Grim's Mid-Life Crisis

A gorgeous sunrise greeted us as we prepped gear for our first dive on Atauro. A short boat ride to the training reef, but long enough to be cooking in our wetsuits in the morning sun. Lots of buddy checks and a roll off the boat into the most spectacular 26 degree, coral and tropical fish marine garden. A few refresher skills and a tour around the reef and it was time to head back to shore to get fresh air tanks.

Fresh tanks on board we headed back out to the ‘home’ reef directly offshore from our site. This wall reef allowed us to get a bit more depth and get a look at some amazing coral formations.

Gear and lunch all cleaned up, we sat back and were presented a session on plastics in our ocean prior to our first beach clean up. The stats are horrific and a real reminder of the plastic waste crisis we have got ourselves in.

A world renown shark conservationist and marine biologist David McGuire just happened to be on the island so came to in give us a lecture on the issues facing the destruction of shark species, especially due to the delicacy shark fin soup. The impact this is having on smaller species is a significant problem to smaller fish species and the whole marine ecological balance.

A sunset beach clean up and the resulting waste sort and recording finished the day and apart from a few games of cards later on we all slipped away to the huts for some dreams of the following days diving.

All aboard the HMV SUCCESS for the 3-hour ferry ride to the island of Atauro. Eyes peeled for whales and dolphins known to frequent these waters or for some a chance to curl up and take a nap.

As Atauro Island came into closer view the sense of excitement of what the next 5 weeks will hold became real as we looked down at the deep blue sea and almost mountainous parched landscape under a sweltering sun. The disappointment of being on the wrong side of the boat when dolphins were spotted, quickly forgotten as we gather our things and prepare to disembark.

The rest of the day disappeared in a blur of eating, site familiarization, meeting the rest of the Blue Ventures team, unpacking, gear setup, risk assessment scenarios, team swim, nana nap, more eating and a couple of games of monopoly deal before slipping into bed with the fan on and mosquito net tightly tucked into the mattress, alarms set for early morning dive prep.

Playing tourist on our last day in Dili found the team hearing about the sobering hardship and atrocities a lot of Timorese women faced through the Indonesian occupation, and the work the local women’s movement is doing to improve the life of women in Timor Leste.
A visit to a traditional weaving studio and the local food market rounded off the morning leaving enough time for lunch, escape the heat and a siesta with the luxury of Aircon before the afternoon’s activities

Once the temperature had dropped a few degrees we headed off to the fascinating Arte Moris, a quirky art space featuring not only paintings but the most oddball junk sculptures in a rundown setting

Having managed to hire a microlet with the biggest subwoofers in Dili conversation was limited on our transfer to my second visit to Christa Rae statue and the peculiar site of people running the 600 odd steps in running gear I would suggest more akin to 5 degrees and rain, not 25 degrees and beating sun.

Our stay in Dili concluded with a meal and a few cold ones watching the sun set over the ocean and tomorrow’s destination Atauro Island.

Summary of the day:

1. Learn all about the things under the water that can kill or maim us
2. Make sure we have all our insurance papers in order should we get killed or maimed
3. Brief medic discussion to ensure we are not already killed or maimed
4. Sign lots of waivers to remove any blame if killed or maimed
5. Sort out local SIM cards to keep in touch with loved ones who would have an issue with us being killed or maimed

To be fair the most dangerous thing we really need to contend with are the local yellow taxis which are obviously exempt from the need to pass any form of vehicle road worthiness test. Who needs door handles when the massive subwoofer in the boot is cranked up and functioning perfectly!

Finally a quick visit to the supermarket to buy some last minute supplies and decide if we all chip in to buy 4 litres of Johnny Walker whiskey at the bargain basement price of $240.90 US….top shelf…supermarket top shelf

It seems that I was the only tourist out on the town today. A day when the local language school decided to let the students loose on the city to ‘interview’ English speaking tourists.

…..Ten ‘interviews’ later on such topics as, Why is respect important? How does study affect your dreams? and my personal favourite What is love? I found myself climbing the 600 odd steps to the 27m high statue Cristo Rei where the views over the city and surrounding countryside were stunning.

Five more ‘interviews’ on the way back down the hill and and an impromptu Tetun language lesson while waiting for the minibus (microlet) back to the city. The microlets charge 25c wherever you get off on the route and to stop the bus just tap a coin on the metal handrail. Works amazingly well. Although the city feels like it is overrun with Scooby Doo vans where the inside joke is who can install the largest mud flaps

An eventful day concluded with a gathering of the expedition team and welcome dinner…Marine science class begins in the morning!

The day started with an early taxi ride through the narrow Bali streets back to the airport, stress levels slightly elevated thanks to the Bali marathon and the seemingly random detours the Balinise army sent us on. Who needs traffic management when you can just fill the streets with soldiers.

A quick 2 hour flight to Dili followed by the obligatory hour of standing in sweltering queues….and apparently Timor Leste customs also don’t care if you declare you are carrying weapons when entering the country, Welcome to Timor Leste

After meeting one of my fellow expedition volunteers we decided on a leisurely afternoon wander around the city. This initial reconnaissance was to prove useful later when we headed back out into the barely lit streets for an evening meal.

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With a surprisingly hilly landscape, the busy Dili streets led us to the ocean where we got our first glimpse of Atauro Island which is to be our home for the next 6 weeks

Emotional goodbyes and two uneventful flights behind me, I find myself in the tropical sweatshop of Bali with just enough time for a quick look around and dip in the pool before the sun goes down. With a 9am flight tomorrow to Timor-Leste a proper explore will have to wait till my return in 6 weeks.

I think the Bali customs officer processing me needs to resit his customs 101 exam. I declared on my arrival form that I had weapons in my luggage (2 dive knives). He looked at the form, smiled and ushered me into the country…how welcoming!