The currents are generally very strong and the underwater life is abundant and diverse. The Indian and Pacific Oceans meet here. The water is a comfortable warm temperature and the visibility is great at 25-30 feet. We did four dives off of Flores Island, in and around Komodo National Park. We spent a few days getting rid of our sea legs and talking to all of the dive shops on the island.
We ran into the lost divers at our hotel and we were glad to see that they were ok. We decided to go with the crew that rescued the lost divers. We choose an easy low current dive for the first day. We loved every minute of it. Diving is so relaxing, it feels like you are floating through space. Each time a fish swam close by I realized how effortless their movements are. We spent the evenings in Labuan Bajo with David and his family, sharing stories of all of our adventures. It's a quaint little town right on the coast. We enjoyed the slow pace of life there.
One thing that was irritating was that our hotel was smack dab in the middle of two Mosques so five times a day we were forced into listening to the prayers over the loud speakers. I think Alex said it best when he said "Religion and loud speakers just don't mix." One evening we took a walk through a back alley and waved to the women and children in the streets. Goats hurried by and everyone stopped what they were doing to smile at us. The second day we determined that we were prepared for a slightly difficult dive. As the group gathered around the dive master on the deck of the boat, he says "Now, this is the spot that we had some trouble at a few days ago, but all that is over now. You are going to have a great dive here today." Just then Alex and I turned to each other and thought "Oh boy!" This was the exact site where the divers went missing!!! We didn't realize that we were going to be the very next people to dive this site! One of the girls on our boat turned out to be an ABC news reporter who was there to film our experience. We were each interviewed but we are unsure if the story ever aired.
Dive 3 was breathtaking!! I don't even know how to explain the feeling. It's a drift dive so as soon as you jump in the water you immediately go under.
The island is in the shape of a triangle and we were swimming in the protected area. The sea wall is at least 100 feet tall and as wide as you can see in both directions. Every color and texture of coral live in these waters. The fish life is copious; there are all sorts of things that we had never seen before. The current was especially strong that day. We were instructed to stay right next to the sea wall and stay behind our guide. Once you start noticing that the fish are swimming up straight, it's time to turn around because the current is too strong. Drift diving is different from other dives because everything is moving by you very quickly. Once Alex and I turned around to find our instructor and he had both of his arms straight out, flying through the water like an airplane. He nodded and gave us a big smile and two thumbs up. All we could think was "Man, I bet he loves his job!" We saw Lion Fish, Stone Fish, Napoleon, Tuna, Scorpion Fish, Puffers, Angel, Clown Fish, etc. There was so much to look at! We have to go back there again. SOON!!!The next dive was even better. (If you can believe it!) The site was an island about the size of our living room.
Hovering at 75 feet, two white tip sharks caught our attention. They were less than 10 feet below us. It was a mother shark and her young and they were asleep on the coral. I could see their gills moving in and out as they breathed. My heart was racing. These weren't the nurse sharks that we saw in Belize, these were the real deal! We hovered over them for about 5 minutes, clinging to the coral to keep us in place. Just when I felt comfortable our guide motioned for us to turn around. There was another white tip shark swimming right above us!! It was exhilarating!! We saw at least 8 sharks. I motioned for Alex to turn around and look up at the sun shining through the water. Just then another white tip swam past the ray of sun on a backdrop of the seawall. It was picture perfect! We really wish that we had an underwater camera but we'll have to freeze that moment in our minds instead. We stopped to look at some shrimp in hopes to see a seahorse but instead I looked right below me and there was a 10 foot sea snake slithering through the coral that I was near. It was a brilliant blue with black strips. I'm glad that it wasn't interested in me! Alex, however, spotted a foot long tuna who was very interested in him. He decided to reach out to touch it and the tuna took off as quickly as he could. Just then thousands of reef fish ducked in the coral to protect themselves. They keep an eye on what the big fish are doing!
When we got out of the boat we were so excited! I don't think I've ever felt the same excitement! The sensation overcame us and we realized how fortunate we were to be able to see the underwater world in all of it's glory. We were fulfilled because we saw even more than we imagined.
There are so many Indonesian islands to explore. Now we know of some excellent spots to come back to and want to visit many others. It's important to take full advantage of swimming with the underwater life because of all of the pollution and global warming. We are so lucky to experience that and will never forget the majestic seas of Komodo National Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment