Sunday November 12th

We made a leisurely start to the day as the dive boat was picking us up at 9.15am. They arrived near on time and we were soon relaxing aboard for a 1 hour cruise up to the north of the island. The boat was modelled on the local fishing boats and more substantial than typical dive craft with plenty of space for both gear stowage and people to spread out in the shade or sun. We had longer than usual to relax and watch the shore go by (though it was quite hazy today) as we were dropping a couple of divers in for a deep dive first before we took in some more shallow reef. Up at this site our GPS revealed we were all of 35km (22 miles) from Kampot (see Oct 21st) and not much further than Sihanoukville; you have to carry a passport in case the Vietnamese army (who have a base at the north of the island, which Cambodia has claimed in the past) stop the boat.

Our two dives were pleasant but not spectacular, but the water is a great temperature for staying down a long time. The fish are small here and the coral is not dramatic, but it is very much undamaged and healthy. The dive sites are also shallow so the scene is bright despite the limited visibility (it's early in the dive season here so visibility rapidly improves). Highlight was seeing a several foot long bamboo shark (harmless) in a cave, luckily a guy we dove with had a flashlight/ torch to pick it out.

After our two dives they fed us an excellent meal of local specialties and we were well relaxed by the time we were dropped off again at Mango Bay, in time to do very little for the rest of the day!