Two weeks in paradise, on the island Velavaru we dived with Ocean-Pro Dive Team. The time was really dreamy. I've rarely been so relaxed and have forgotten time and the world. Just a pity that in the Maldives in 1997 the corals had suffered badly from coral bleaching. Above about 5-6 meters everything was pretty much dead. Photos from the dry side of the Maldives can be found here.
Fig. 1: Probably a small pygmy goby lying between sponges and corals. Mahi Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 22 October 2002Fig. 2: A beautiful oriental sweetlips. They are very common at the Maldives and often in groups. Mahi Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 22 October 2002Fig. 3: An indian parrotfish. Mahi Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 22 October 2002Fig. 4: Three funny Clark's anemonefish. Usually one finds a pair of them in the same anemone: one with a white nose and one with an orange nose. Mahi Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 22 October 2002Fig. 5: Cuckoo! A smiling little fish peeping out of a hole inmidsd some sponges. Mahi Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 22 October 2002Fig. 6: A leather coral at Fushi Kandu, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 23 October 2002Fig. 7: A yellowhead butterflyfish at Kanney Faru, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 8: A parrotfish smiling into the camera. Kanney Faru, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 9: Christmas tree or spiral tube worms. Kanney Faru, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 10: Graeffe's sea cucumber with some cute fractal shaped feet Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 11: Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 12: Close-up of a gorgony. Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 13: A big shell that looks like a pair of lips. Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 14: A clown triggerfish which looks like a pop-art submarine. Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 15: Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 16: Thousands of small glass fish. Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 17: Kahambu Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 24 October 2002Fig. 18: Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 19: Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 20: Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 21: Surgeon fish Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 22: A swarm of glass fish. Udhoo, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 23: . This is the only nudibranch of this type we saw during two weeks. The dive guide got very excited when he discovered it. Udhoo, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 24: Is it a shell embedded in a coral or a punk girl's tattooed vulva? :-) Udhoo, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 25: Yet another lion fish — Udhoo, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 26: Udhoo, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 27: Udhoo, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 28: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 29: A small red lion fish. Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 30: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 31: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 25 October 2002Fig. 32: Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 26 October 2002Fig. 33: A swarm of red snappers. Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 26 October 2002Fig. 34: Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 26 October 2002Fig. 35: Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 26 October 2002Fig. 36: Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 26 October 2002Fig. 37: Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 26 October 2002Fig. 38: Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 26 October 2002Fig. 39: They swim in a gorgony like a hummingbird from blossom to blossom Velavaru Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 27 October 2002Fig. 40: Velavaru Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 27 October 2002Fig. 41: A Forster's hawkfish lying on a coral. Velavaru Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 27 October 2002Fig. 42: Velavaru Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 27 October 2002Fig. 43: Velavaru Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 27 October 2002Fig. 44: Velavaru Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 27 October 2002Fig. 45: Velavaru Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 27 October 2002Fig. 46: Bandidhoo Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 47: Bandidhoo Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 48: Bandidhoo Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 49: A lizardfish lying on the ground and waiting for its prey. Bandidhoo Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 50: Bandidhoo Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002 Fig. 51: Looks like some alien monster from outher space. Bandidhoo Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 52: Bandidhoo Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 53: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 54: This giant moray doesn't look very friendly. Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 55: Three moorish idol fish. One of them was later caught and put into a dentists aquarium in Sydney. Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 56: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 57: I live in an anemomemonememy Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 58: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 59: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 60: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 61: Udhoo Wall, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 28 October 2002Fig. 62: Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 29 October 2002Fig. 63: Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 29 October 2002Fig. 64: A giant moray and a cleaner wrasse. Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 29 October 2002Fig. 65: Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 29 October 2002Fig. 66: Kuda Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 29 October 2002Fig. 67: Meedhoo Corner, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 29 October 2002Fig. 68: Velavaru Beach, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 30 October 2002Fig. 69: Lhohi Caves, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 30 October 2002Fig. 70: Lhohi Caves, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 30 October 2002Fig. 71: A bluefin trevally (Caranx melampygus) also known as bluefin jack, bluefin kingfish, bluefinned crevalle, blue ulua, omilu and spotted trevally. A small remora has suck on its side. Lhohi Caves, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 30 October 2002Fig. 72: You are looking into the mouth of a yellow-edged moray. Although it looks dangerous this moray was not attacking me. It was breathing and looking out of its hole. Lhohi Caves, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 30 October 2002Fig. 73: Lhohi Caves, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 30 October 2002Fig. 74: Please love me, I'm a cute sea turtle. Nilandhoo Kandu, North-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 31 October 2002Fig. 75: Somehow the flash wasn't working, so I removed the colours from this picture. Later I found out that the sync cable wasn't plugged in properly and that the electrical contacts got wet. Nilandhoo Kandu, North-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 31 October 2002Fig. 76: Miyaru Giri, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 1 November 2002Fig. 77: A scorpionfish, well carmouflaged on a rock of corals. Miyaru Giri, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 1 November 2002Fig. 78: A blotched fantail ray was sleeping under a rock. Beru Thila, South-Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 2 November 2002Fig. 79: A giant pufferfish is swimming in open water and looking directly into the camera. E990; Δt=1/191 s; f=12.1 mm; f/3.6; ISO 100; 29 October 2002 09:38:42
