5/5 Jon D. 5 months ago on Google • 5 reviews
This
is
a
two
part
review;
the
first
will
refer
to
my
experience
Compass
and
its
operations,
and
the
second
will
consider
the
long
term
outlook
of
Atauro
and
its
marine
protected
area,
or
lack
of.
This
is
split
into
two
reviews
as
there
is
a
4000
character
limit
–
so
if
you
don’t
want
a
long
review,
skip
this
one.
Compass
was
great
–
Fizzy
was
prompt
and
informative
by
email,
despite
my
late
booking.
The
Dili-side
transfers
were
on
time
and
reliable,
and
Fizzy
was
full
of
energy
and
smiles,
even
going
so
far
as
to
provide
my
PADI
information
for
me
since
I
had
lost
my
card,
saving
me
50
euros
of
buying
a
new
one.
She’s
a
great
asset
to
the
company
and
probably
needs
raise!
I
was
taken
to
the
speedboat
and
spent
about
an
hour,
hour
and
a
half
crossing
over
to
Atauro.
Easy
and
efficient
transfer
–
particularly
as
on
arrival,
I
was
offered
a
bit
of
breakfast
and
then
we
were
straight
off
to
our
first
dive
with
the
divemaster
Kib.
I
found
Kib
to
be
competent,
calm
and
professional
–
and
fun.
After
a
couple
of
days
of
lovely,
relatively
easy
dives,
I
asked
if
I
could
undertake
a
more
challenging
dive.
Kib
set
something
up
for
me
where
we
dove
onto
a
pinnacle
in
pretty
ripping
current
–
and
hung
on.
I
was
working
hard
fighting
down
against
the
current
and
also
trying
to
get
my
heart
rate
down
while
hanging
on,
so
I
burned
through
my
air
far
too
fast
for
my
liking.
Double
the
rate
of
Kib,
haha.
In
any
case,
we
saw
tuna
darting
out
of
the
blue
and
picking
off
little
fish,
then
returning
to
the
blue
–
one
of
the
highlights
of
my
trip
there.
Majestic
hunters.
In
any
case,
it
was
great
that
Kib
was
able
to
assess
my
skills
and
set
up
a
suitable
challenging
dive
for
me
on
a
whim,
rather
than
sticking
to
a
pre-set
schedule.
I
took
it
easy
on
the
next
few
dives
though
;)
gentle
shallow
drift
dives
along
the
coral
walls,
which
were
also
great.
The
corals
themselves
were
pristine,
but
there
seemed
a
relative
lack
of
larger
creatures
–
this
is
surprising,
given
the
(local)
basis
of
the
food
chain,
the
coral
habitat,
was
healthy.
More
on
that
below.
However,
within
the
corals,
the
diversity
was
remarkable
–
the
best
corals
I’ve
ever
seen,
and
perhaps
the
best
corals
remaining
–
anywhere
in
the
world.
Very,
very
few
dive
boats
in
these
waters
–
most
of
our
dive
sites,
I
was
diving
with
4
people
(from
the
boat
I
was
on)
or
less.
Once,
only
myself
and
the
dive
master.
So
this
was
a
great
perk
of
diving
in
such
a
relatively
remote
area.
In
terms
of
the
dive
camp
itself
–
I
found
the
food
to
be
delicious
and
prepared
by
locals.
While
the
divemasters
are
mainly
from
other
countries,
the
camp
employed
a
number
of
locals
as
boat
drivers,
cooks,
landscaping,
etc
–
this
is
excellent
and
I
did
not
mind
paying
a
bit
more
while
staying
at
Compass
due
to
the
amount
of
locals
employed.
That
said,
I
thought
the
accommodation
was
a
bit
pricy
for
what
it
was.
Staying
in
a
tent
at
120USD/night,
including
food
struck
me
as
quite
costly
for
Timor
Leste.
Of
course,
there
were
two
beds
in
a
tent
and
I
was
travelling
solo.
It
would
be
much
more
palatable
split
two
ways.
Speaking
of
the
beds
–
well,
it
was
nice
having
a
bed
but
it
was
not
the
most
comfortable.
Very
small
issue
in
the
grand
scheme
of
things,
but
my
back
did
note
it
after
a
few
nights.
If
possible,
better
air
circulation
and
passage
through
the
tents
would
be
beneficial.
Overall,
a
good
experience
and
I
am
glad
I
went
–
the
people
were
amazing,
the
location
is
beautiful,
and
the
diving
was
excellent.
I
could
certainly
have
spent
another
week
just
chilling.
Would
return!
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