Phi Phi - Day 1

We took the 8:30 a.m. ferry to Phi Phi and arrived around 11:30 after wasting 30 minutes circling Phi Phi Ley Island so tourists could marvel at the site of sand where Leon DiCaprio walked (gag me).  We got checked in to our hotel rooms, which are cute little bungalows, 2 to a room.   Because our time is limited here this year, we went out on the dive boat in the early afternoon and managed to get two dives in; the second was a short dive since it was later in the afternoon.  We had great diving conditions: flat seas, almost no current, and good visibility.  

We met in the dive shop before going out to the the dive boat.

While we waited, Abby did some kind of girly thing to Anna's hair.

On the dive deck, we have rows and rows of tanks.  If we do a two-tank trip, we need at least 52 (26 x 2) tanks.  That's because we have 18 students, 2 ajarns, and 6 instructors.

As we departed, here's a look back at the dock.

We're headed to Ko Bida Nok, that's the closest island you see here.  Phi Phi Don is barely visible at the top of this photo.  They're all part of the 6 island Phi Phi group.

Andrew Hewett, the owner of the Adventure Club and leader of our coral reef program is talking with our students.

On the way out, the crew gave a general briefing to the group about boat rules, etc.

Afterwards, the students were broken up into their smaller 3-4 person dive groups, each with their own instructor.  Thus, the students have very close personal supervision while diving.  Here is Instructor Nuria giving a briefing to Franny, Alex, and the seemingly disinterested Ajarn Wayne.

Divemaster Charlie is giving the briefing to Max, Moose, Colin, and Luke.

Instructor Lena with Anna, Kyle, Gabby, and Katie.

Instructor Josh with Abby, Alyssa, Jaime, and Savannah.

And Blaire, Rebecca, Annie, and Emily with Instructor Dani.

After the briefings, we went down to the dive deck to gear up.  Here are Gabby, Colin, Moose, Max, and Luke.

Kyle, Katie, Gabby, Anna.

Alyssa required that this be a blog photo.

Annie.

Alyssa and Abby are clearly nervous before their first dive.

This was a great first dive with excellent conditions and lots to see.  As soon as we descended, we saw three really big cuttlefish, probably one male with two females.

The male tried to frighten us away by raising his two tentacles in a threat posture.

Red tailed butterflyfish.

Lined butterflyfish.

Here is Instructor Lena with her group.  Andrew is off to the left with his camera.

Anna.

Kyle.

Katie and Gabby.

A small school of golden rabbitfish

Enormous schools of snappers... I think they're golden-line snappers.

Notice the moral eel tucked in between the mushroom coral and sea cucumber.

Abby.

I think this is Savannah.  It takes a while before I get to recognize the student underwater.  I might get a few wrong, but the students will let me know.

Lots of beautiful soft corals.

Time to head back to dock.  This was a great day (yet again...).