At Emperor Divers we are incredibly proud of the amazing women we have working with us.
So proud in fact, we want to share their stories and tell you more about them. In a series of weekly ‘Ladies Day’ features, we will highlight a few of the fantastic women who make us the great organisation we are.
This week we meet a lady who loves showing guests the delights of her home country – the Maldives. Born to be in the water, dive guide Ana Arif describes her favourite experiences in the Indian Ocean.
Being born in Male, and growing up close to the ocean, it was always likely a life on the water would be the way for Ana.
She was inspired to pursue a career that allowed her to be at sea – both because of a love of sea and also to do her best to help preserve the country’s marine life.
Her desire to promote conservation and sustainable interactions with marine ecosystems is matched by the happiness she gets showing guests the wonderful underwater world of the Maldives.
It makes her role as a dive guide on Emperor Leo the perfect fit as it enables her to share the beauty of her homeland (well, homewater) with the Emperor guests who come to explore.
And if she has to pick a favourite, the answer is a tricky one.
“It’s really hard to pick a favourite dive site in Maldives because there are so many beautiful sites around,” she says.
“If I were to pick one, it would be the deep south of Maldives. Foammulah (also known as Fuvahmulah) is very special for me because I’ve had the first of many encounters there.”
And the best of these encounters…
“I’ve seen the biggest school of tunas that I’ve ever seen in my life. It was a very, very special encounter and beautiful as well.
“The second would be my encounter with the tiger sharks. It was a very thrilling experience. I was very nervous as well because I had never seen a tiger shark before. But once you realise how unbothered they are, they don’t want to harm us. They don’t want to come at you. They, they’re just very curious beings, and they’re very beautiful.
“Also there was my first ever oceanic manta. You don’t realise how big they are until they come gliding past you really close.
“It was six metres wide and I cannot express the feeling when it came gliding right past me, took a good look at me, and just passed. It’s a very beautiful feeling.”
Ana loves her country and loves her job – and she would also love to share these passions with you. Why not book a trip to the Maldives with Emperor Divers and see the delights of manta, tiger sharks and tuna for yourself. Find out more or speak with our amazing team on [email protected]
Follow our series of Ladies Day posts all the way through to PADI Women’s Dive Day 2024 on July 20 when we will have something special for our female divers