ZECO TRAVEL TALK

As I prepare to lead the 2010 Maldives trips, I am reminded of the distinct beauty of the place. The archipelago is comprised of twenty-two coral atolls including 1,200 separate isles and islets, only 200 of which are inhabited.

This spectacular island group in the Central Indian Ocean is an icon for scuba enthusiasts, a holy grail for snorkelers. For those who love warm tropical seas full of life, it is a breathtaking place. Even the planning and academic preparations are exciting. Read more

Receiving your advanced diving certification is a great step to take to make all your scuba diving endeavors fun and safe. With this increased level of training you will be able to dive almost everywhere, and you will feel much more comfortable and relaxed in the water. Now that Zegrahm Expeditions requires this level of training we wanted to give you a few quick tips on how to get your certification.

Most of you probably have scuba diving certification through PADI, NAUI, or another authorized scuba organization, because of this you can easily move up to an advanced diving certification.

All you need to do is find your nearest dive center (or resort) that offers advance diving certification. A quick search online with your town name and “scuba diving certification” should yield good results.

Each dive center has their own course methods, duration, and rates, but generally (and this is based on a local Seattle dive center) it costs around $200 and takes at least 3-5 days of required coursework and specialty dives to achieve advanced diving certification. Through PADI, the core dives that are required for an advanced certification are deep, below 60 feet and something we often do on our itineraries, and navigation, which helps you become comfortable with your compass. Three additional specialty dives are required however you can choose from several options that include night, wreck, naturalist, fresh water, etc. NAUI requires six dives, the three core dives are deep, navigation, and night, and like PADI you choose your other three from a list of specialty dives.

More details and references on obtaining your advanced diver certification are available at:
PADI – http://www.padi.com to obtain PADI Advanced Open Water (AOW) Diver certification.
NAUI – http://www.naui.org to obtain NAUI Advanced Scuba certification.

Another great option is the ability to complete the advanced scuba diving certification online with PADI (it costs $120 and you complete it at your own pace) or through other accredited internet classes. However, you will still need to go to a dive center or resort to do the required advanced dives (deep, night, dive, etc) with an instructor.

Another great advantage to getting this certification is you get back in the water and you will have completed the required two open-water dives needed 12 months prior to the departure of your voyage.

Happy diving.

We can always count on Aldabra providing us with wonderful surprises… We left Le Ponant before sunrise with the high tide to search for nesting sea turtles with Jonathan and Gemma. Almost as soon as we landed, Gemma and the Aldabra Research scientist, Naomi, found a female green turtle in the process of covering her eggs. We watched her for forty-five minutes as she took her time, carefully covering the eggs before she headed back toward the open sea. The sunrise was magnificent and we all returned to the ship for breakfast excited with our great photos of “our turtle.”

Many of us snorkeled outside the reef amidst swirling schools of fusiliers and blue finned Jacks while the divers found themselves in a virtual aquarium of clear water teeming with fish. When the tide rose again, we boarded Zodiacs and headed over the reef to shore to visit the research station and talk with the rangers and scientists before setting off for various nature walks. We waded in the shallow water with lemon sharks and black-tipped reef sharks swimming around us, then fortuitously spotted the endemic Aldabra drongo, Aldbara fody and the Aldabra flightless rail, all very close to the station. The giant tortoises were a hit; a few of them were quite friendly and posed for pictures. The huge coconut crabs, named for their powerful claws, were scuttling across the paths both in their red and purple morphs.

Later in the afternoon we rode Zodiac inside the lagoon to the West Channel, just off the Picard Station. When we dropped into the water outside Passé Dubois we found the current rushing in at about three knots and we literally flew over the coral wall and into the lagoon, immediately spotting a school of more than 500 petal tail snappers, hawksbill and green turtles returning to the lagoon, and had great sighting of African angel fish!

The first round was swift and we climbed back into the Zodiacs quickly to be ferried up to the mouth of the Passé to do it again, watching the schools of rainbow-colored fish below and following the turtles as they scooted well ahead of us into the lagoon! With each turn, the waters slowed as the high tide crested and the currents fell slack. We headed back to Le Ponant where the bartenders waited with cocktails and our cabins with hot showers. On the top deck, in the brilliant after-light from the setting sun, we waved good-bye to Naomi, Philippe, and the Rangers of Aldabra. We were tired but thrilled with the memories of this exhilarating day.

As Le Ponant approached Poivre Island the weather was sunny but the winds were kicking up and the water was quite choppy. Captain Daumesnil determined that the 25-knot winds would make our landing on the island, and snorkeling outside the reef, very tricky indeed. Plans clearly needed to change and the crew immediately went into “expedition mode.”

On the Captain’s suggestion we sailed around to the south side of nearby Desroches Island where the surrounding reef offered better protection for our landing and snorkeling inside the lagoon at Bombay Beach. Our shore walk and underwater forays went ahead as scheduled—only the island had changed!

Jack and Jonathan anchored a snorkel boat off the beach inside the reef in a lagoon-like setting and we felt as though we were in our own private aquarium. As we snorkeled in the crystal clear, 78-degree water we had an opportunity to swim with a variety of colorful reef fish as well as view a massive spiny lobster and a beautiful whiptail sting ray. We also spotted a cleaning station and watched as a school of endemic Squirrel fish was cleaned by several species of wrasse. The beautiful coral garden was surrounded by an extensive, healthy sea grass bed busy with many small fish and invertebrates.

Meanwhile, the onshore walkers, led by our local guide Gemma and our historian Larry Bowman, headed off down the trail to visit with the workers on the Copra Plantation. A tour gave us a look at the coconut husk drying rooms and an understanding of the inner workings of an operation which exports the oil and husks to mainland Africa. Desroches is not known for its birdlife but Gemma quickly spotted a few blue-cheeked bee-eaters for all to see and capture on film!

Because nobody wanted to leave this idyllic paradise, the bartenders brought the bar to the beach! After swimming and snorkeling we were all too happy to accept a cocktail from Ian and Randy and their floating bar. Our day on Desroches was unscheduled but utterly perfect. This is the beauty of traveling on an expedition with our own private yacht and a flexible Captain; you can change plans for the best experience with nary a ripple in the smooth operation!

From the capital, Antananarivo, our expedition began in earnest with a domestic flight to the remote town of Maroansetra, gateway to Madagascar’s most extensive wilderness of the Masoala Peninsula. A boat excursion along the backwaters of the Antainambalana River in the afternoon offered insights into the way of life of the rural Malagasy, along with a fine male panther chameleon, but the day’s highlight was undoubtedly our spectacularly successful quest for nocturnal creatures around the Relais de Masoala. This nocturnal foray with our intrepid local guide, Julian, is usually fairly productive but no previous Eco-Expeditions group had ever managed to see the most elusive and bizarre of all lemurs, the legendary aye aye. A short walk into a coconut plantation brought us to the spot where this strange creature was foraging, clambering around the crown of a tree. We were able to appreciate all the unusual features of this remarkable animal, from its enormous ears and peculiar face to its bushy tail and skeletal middle finger. This fortuitous sighting was to set up our record-breaking lemur tally for the trip.

Other trip highlights included fimbriated leaf-tailed geckos, brilliant green-backed mantellas, boisterous white-fronted brown lemurs, and a bonus sighting of black-and-white ruffed lemurs resting in the crown of an enormous wild fig tree. A nocturnal spotlighting excursion produced sightings of nocturnal lemurs in the form of eastern woolly lemurs and the recently described Goodman’s mouse lemurs, as well as an incredible five species of chameleons.

Our visit illustrated Madagascar’s remarkable natural diversity, with fascinating wildlife, breathtaking landscapes and cultural interactions en route—our pilgrimage to the eighth continent was an enriching experience.

Excerpts from the Welcome Home Letter written by Expedition Leader Jonathan Rossouw for our September 2008 Madagascar: The Eighth Continent expedition.

With the safe return of Le Ponant’s crew confirmed, we received a note from the ship owners that we’d like to share with you.

Dear Scott and all our friends at Zegrahm,

Thank you so much for your email. It is indeed a great relief to get our crew members back home. They are back in Paris tonight.

The ship is also in a good state, and we should start our cruises back to normal, in the coming weeks. Once again, thank-you very much for your continuous support during the past week.
It was sincerely very much appreciated by all of us at CIP and we are looking to share such a warm support with our crew members in the coming days.

Very kind regards on behalf of all your friends at CIP.

Eric LUSTMAN
COMPAGNIE DES ILES DU PONANT

Zegrahm Expeditions and its family of travelers is so very pleased to learn of the news that Le Ponant’s crew is free and safe. Thanks go to our many travelers who contacted us, shared their feelings, prayed for this result. Le Ponant, under the command of Captain Patrick Marchesseau, is now headed to Djibouti for arrival April 15. We hope for a speedy recovery for the crew members as they are reunited with their families and friends.

On Friday April 4th the French sailing vessel Le Ponant was seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Zegrahm Expeditions has chartered this exceptional ship for many years and thus has a close relationship with the ship owner and dedicated crew. We support them in this troubling time and send our thoughts and prayers to all the crew and their families. See in comments below a letter sent on April 7th to the ship owner.

This web site has a good compilation of the daily developments, or for the latest news and updates, please check with your reliable news source. As of Monday April 7th the crew is believed to be safe and unharmed and the French government is in negotiations with the pirates. There were no passengers on board at the time of the seizure.