What is Raja Ampat ?
Raja Ampat has long been considered the Holy Grail of the Underwater World. and on the Bucket List of most divers/snorkelers for it’s pristine waters, colorful corals, and abundance and size of fish.
Raja Ampat, literally meaning ‘The Four Kings’ is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, including the 4 Kings (larger ones), and many cays, and shoals. it is part of the Coral Triangle which contains the richest marine bio-diversity on earth.
it is located off the NW tip of the Island of New Guinea in Indonesia's West Papua Province ... easier to look at the map .... the area marked in red. this is also a great map to visual just how much territory the country of Indonesia occupies. covering 9.8 million acres of land and sea, it is the largest country in SE Asia, and the largest archipelagic state and island state in the world by area and population. lots to explore here :)
The Inhabitants:
Indonesian New Guinea was forcibly annexed from The Netherlands in 1969. apparently the indigenous folk in the Raja Ampats prefer to be called West Papuans. there are more than 10 tribes. the distinctive characteristic is their black and curly hair, like the people of Papua. this is unlike a traditional Indonesian. they comprise the vast majority of the population on the islands most visited by tourists. The predominant religion is Christianity, often combined with traditional beliefs – or none.
Raja Ampat has always been expensive and difficult to get to. it is still expensive (in my budget’s eyes), but there are a group of islands that are a little less difficult reach. and an organization has been formed to help the locals establish lodging and transportation challenges, and a great web site for us tourists. so this is the year for Kim and i to explore !
one of the things that made the 10 days in Bunaken less desirable, is the fact that nothing EVER dries. this is an accepted fact in most tropical climates, but it seemed more evident there.
to get to Raja Ampat with flight and ferry schedules, we needed an overnight somewhere. Kim and i were quite anxious to get into a hotel where we could literally 'dry out'. Kim found us a wonderful hotel in the city of Manado, Whiz Prime Hotel..... we had A/C, hot showers, and a beautiful view of the sea. we took full advantage and hung our clothes all over the room to dry them out. we knew we would encounter the same humid conditions on the islands again, but at least they would start out dry !
we had several other things on our list to do: determine how much $$$ we needed. there are no ATM machines and only a very few places (mostly Dive Shops) accepted credit cards. we calculated that we needed 12 million Indonesia Rupiahs each. this is what that looks like. i had to make 4 separate ATM transactions to get it all, since they have limits on how much you can withdraw.
our other mission was to find some 'rum'. there are several HUGE malls in the area, i could not believe the amount of merchandise they had. we checked every store we could find and only found one 'Walmart-type' that had a couple 1/2 pint bottles that we bought. other than that we were back to coke and
i texted Okta to take us to the airport at 6:30am the next morning; and he was right there waiting for us. Great dependable guy ! this will be a long day
on the flight into Sorong we got our first look at some of the islands … wondering if we would be snorkeling around any of them
arriving in Sorong, we got a taxi to the harbor so we could catch the ferry to Waisai. there are only 2 ferries a day, 9am and 2pm. we knew we couldn't make the 9am, so we had plenty of time to sit around and wait for the 2pm.
this was not a very welcoming site as we walked out to our ferry :(
but we were happy to see this nice big 'safe-looking' boat for the 2 hour journey
we had decided to visit the islands of Kri, Arborek, and Gam, which are the most easily accessible, possibly 4 nights on each if all goes well. Waisai is in the upper right corner..... Kri is in the lower middle..... about a 1hr boat ride .... depending upon the BOAT and the WEATHER
KRI ISLAND
we had texted Lukson HomeStay on Kri, a few days ago, to see if they had 2 bungalows for us, but we weren’t sure if we would get to Waisai in time to get out to the island, or if we needed to go the next morning. they texted back 'ok' .... just 'ok'. this response is one we received over and over again during our stay. we never got used to the lack of communication ... it was a bit frustrating :(Once we were on the ferry, we texted them and asked if they could pick us up that day. we wouldn’t get in until 4pm, maybe that was too late? but he said, 'ok', we assumed that meant they would be waiting for us when we got off the ferry, ...and he was :)
we were not prepared for the small boat that we climbed into with our bags. it was just wide enough for Kim and i to sit side by side, and it was a very deep 'V' shape ... with no 'training-wheels' on the sides like they have other places. it was VERY TIPPY ! they put a tarp, aka vinyl cloth, over our bags, but nothing for us, and we took off. in my opinion, we had no business being out in those waves in that boat ! it was the most terrifying, painful, excruciating long journey i never want to take again. the waves were big, and we crashed down on them time and time again, shattering my butt, back and spine; then we would slow to almost a stop while we rode any larger waves that he didn't feel like he could crash through. this was over a 2hr journey. Kim was plotting how she would tie her bag to the boat so at least she wouldn't lose her Passport (if the boat was ever found). i lifted up the plastic and covered part of us from the splashing, and just hunched over with my head between my legs, praying. by the time we reached the island of Kri, my back was spasming and i couldn't stand up straight. i was not happy and let him know it.
one of the disadvantages of traveling alone is that you pay for a room for 2, but you are only 1, so it's more expensive. with Kim as a travel partner, we were looking forward to cutting our costs by sharing a bungalow. Unfortunately, the HomeStays on Raja Ampat; are the opposite. you pay per person, even if you are in the same bungalow. i.e., 350,000/person for a single bungalow ... or 700,000 for a bungalow for 2 persons. well, that's a no-brainer ... fine we can each have our own bungalow. that is what we requested and he confirmed. however, after such a beautiful journey, he told us that he had other people coming in tomorrow, and would we please stay in one bungalow together. we finally looked at the bungalow and decided it was large enough for 2, and he gave us a discount. we didn't seem to be getting off to a very good start here ...
this is what you get in a HomeStay on these islands: it was a nice big room. a mattress on the floor, mosquito net, towel, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner .... there is no where else to eat, so they all provide meals included in the price.
we were living in luxury at this Lukson HomeStay ... we had our own 'en suite' bathroom. very very few HomeStays had 'en suite' bathrooms, even if you wanted to pay more, there were none available. we had a 'western' toilet, flushing by bucket ... and a 'mandi shower' ..... that means you use a pail to pour water over yourself. most of the reviews on Trip Advisor, commented on the 'rats'. upon inspecting our bathroom the first night, we saw a couple rats scurrying away :)
this is our 'dining area', sand floor, where we ate a lot of rice, veggies, usually an egg-something, and possibly a little bit of chicken ... (we told ourselves it was chicken)
we had a great bungalow right over the water at high tide
high tide was usually at night, and the waves would bring in floating logs from fallen coconut trees. when the logs would hit the support legs of the bungalow, you’d think you were going to collapse into the water… but you got used to it :)
you also 'kind of' got used to the rats too. each night we were instructed to hang any food from a wire so the rats couldn't get to it. we did as instructed; but you could hear them running around and checking out everything. at one point i turned on the lights because i was sure there were a dozen of them. luckily we had 'mosquito nets', which i more appropriately re-named 'rat safety-nets'. i felt more secure knowing that they couldn't run across me while i slept. the first morning, Kim noticed a 3" hole that had been chewed in her heavy nylon backpack. she discovered the remains of one of those single-serving peanut butter cubes that you get with your bread sometimes. she had thrown in in there, who knows when, and never gave it another thought. the next night i heard them gnawing on some heavy plastic ... it was the lid to my peanut butter jar. the next night, the jar went in the hanging bag too. when you camp you hang your food so the bears don't get it ... not much difference, huh?
so far, none of this really makes you want to join us on our next adventure, huh?
the reef and 'wall' were right outside our home. we walked down the island a way and got in at a Jetty, so we could snorkel with the current back to our place.
there are always lots of fishes under a Jetty. the sun was hitting these just right and the colors were fantastic
these are HumpBack Snappers
Porcupine Fish seem to like to hang out under the Jetty. i love their little puppy dog eyes
and also these Slender Groupers ... Groupers generally have such 'grumpy' faces ...but he was pretty with all his red spots
there were a lot of RabbitFish in this area. i think they are called RabbitFish because of their little rabbit-like lips. this is a Barred RabbitFish
and this one, a Masked RabbitFish
and these are Coral RabbitFish .... pretty fishes
these Pearly Monocle Bream Fish are subtle but pretty, notice how only their top tail fin is yellow
a school of HumpHead UnicornFish ... amazing !
and this Triple Tail Wrasse has intricate markings on it's head, that you only notice up close and in certain lights. from a distance, he just looks gray
there are many different Goat Fish, usually, they are white/yellow. this is the prettiest one i've ever seen. it is a Double Bar GoatFish ... the blues and purples are amazing!
they are called Goat Fish because they look like they have a 'beard' like a goat. i took this photo on a night snorkel, and you can really see it's 'beard'. ok, i know i just said they generally aren't colorful, but this was taken at night with a flash, so the colors really stood out. they 'root around' in the sand when they are searching for food and stir up quite a cloud in the process. this one was sleeping
we are always on the look-out for Giant Clams. even though they are called Giant, you don’t see many that are really large. and actually we are seeing a lot of them that are dead or dying, ... like this one :(
so we were excited to find this one that was about 2.5 feet long and very healthy. the colors were beautiful !
they can weigh more than 440 lbs, measure as much as 47" across, and have an average lifespan in the wild of over 100 years. unfortunately, populations are diminishing quickly and the giant clam has become extinct in many areas where it was once common
this one was large enough that i could see inside the clam itself … amazing
we were also always on the look-out for Sharks … not because we feared them, but because we wanted to see them. they are not the dangerous predators that the movie ‘Jaws’ made them out to be. we would always yell ’shark’ to each other when we saw one, so we wouldn’t miss it. mostly we would look for them out in the blue deep waters, but occasionally we would see them cruising in the shallows … this one swam right under me. WoW
it is a Black Tipped Shark, appropriately named ... they are so sleek and pretty
this is a photo of our home from the water, it’s the last one on the right with the orange chair. also notice, the height of the island. these are all volcanic islands, imagine how long it took for enough soil to form to support this jungle
the second night we were there, we had a THUNDER storm like i have never experienced before. the first strike had to be very close because it came immediately after the lightening. the crack, thunder, and rumbling went on for a long long time. you could hear it moving across the sea. after the first strike i was better prepared for the next 20min of lightening, thunder, rain and wind. it was unbelievable ! we heard our orange chairs fly off the porch and made a note to remember to bring them in at night, if we ever found them. the next morning, Luky had retrieved them, along with lots of clothing and articles from other places up-wind from us. WoW !
this is Luky, his wife, and 7 month old son
there is another larger island, Mansuar, very close to Kri. in fact, at low tide it is possible to walk from one to the other.
2 ‘boys’ took us to the other end of the island by boat, we were able to see the beauty of the water that we could not see when we arrived. we wanted to snorkel over by Mansuar
we had a bit of trouble understanding WHERE we were supposed to snorkel, and we spent an hour going through shallow grass before we finally found the ‘wall’. grrrrrr
but once we did, it was very rewarding! there were hundreds/thousands of fish. there was a wall of these Blue and Yellow Fusiliers that went on forever.
here is a short video of the thousands of fishes
we also saw turtles, 3 of them at one time ... notice all the fish in the distance
also the Yellow Trumpet Fish, generally not interested in a photo session
it's no wonder this fish is called the Red Breasted Wrasse
and another one of my favorites, the Yellow Margin TriggerFish. i had only seen this fish from a distance, but today we had a chance to get a little bit closer. 'she' is a big fish, about 2.5'; and from a distance, looks similar to her cousin the Titan TriggerFish. but she is much prettier
and this Yellow Masked AngelFish that i had been trying to get a photo of since i arrived in Indonesia.
this is me, on our porch, after snorkeling. going through my photos, and hoping to possibly find some internet. no one has it here. occasionally, i have been able to get the internet using the 'hot spot' from my phone as a modem; but it's been infrequent and very slow.
there was a full moon while were were on Kri. this means that the tides are more drastic, high high tides, and low low tides. there is a sand bar not too far from us that is quite popular at this time
one afternoon we took a boat out there, and snorkeled the wall. we heard lots about the ‘strong current’ here in Raja Ampat. Kim and i are very aware of the current, not wanting to be swept out to sea. usually they run parallel to the shore, and you can easily come in closer and get out of it. but between islands, they are raging, especially during the full moon phase. this day we had a boat with us; so we knew he’d be watching and pick us up if necessary. thank God he was there. we were flying through the water …but with the strong currents, come the BIG fishes. it was GREAT FUN !
we saw a huge HumpNose ParrotFish ... huge as in 3 feet
and lots of sharks and other big fishes that were too far away to identify
closer in to shore, Kim spotted this Palette Surgeon Fish ... a striking specimen !
as i was diving down to get another photo, he slid under some coral ... and right there in front of me was this beautiful little Nudibranch, about 1" long ... aka Goniobranchus Coi ... chromodoris
and i love these Clown TriggerFish .... what a FUN fish !
Kri is not known for it’s beaches, but at low tide, this one was pretty sweet
at 7am there was no sign of him, so i sent a text ‘storm coming?’ he called back and said, since it was Easter Sunday, he thought he would go to church and pick us up at 10am. what?, so we sit for 3hrs as the weather continued to deteriorate? we asked Luky if his brother would take us…. we had seen his boat, and it looked way more sea-worthy than the one we came in on… and it had TWO motors! it cost us double, but we both agreed it was worth it. this me, smiling, prepared for the worst, but enjoying a quick and rather easy 1/2hr trip !
from Kri, bottom middle, ....to Arborek, far left
ARBOREK ISLAND
so we didn't exactly get off on a good start with this island HomeStay either :( he was not there when we arrived, but someone showed us a couple bungalows and we moved in. Kim on the right, me on the left. NO HomeStays on Arborek have 'en suite' toilets. EVERYONE shares the same one room for the 'western' toilet, bucket flush; and one room with water for bucket showers. :)
it was cloudy and stormy all day, so we didn't get in the water. Arborek is a flat island, and we could walk around it in 20min. and then enjoyed the SunSet
there were 2 other couples there, one couple had the bungalow right on the water. there was another bungalow next to it, but it was rented starting the next day. so we were back further from the water, but still within sight and sound. it was ok..... except we found these little black 'somethings' on our bedding. we shook the sheets, and before we got into bed, we noticed there were more of them. ... we also hung our food to keep it safe from the rats. we had a horrible rain and wind storm during the night. my flimsy sliding bamboo door was banging in the wind. i got up and tied it in 2 places to the wall and went back to bed, and felt those 'black things' again. i tried to tell myself they were some kind of 'seed' ... but i recognized them as 'frass' .... aka, caterpillar poop !
in the morning, i realized i had it good, with only a banging door and poop. the couple in the bungalow had to move in the middle of the night because the wind lifted up their bamboo roof and the rain was pouring in. the wind was coming from the right, and Kim, her bed, blanket, everything was soaked :( i had the inside room, protected... by Kim :(
the next day some guys ‘patched’ the roof with more palm tree branches (does that work?), ... and everyone dried out. i asked Naftali, the owner, about the little black ‘somethings’. he did not know, but said it would be ok. i told him, i didn’t think it was ok that i slept in poop. i moved all my stuff to another bungalow. it was only that bungalow that had the poop, the rest of them were fine. i swear there must be hundreds of caterpillars in the roof, … eating what, i can’t imagine. drawing upon my Monarch rearing experiences; i figured in a week or so, they would be in cocoons, and then fly away and the problem would be solved until the next generation showed up. but, that’s just my hypothesis. we didn’t have any trouble with rats here, but they ate the leather palm out of someone’s glove in another bungalow :(
the next day, weather was cloudy and the seas were rough again, so that was 2 days lost here. they had really nice hammocks on the porch, so we passed the time there. another couple joined the group. we had the Norwegians who were living in Qatar, the Belgians, and the Czechs. all fun couples and enjoyable at meal time.
the next morning at breakfast, the group was going diving. i was going to give it a try, but heard that there would be quite a strong current, so i declined. but Axel came running back to the table and said they were going to Piaynemo and if i wanted to join them (to snorkel) i was invited. Kim was getting a cold and was not up to it, so i joined them.
it was a 1.5hr fast boat ride to get there. when we arrived, one of the dive guides jumped in the water to test the current, and got back in the boat, and we tried another site. for us ‘snorkelers’ it was a ‘wall snorkel’. a small volcanic island with rock walls plummeting straight down. a mild current, and the most colorful magnificent sponges lined the walls. just like i had hoped i would see at Raja Ampat !!! Whoop Whoop
there isn't much to say about these, except please enjoy the profusion of colors
this Coral Grouper was blending in nicely with the sponges ... check out those colors !
there were a lot of recesses into the rock wall that you could dive down and look into. i found this Emperor AngelFish in one of them. another fish i’ve been wanting to get up close and personal with
the Sea Fans were amazing as well
and there were so many large Sweet Lips swimming around ... these are Diagonal SweetLips ... because their stripes are 'diagonal' ... a bit different from the Oriental SweetLips, who have straight stripes. so logical, these names :)
we boated a short distance to Piaynemo. i was impressed at the beautifully crafted and stained stairs that carried us up to the top of the ridge. i like the way they saved as many trees as possible, on the stairs, and didn't cut them down
they had to get all the materials out here. you have to remember, that this is out in the middle of the ocean … check out the map again. this was astonishing !
there was an amazing gecko-type on the railing … unfortunately i wasn’t the first in line, and by the time it was 'my turn', he was done with us, and on the move…. but check out this iridescent turquoise tail !
when we finally reached the top, it was quite a long way up there; the view was breathtaking. you could hear all the 'ooohhs' and 'ahhhhs'. Piaynemo is a grouping of very small islands that is the ‘poster child’ of Raja Ampat. if you Google Raja Ampat, that is the photo you will see.
these photos don’t do it justice ... they never do
the next dive/snorkel spot was also against a rock ledge, but also had a sloping section. there were a lot of fish in this particular area. all different kinds, all living in harmony
this Titan TriggerFish, with it’s powerful teeth, had dug up some ‘treasures’ and everyone wanted a share
i made a lot of dives trying to get a photo of this particular RoundHead ParrotFish … but there were always so many fishes in the way. how often does it happen, that you can’t get a photo of just one fish because there are so many other fishes in the way …. crazy ! what a terrible problem to have :)
this pair of Six Banded AngelFish were also enjoying their day
after we returned and were docking the boat in 1 ft of water, one of the Dive Masters pointed out this Double-Ended PipeFish … male and pregnant
and the female
i did a snorkel trip in the hopes of seeing Manta Rays at their 'cleaning station'. we snorkeling around for 45min 'waiting' for them to show up. eventually one finally did. i did some deep diving and holding my breath to get some photos. they are impressive creatures !
the next day Kim still wasn't feeling very good, so i walked down to the Jetty because the reviews reported great snorkeling.
this Map Puffer Fish was happy hiding here
and there were several Circular Spade Fish, that i finally was close enough that i could identify them by the "few small black spots on sides', that i was never able to see before :)
i continued away from the Jetty, and away from all the 'tourists' :) ..... i was in shallow water and was shocked to see 3 Giant Clams ..... Giant-er than the one we saw on Kri
i am so mezmerized by their 'jewels' ... such vibarant colors !
i marveled … and continued on about 10 yards and found a grouping of 4 more Giant-er Clams
Kim had to see these, no matter how sick she felt. i marked the spot as best i could and got out of the water. i marched into her bungalow and told her that i would not take ‘no’ for an answer, she HAD to come in the water … it would only take 10min, i knew exactly where they were. she was reluctant, fearing an ear infection, but she grabbed her gear and we took off. she was impressed !
and then, i couldn’t get her out of the water. we snorkeled back towards the Jetty and i found this brightly colored Scorpion Fish
and she spotted a Giant Moray Eel. by far, the largest one i’ve ever seen … it was at least 8ft long. it wasn’t too deep, but i was intimidated, and was not going any closer to get a photo ! it was a monster !
look at the girth on this creature ! whew! that was exciting !
late one night, i finally, i got a connection and sent texts out to 3 HomeStays for the next night, (not much notice i realized). one was fully booked, but Matias on Gam Island said he had bungalows for us.
the next morning, after many tries, i was finally able to confirm. Naftali arranged for a boat to take us to Gam Island at 9am. the rest of the group was leaving as well, so we said our final goodbyes. our adventure was coming to an end soon too
around 9:30 we were still waiting. we had been watching this 70someting man build a new bungalow over the water. he added about one board a day. we couldn't believe what he was doing today. he was standing on a flimsy log, placed between 2 other flimsy logs, and was using a hand-saw to cut off the end. with each stroke of the saw, the board bounced and bended.....
from Arborek, far left ... to Gam, at the top.
Gam is a big island, we stayed on the Eastern most side, somewhere around the top green ovals
GAM ISLAND
the seas were calm and Matias was waiting as we arrived at Yendebabo HomeStay. we asked for the VIP Bungalows here, because they had mattresses that were actually on bed frames and not lying on the floor. getting down to a mattress on the floor... and up again, isn't that easy anymore. Whoopie ... we were living in luxury on our final island.our bungalows were right on the water again. this photo was taken at low tide. and we were the only ones there. we were in the yellow building, Kim on the left and me on the right.
these bungalows were really easy to spot since they had bright blue hard/plastic/metal roofs on them. they also had plastered walls, and we each had our own 'en suite' bathroom. still needed a bucket to flush and take a shower ... but i actually was getting to like that type of shower. it was far more efficient that a small trickle of water that usually comes out of a 'regular' shower in SE Asia :)
when we arrived, we had some pretty rough seas for several days. this was not how i had envisioned our stay at Raja Ampat. i had expected calm waters. this is a short video of the view of the sea the last few days we were there ... this is what i had envisioned. calm and peaceful !
for our first snorkel experience, we walked past 3 other HomeStays at low tide and got in the water. the fishes and corals were what we had come to expect. the vibrant colors
and the abundance of fish
and of course, the ever-entertaining Nemo ... this is the False Clown Anemone Fish
the one exception, this was a new fish for me, the White Damsel - Juvenile, only about 1"
Matias took us by boat to a beautiful snorkel spot off Friwen Island (it's on the map above). here we followed along the side of the island with the current. the corals and fish were beautiful !
there were lots and lots of Tunicates, aka Sea Squirts on this wall. Why do they call them Sea Squirts? because they are filter feeders with a water-filled, sac-like body structure and two tubular openings, known as siphons. they take in water through the one siphon and expel it through the other siphon. so, they look like they are 'squirting'
this is one of them close up ... love the textures and colors
this is looking down inside the siphon
the Sea Fans were pretty as this site as well
this Barrel Sponge and Squirrel Fish are all ... 'Pretty in Pink'
the corals were in good shape, with a lot of fishes
the water was clear and the fish plentiful in the depths as well
another new fish for me.... the Blue Spotted Grouper ... this should have been a better photo, but i had the zoom on and didn't realize it :(
these islands are not only home to beautiful underwater creatures, most of them are also Jungles. there are many 'birders' that visit here because of the abundance of birds. and a Bird of Paradise lives here. we asked Matias if he could show us one. 6am one morning we left for a Jungle Walk. we didn’t realize we were going to be scaling the mountain, stumbling over rocks, in the dark, following Matias as he cut his way through the Jungle with his Matchette ! it was more of a work-out than we had anticipated, and with less-than-expected results (our unrealistic expectations, i might add). they live high in the trees at the top of the mountain. we finally made it to the top, and he tried to get us to see way up there … but without binoculars, it was impossible. it did fly at one point and we saw it’s long 'trailing tail’, and did see it when it moved from branch to branch. apparently this is what one looks like
i took some photos, but i must have deleted them since all you could see was the tops of trees :( this is Matias and me after our walk. it was dark when we started, thus my head-lamp
i had intended to do some diving while on Arborek, but weather conditions, Easter, and a rather 'losely-run' Dive Shop prevented that. so i was anxious to get a few dives in from here before i left. Matias made arrangements for me to dive with a HomeStay down the beach. the night before the dive, i received a text from them saying they were going to Piaynemo, and would i mind the 'extra expense'. since this destination is far away, all the Dive Shops charge extra for the 'boat expense' which is divided by the divers. it's a beautiful place, but since i had already been there, i didn't see the need to go again at a price equal to 2 dives. so i declined. again, Matias came through for me, called the next Dive Shop and took me there in his boat. i did 2 dives with them that day, and another one the next day. it was a fun dive and 2 people that i met on Arborek were also there. it is fun to meet people on one island, and then see them on the next :)
as always, the unfortunate part of diving is that i cannot share with you what i am experiencing. after last year, i decided to buy a GoPro camera for diving. it was a mistake, i should have invested in an ‘underwater housing’ for my trusty ‘snorkel’ camera instead … next year !
a couple unique sharks are known to inhabit these waters; and sought after by divers and snorkelers. one is the ‘Walking Shark’ or Epaulette Shark, completely harmless, and just discovered in Indonesia in 2013. it can swim when in water, but can also ‘walk’, using it's fins, when it is out of the water. …out of the water? you say? yes, it also has developed a unique technique that allows it to shut off a part of it’s brain, reducing it’s oxygen demands. we asked Matias about it. he said there was one living here and he would take us on a night snorkel to see it !
he found one for us immediately, and it didn’t move for awhile. but trying to get a photo, with the current swaying the sea grass and positioning the flash light, was difficult.
it is long and thin and looked more like a salamander than a shark
you can see the large fins in this photo, that they use to 'walk'
i LOVE the night snorkeling. after Matias and Kim went in, i stayed out and saw another one, … or the same one. he was ‘hunting’ and not paying any attention to me. here is a not-so-great video. i was having trouble coordinating the light and my camera, and following my moving target :)
you can also watch a short YouTube video (not mine) here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdlHMMsP_ZI
creatures look different, … actually ARE different, at night. when you see this Tiger Cowrie (Cypraea tigris), a sea snail, during the day, it is all smooth and shiny, .... you never see the fine hairs you see here
the Brittle Sea Stars are always hiding during the day; usually you can see a leg or two. they are kind of ‘creepy’ moving around at night
there were literally a thousand pairs of orange eyes glowing in the coral … they were tiny shrimp
Kim and i did a short snorkel our last day, right in front on the 'house reef'. i've seen lots of Blue Sea Stars, but never one with yellow undersides
the colorful corals we will never forget ... so bright, vibrant, and refreshing ...
we were wrapping up our adventure in Raja Ampat
once we got to Gam Island, the cell signals were stronger. i was still nervous about getting the flights and hotel, but we got it done with no problems. ... even though we booked just 2 days prior to leaving :(
since the weather and seas are so unpredictable, we wanted to make sure that we didn't miss our flight out of Bali to return home. so, we left a day early. at 7am Matias took us by boat back to Waisai, it was a beautiful calm morning on the seas. we got on the 9am ferry to Sorong, and a leisure taxi to the airport for a 3pm departure. we had a short layover in Makassar and arrived in Bali at 9pm .... a long day
we had 1 day and 2 nights in Kuta, Denpasar, Bali, at the Palm Beach Hotel. Kuta is a well known 'surf destination' in Indonesia. it was good to stay in a nice hotel for 2 nights before the long flight home. we did a little shopping in a couple 'malls' and also through the maze of markets. if those people would just leave me alone and quit bugging me, i might have looked longer and bought more ... but they just don't quit ... it was irritating
the below map sums up my travels in Indonesia ... from Singapore to Jakarta to Manado and Bunaken, then on to Sorong and a ferry to Waisai, to get to the Raja Ampat islands, ... and then to Bali
in the afternoon of 11 April, i left Bali for Hong Kong ... a long layover, then to Chicago and on to Kalamazoo ... and it only took 42 hours :)
that's my story of Raja Ampat. there are still so many more islands to discover, not only in Raja Ampat, but in all of Indonesia. i hope this is not my last journey there.
thanks for coming along with me through my blogs
