Some marvellous snorkelling was in store for us at Aldabra, the most southerly of the Seychelles group and home to the world's biggest population of giant tortoises.
Though under Seychelles law, he tells me, half of any earnings must go to the government.
He negotiated an exclusive agreement with the Seychelles government to dig on his own.
That's the rate you can expect when Wilderness Safaris' new Seychelles resort finally opens next fall.