For the first time since arriving in Darwin I managed to sleep in - of course it was the one day I didn't want to sleep in. Ended up having to rush to get a bite to eat and get to the dive center on time. It was a fifteen minute ride out through a set of locks and into the Timor Sea.
The first dive was on the wreck of the Meigs, a freighter sunk by Japanese bombers during World War II. Unfortunately the visibility was terrible - maybe ten feet (3m). There wasn't a lot of wildlife, and while the wreck was obviously man made it was nearly fully covered by soft corals and growth. Thus with the limited visibility it was difficult to figure out what anything was. At times it felt like it was a puzzle or brain teaser. The highlight was a large (3+ foot) nearly round fish that would loom out of the gloom then disappear.
The second dive was on the wreck of the Moana Loa, also a W.W.II freighter. The visibility was less, but so were the expectations and it was a very enjoyable dive. The fine silt that covered most of the wreck made the visibility even worse, and it seemed like a night dive at times (visibility less than one foot at times!) The highlight was finding and recognizing a pile of motorcycles mid deck.
After the dive went to the internet cafe and finally got through to Amy in Morocco to work out flight plans. I think I'm going to go with the third option - get the round the world ticket (allowing me to visit Sri Lanka and Dubai) and the Egypt Air ticket (allowing me to do the Cairo - Dar es Salaam - Cairo legs in a reasonable amount of time, and when I want to) - that is if my standby has come through. I'll check in with the travel agent on my way out tomorrow and try to make a final choice.
Had an Ok Mexican dinner, then sat around the hostel reading.
