Dancing With The Devil

The Maldives is known for its white-sand beaches and crystal-clear seas, but go when the water gets a little bit murky and you can swim with some very special residents

- Phoebe Smith

Submerged in 12m of water, drifting in a surreal kind of weightlessness, it was like being in outer space. I’d never known darkness so complete. I glided downwards and only realised I’d reached the bottom when my fingertips touched the coarse sand. In my other hand I clutched a torch so tightly I felt as though it might break. I took a deep breath and heard the bubbles ripple in front of my face. Then I flipped the switch.

A V-shaped glow illuminated the pitch, and my entire world became that slim shot of light. At first all I saw was a murky green. But as the seconds passed, tiny, near-microscopic zooplankton began to appear, wriggling in the beam. Then I looked up to see a giant shape coming towards me. A manta ray, once known by fishermen as the devilfish. And here, below the surface of the Indian Ocean, we were about to dance.

Elegant adventure

My journey had begun on dry land, on an island in the Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll, where I was given a traditional Loabi massage while watching fish through a glass-floored overwater studio at the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru. I’m someone who thrives on adventure rather than luxury, so it may sound like I was dancing with the devil the moment I stepped foot in a Four Seasons. But, as I quickly found out, this hotel was not all it seemed.

“Since 2001 we’ve not only launched a coral regeneration programme, but also turtle rehab, manta ray research and fish breeding too,” explained marine biologist Sapphire, who I met at the onsite Marine Discovery Centre. She was busy tending a hawksbill that had had one of its flippers ripped off by a boat propeller; the centre had nursed him back to health and were preparing him for reintroduction into the wild.