Left Manila Philippines for Bali Indonesia, my last country stop before I head for home. I had a 4am flight ... ugh ... and there's not much open in the Terminal at that hour.
Pena, my driver since 2019 picked me up at 7am, it's a 3hr drive to the airport for him. We stopped for lunch. He's such a kind and responsible young man, married w/2kids. He had tiny flowers in his air, always does.
When i get to Bali, i am immediately reminded of the vast difference between The Philippines, and Indonesia. This was the bathroom at the restaurant.
I am staying at Matahari Tulamben Dive & Spa Resort, by far the 'classiest' accommodations I've ever been at. A friend recommended it, but when i looked at the photos, i figured it was beyond my budget. But, they have 3 Standard rooms, a/c, own bathroom, and hot water, for $18.20/night. I booked for a week, and after 2 days, added another week... why leave ? The restaurant is right over the water, with a seating area above this also. Oh, full breakfast is included.
i got up early one morning before my dive to see the SunRise.
This is the reverse Sunrise in the West,
To the back is Mt Agung, an active Volcano that looms over this part of the island of Bali. Almost 10,000 ft, it last erupted in Nov 2017, i had been on Gili Island in March 2017. Before that 2,000 people died in the 1963 eruption.
Matahari is said to be one of the oldest resorts in Tulamben. Witnessing the many old bonsai trees, with trunks as big around as my thigh, many plantings, and quiet peaceful elegant gardens. "Once a year go someplace you've never been before"
and of course a swimming pool and lounge area. I actually swam and laid in the sun one afternoon.
I also love all the 'offerings' they put out with beautiful flowers, incense, and palm.
I feel like a Queen :)
First dive, I 'requested' to see Rhinopias, of course that is silly, there are no guarantees. They are in the family of ScorpionFish...but they move like a FrogFish. Rhinopias are the Holy Grail for underwater photographers. About 10 min into the dive, we dove down to 100feet, and there she sat .... Rhinopias frondosa, ...all yellow-gold and proud; and .... large enough to see... Their size varies from 3/4" to 9", this one was about 6". And yes, the eye is white, a bit distracting to all the beauty and frills.
You don't have much time to stay down at 100', so we quickly moved about 30' to our left, and saw this Rhinopias eschmeyeri, ... characterized by the special shape of the head with an upturned mouth. The eyes are on top of the head and have a special kind of eyebrows. The mouth has strange protrusions. Their size varies from 3/4" to 9", this one was about 7" .WoW ... what a way to start Indonesia !
A video can be see here or at YouTube: https://youtu.be/et0w4cJ1apI
We saw several new Nudis
i liked the composition of this Nudi photo, even though it's not very colorful.
I love seeing something new; and i try not to repeat photos here ... with some exceptions :)
We saw TWO tiny FrogFish. One was really pretty, a girl, all dressed up in pink lace :)
And the other, a 'guy', with a lot of camouflage on ...
And this SeaHorse, was much smaller than any i've seen this trip, and a very pale pink.. (but not a Pygmy SeaHorse, which is 1/4")
There were the usual, 'i don't know what i am photographing' critters. I think this red/orange bug is what he called a LadyBug.
I will continue to try to get a focused photo of the Skeleton Shrimp ...here is a yellow one, that always reminds me of Kokopelli ...
and pink .. they are kind of comical
and one with LOTS of babies !
Shrimps are confusing ... these 2 shrimps don't look anything like the shrimps above ...
This is a Sea Star Shrimp
and then there is this guy that is a Cuapetes sp ... Shrimp ... but looks more like a Crab to me :(
THIS is my favorite crab .... I'm calling him Nixon
another crab ... not so cute ... but has a Howdy Doody face :)
An aptly-named Striped BumbleBee Shrimp, ... also not like any of the other 'shrimps'
Another Shrimp, a Whip Coral Shrimp... yet different from the rest. It lives on Whip Coral
another Shrimp, a Cleaner Shrimp, they do just as their name implies... they clean-remove parasites from fish ... benefiting them both!
and ... a Peacock Mantis Shrimp. I've shown you photos of this one before ... but ... NOT with EGGS ... yes, she is keeping them safe right under 'chin'
On another dive we saw this 'not-so-pretty' FrogFish ... poor baby. It looks so miserable :(
On that same dive we saw a Flamboyant CuttleFish. I saw several of these in Dauin... but here in Bali, Tulamben ... they don't see them. This one was much smaller than the ones i showed from Dauin. But our Guide was SO EXCITED to see it. It was the first one he's ever seen. He asked me if he could take some photos... he was just snapping away. I loved that he was so happy.
I showed a video of the Many Spotted Juvenile SweetLips in a previous Blog ... this is a Juvenile of the Oriental Sweet Lips .... they have that 'i don't know where i'm going action' in common !
If the Rhinopias are the Holy Grail, I have to submit my bid for the Pygmy SeaHorse as a contender for that Title. If for nothing else than the fact that it is SO tiny, and SO difficult to find. And, it is also down below 100ft, so there isn't much time to search, ...and then to photograph. 10min at 100ft is about the max a diver can do. Here is a photo of my Guide searching with a flashlight.
and .... he found one ! ...at first glance this is what i saw ... his 'stick' is about 1/4" and kind of lead my eyes to it
I was lucky that the little one turned just enough ... and i got this photo ... i am very proud of :) It so perfectly matches his color and markings to the Gorgonian Fan Coral that it calls home. Whoop Whoop
I was following slowly behind when i saw this green algae leaf (about 2"), which typically houses Shaun the Sheep, so i slowed to look for it. I have to get down close to look, and stuck my face right in a small SeaHorse. Ahhh, i banged on my tank to try to get the attention of Darcy and my Guide. The SeaHorse was hiding behind the leaf.
Darcy came back and, without disturbing the SeaHorse, gently held the leaf down so i could get this photo. I love how you can see it's tail wrapped around the base of the leaf. It's great to have a caring assistant. I am sorry to say that some of the Guides are not as careful. I met Darcy in the Philippines at Aivy Maes, and here we are diving together again in Bali ! I LOVE it when that happens !
Another 2 pretty Nudi's
I spent a lot of time with this new Nudi. I've identified it as Miamira Sinuata. It was so unusual, unlike any i've seen ... I couldn't leave it alone.
A photo of a pretty underwater scenery.
and another fish photo .... a CowFish
A couple more crabs .... a Decorator Crab, does just as it's name suggests. It 'decorates' itself with 'stuff' .... this one is quite pretty, all dressed up in white.
unless you see it's head/face up close ... i wouldn't mess around with this one... tiny but fierce looking.
i keep trying to get a good shot of a Skeleton Shrimp ... i think i'm improving ... they are quite comical
and a Harlequin Shrimp
On another dive, we were on a mission to see another Holy Grail Rhinopias. ... I mistakenly thought this was a Leaf ScorpionFish, it wasn't very big. Only when we surfaced did i find out what it really was. Eventually, I'll know what i am looking for. WOW, I've seen 3 Rhinopias in a week !
Before I close this Blog, here is another photo of Mt. Agung .... it's not everyday you can see the top !
and Paco, Darcy, and I ... at a restaurant terrace with it in the background.
Stay tuned ... there will be more Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia photos ...
No comments:
Post a Comment