Blogs from Sulawesi, Indonesia, Asia - page 21

Part II I left off with and saw much more. By the end of my first trip in October 2010, I had seen various chromodoris nudis and some tinier ones I still can't identify (any help appreciated--refer to tiny nudibranch photos). There was one dive spot I particularly loved when the weather, current and visibility permitted. We followed a rope, around which razor fish gathered with their noses pointed to the ocean floor, down to the sand. As we quickly equalized, Raf and Reiko dropped close to the ocean floor without disturbing a grain of sand. Where I saw only seagrass, Raf and Reiko spotted Skeleton Shrimp (Caprellidae) as thin as fine hair. The little guys crawled like worms arching their mid-sections and pulling forward. The skeletal creatures looked like acrobats when they clung to the ... read more

The pitch black night swallows the headlights, and the driver leans the bus around curving roads with an overconfidence I wish I shared. One bend is marked by the swinging red lights of emergency vehicles. Instead of slowly moving past, the bus driver pulls the break and joins the policemen who are shining flashlights over a cliff overhanging into the void, no evidence of the vehicle that drove over the edge. My seatmate is an old Malay Muslim woman with a beatific smile whose stumbling English is hard to understand, but we manage (I'm not complaining, I know even less Bahasa). She points to me and asks, "Melayu?" Advanced glaucoma reflects the lights of passing cars in her eyes. I explain, no, and why I look Asian; the explanation grows more concise with each telling. The ... read more

This is a bit old now but it took me so long to sort all the photos! Here is Lembeh: On the morning of my transfer to Lembeh I woke up with a blooming ear infection - again!!! Very angry and upset but I started to take drops immediately and got some anti inflammatories in Manado on the way to Lembeh. Arriving at the resort I had to watch everyone else go off for dives and come back very excited...for a whole day and a half! I suppose it is not the worst place in the world to sit and take it easy though..surrounded by jungle, the sound of frogs (really loud and weird!) view over the sea and some Indonesian volcanoes, life could be worse! After a while I was good enough to dive and ... read more

See text in English below 27-29 de noviembre 2009 El viaje desde Ijen a Makassar fue bastante más complicado de lo que nos esperábamos. El tuerto y el enano de la agencia de Probolinggo, ciudad famosa por sus mangos, nos habían conseguido el billete de avión Surabaya - Makassar, eso sí, con un sobrecoste de más de 100.000 rupias para cada uno. Aunque fueran unos sinvergüenzas y nos juraran que no nos cobraban comisión, por lo menos, lo más importante lo teníamos resuelto. Desde Ijen, los furgones bajan a todos los turistas directamente a Banjuwangi para ahí tomar el ferry de Bali, pero organizándonos los guiris que estábamos allí, Manon y yo pudimos tener una furgón sólo para los dos y así bajar directos a Probolinggo y tomar un autobús desde allí y poder llegar a ... read more

Finally - after yearning for years to go to Bunaken and Lembeh - I got there!!!!!! After a delayed flight from Bali to Manado that was already scheduled late I had a very late night and not much sleep before I got picked up by two fish divers at 6.45 the next morning for my own private boat transfer to Bunaken Island. Lots of lovely lush islands around and volcanoes here and there on the way across. I arrived and checked in to my budget room..it is quite budget but at least my own! Got my dive briefing and had a nap before my first dive. It is just so nice to stay somewhere peaceful and beautiful as well as literally on the beach. The village is not at all as developed as I thought so ... read more