chiara’s rat in her mattress nightmare. We have even more business plans for her. A game of Wackamole with rat mattress after the rat massage.

And then we wish each other our new sleep time wish – “Have a boring night “