the blue hole

on the way back from the blue hole i kept searching my mind for superlatives; for powerfull words; for exagerations;

then i decided i was being ridiculous: instead of filling my weblog with superlatives, i'll just write what i remember, and add some of the pictures i took; that way you can decide it was great for yourselves ;)


so, we started at 7:30; Niklas picked me up;

i had awoken at four at night with a stomach-ache and had to do some reiki on myself (among other things) to get it under control; then i woke up again at five, then at six and ... something ... so i was a bit sleepy when i got out of the house to meet him.



after we got to the dive shop, we got our gear together ("does anyone need more weights?" "when i call your name, please tell me what gear you still need" and all that ... i was still sleepy), then we got in the cars, and we started on the road;


the ferry trip to gozo was cool (despite waiting in a long line of cars);




apparently, there's no way to go from there, which means that once you get there by ferry, you come back by ferry: you only pay the tickets on your way back; (it's a strange, strange world!)


here's a picture of gozo's wasteland, on the way there:



we arrived at about 10 and something and started putting our gear together; that was a while also (and i discovered that i can barely lift my BCD w/ tank and 12 kg of lead attached to it)



then, we got to the blue hole; there were about 5 dive-shop cars around, and about five other ones when we got out; the site was packed with divers;


there are two natural stone bridges there: one, ten meters above the water;

(it's called the blue window)

the other one, at sea level and we passed under it;



and we saw two big barracudas (i think that's what they're called); they were almost a meter long;




we also saw the entrance to a small cave (which unfortunately i didn't get to go into, because of my low - at the time - air supply :( )

here's two of the guys in the cave (no additional lighting :( ):



and here are some additional photos from the first dive:


right under the blue window


divers going up



the blue hole from a side (and down :D)


looking up from inside the blue hole


almost surfaced


at the surface



during the surface interval i had some sausages and chips, a few drinks (no alcohol since i'm not suicidal), and something sweet. that was not interesting (so, no pictures! :) )



then, we started on the second dive, to the inland sea;




basically, the water entry was through the tunnel; then, we went around the shore, to come out through the blue hole again;


my diving buddy (ok? ok!)

the inside of the cave makes for one of the most interesting sights i've ever seen:




after that point, the dive was ... a normal one (but no less spectacular).

on the unpleasant side, i got stung by a jelly-fish, again, in the same spot as yesterday, just much worse; at this point it looks like a hot-burn, and does not bother me at all :)

the place was full of them!

also on the unpleasant side, it's definitely not a site for a 3mm short wet-suit; as you go through the thermocline you start wishing you were in a warm bed, drinking a hot tea, under the warm sun, or in front of the fire (you get the picture :))
after surfacing for both dives, i was a few minutes short of hypothermia ... i think :(


on the interesting side, this was the first time i noticed getting narked; at some point (around 21m during the second dive), i started feeling ... funny (i felt like laughing, and was a bit unclear as to what i want to do: kept checking my gage, clearing my mask, taking a picture, checking my gage ... looking around, taking a picture but not quite continuously - i wasn't that narked!

but i have a few pictures which i cannot explain (why i found so interesting)


so, the dive (more or less) technical data:
the blue hole:
max depth: 27.5
bottom time: 45
safety stop: 3 minutes at 5 meters
water temperature: 19 Celsius
visibility: 14m (give or take a few)

inland sea:
max depth: 26
bottom time: 45
safety stop: 3 minutes at 6 meters
water temperature: 19 Celsius
visibility: 14m