Raja Ampat – Day 1: All Aboard the Sea Safari VI!
RAJA AMPAT
Day 1: All Aboard the Sea Safari VI!
May 07, 2023
Four flights and some thirty hours later, I found myself in Sorong – practically in the middle of nowhere. At the airport, waiting for me was Dominic – this long-haired, cowabunga-looking kinda dude holding up a whiteboard with “Sea Safari VI” scribbled over it – the name of the ship I’d be calling home for the next week.
The first thing that struck me as soon as I stepped out of the air-conditioned building was the intense heat and humidity – the hot, sweaty, sticky kind. You’d think years of weathering Maltese summers would have had me prepared for it, but you’d definitely be wrong. I craved the cold, crispy Patagonian air right there and then.
As I lay there self-commiserating, Dominic led me to a few others who had joined a few minutes before I did – Keith, an ancient British guy who’s apparently logged more dives than heartbeats in his seventy-something years of life, and Ebe, a South Korean chick whose friendly demeanour did nothing to break the ice. Joined by Alex, a guy from Cali who, at that point, gave me typical obnoxious American vibes, we were all set to go.
Each of us loaded our luggage onto the cab and after a short ride, we were at the pier. I think it was at that point that it all hit me. I was on the road yet again, experiencing all the world has to offer, setting my eyes on beautiful landscapes, and meeting people from all over and from all walks of life. It had been just a few weeks since I had gone from that life to the stifling, boring one back in Malta, but it felt as if I had continued right where I had left things off. And lemme just say, it felt so good to be back!
All Aboard the Pirate Ship!
As I stared at the horizon – the calm, grey water with foreboding clouds looming above it – I could barely contain my excitement. I couldn’t quite believe it.
One year back, I had never so much as given a second thought to diving. Now, as a fully qualified divemaster, I was already working on my diving bucket list. Crazy! Crazier still is how a bunch of complete strangers can immediately bond over this one thing. How like-minded all divers are when it comes to this respect. How the sea manages to connect people. Above the surface, one can be a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer, but below it, we are all alike, and all we seem to care about is being down there.
As we chatted about our diving experience and about the upcoming one, Dominic pointed us towards a Zodiac that was waiting to take us to our ship. Even just being on the water felt restorative – like it had been way too long. After a few minutes, the ship we’d be sailing on came into view – there, in all its glory, was the Sea Safari VI; a pirate-ship-looking Phinisi ship with its blue and white striped hull, a golden dragon on the bowsprit, four wooden decks, and two masts towering above it. Just looking at it awoke in me the spirit of adventure and exploration. Then I stepped onto the ship wondering what kind of person would step off it in a few days’ time.
As the crew welcomed us with a drink and a moist towelette, we were led to the dining area; a rustic room where we’d be having our briefings and meals. All sat down, Johnny, the cruise director, gave us a warm welcome and introduced himself and the rest of the crew. With that, we could finally enjoy our breakfast – a buffet-style banquet with a wide assortment of delicious food.
After each of us had our fair share, all the while chatting like we had known each other for years, we were given some time to explore the ship and settle into our cabins. Mine would be on the first deck, down the stairs from the dining room on the port side. The five by five-metre wooden cabin, small though it might be, had all the essentials, including a very enticing Queen-sized bed, an AC which would definitely come in handy in these climes, a porthole I could look wistfully outside of, and an ensuite which I promptly used to shower off the stench of travelling.
As the walls creaked and the room swayed lightly from one side to the other, it took me back to my days spent aboard the G Expedition back in Antarctica. This would be yet another room in the unending list that I’d be staying in. Each and every day, I’d be coming into this room filled with new memories, new adventures. This room would see me changing, becoming a different person, dive after dive, day after day.
Lost in Translation
With some downtime on my hands, I got to make use of the coffee machine, all the while chatting with Toulouse and Ali – two locals working on the ship as room attendants. On more occasion than one, I found myself addressing them in Spanish, having grown so accustomed to speaking exclusively that language when travelling over the previous few months. Now, in a completely different continent with a completely different language, I found myself linguistically helpless.
Shortly after, we were joined by four other girls from Singapore and two guys from Saudi Arabia. Whilst during my previous trip the idea of meeting new people would kinda set me off and bring out my lone wolf demeanour in wanting to be alone and by myself, the fact that I was finally meeting new people was one I was actually fine with. I’m not gonna say I was elated, but ‘fine’ is already a huge improvement overall. After they too had their breakfast, we started sailing toward the archipelago of Raja Ampat as we were shown a brief introductory video regarding safety precautions and emergency procedures. Then, Johnny proceeded to explain to us the configuration of the ship:
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First deck:
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- Stern: Engine room
- Centre: Cabins
- Bow: Crew area
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Second deck:
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- Stern: Dive equipment set-up area
- Centre: Dining area
- Bow: Kitchen
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Third deck:
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- Stern: Hangout area
- Centre: Cabins
- Bow: Hangout area
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Fourth deck:
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- Hangout area
- Hot tub
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Of course, by that point, I had already explored every nook and cranny of the ship, made use of every designated smoking area, and familiarised myself with the ship. Much like I had said about the G Expedition, the Sea Safari VI was a thing of beauty.
After this, Johnny went on to tell us a bit more about what we were to expect over the next few days – mentioning some of the dive sites and sea life we’d probably get to see, how we’d go about equipment set-up and jumping into the sea, and so on and so forth.
Shipboard Politics
Still full from the plentiful breakfast we had just indulged in, we were then served another buffet for lunch. Much like I had done on my previous cruise, I’d be getting my money’s worth on food alone, so having seconds and thirds at the cost of feeling like a beached whale was something I wouldn’t even think twice about. Then Alex, Adir, and I excused ourselves for a cigarette, chatting about the political situation in the Middle East in the meantime, before each of us headed to our own cabins, using the little downtime we had to try and rest off some of our jet-lag.
The two-hour nap was one of the best and worst ones of my life, given that I woke up feeling as disoriented and confused as I did that one day in the desert of Huacachina in Peru whilst stumbling on the sand dunes with no water after a night of heavy partying. Startled by the infernal noise of my alarm, I quickly rushed up the stairs to the second deck, expecting everyone to be ready for our check dive. Turns out, we were already behind schedule and that would take place in a couple of hours – if it took place at all.
The idea of getting more sleep in was a comforting one to say the least, though a bad idea in wanting to fight off the time discrepancy between my body’s clock and that of Indonesia. Instead, I decided to make good use of the hangout areas – discussing my unyielding hatred towards Americans with Alex, whom I quickly realised was a scroungy racist and sexist, thus proving my point. I told him off and disassociated myself from the guy I’d be diving with for the entire week – a nice way to start my journey!
In the meantime, it felt as if time went by as slowly as ever – painfully so. I had been dying to jump into the water the second I saw the ocean beneath me on the plane. Now, we found ourselves being told that there’d be a high probability we wouldn’t even get to do our check dive until the following day. As level-headed as I seemed to be about the whole ordeal when I was on my way to Sorong expecting the unexpectable, I felt as if I had let the spoiled child within me take over. I wanted to dive and I wanted to dive now!
Much like an investigative journalist who drops everything and travels half the world away to cover the latest scoop, I too left everything behind to cross the planet and, well… have fun. Okay, perhaps that might not be the best analogy there is, but again, I had one thing on my mind and one thing only – to be in the water once again. I had been waiting for so long that now that it was so close, I could barely wait a second longer!
Setting Sail!
With the first shades of orange and pink painting the unreal vistas that seemed to be unfolding in front of our very eyes – the turquoise waters dotted with green, jungle-covered bumps that disturbed the even horizon – our hopes of going on a dive quickly faded into thin air.
Our disappointment didn’t last long, though, as we quickly found ourselves climbing up to the mast where we enjoyed the spectacular view, the wind blowing in our faces as we approached the heart of the archipelago. Try as I might, I could hardly believe I was there. Once again, I found myself on a ship, sailing over the glorious sea, all kinds of adventures waiting to unfold. Once again, I found myself feeling like the pirate I was always meant to be. Once again, I was free, happy, alive.
After another mouth-watering buffet, Johnny briefed us on the following day’s plan. I can’t say I registered much of it, given the food coma I was currently stuck in. And what’s a better digestif than a cigarette and a cup of coffee under the starlit sky? Again, I found myself using the stargazing skills I had learned throughout my journey in Latin America. Though the Big Dipper had eluded me, managing to spot Venus and Sirius still had me feeling proud of myself.
And just like that, the first day of my new adventure came to an end. As great as it had been, I knew there and then that this was nothing compared to what was yet to come. As much as I tried to keep my expectations low, I couldn’t help but tremble at the thought of what was next. I was so damn excited!