Minahasa Lagoon Resort & Dive Club - Day 5
Trip Start
Oct 30, 2008
1
10
19
Trip End
Nov 15, 2008
Tanahwangko,
Sulawesi,
Indonesia
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Amazing coral gardens!
Words just cannot describe how heavenly this place is where sea life is concerned. There is no shortage of fish, corals and other invertebrates, and they come in the widest variety that would seem possible. We will truly miss diving this absolute gem of a part of the world. And the weather! Warm and humid in the jungle, and just plain warm out on the water and in the water. Sure beats having to wear drysuits, heavy undergarments and 30 pounds of lead. It was also great being personally attended to before and after a dive. Not sure if we can go back to doing it for ourselves!|
And we will also miss the Minahasa Lagoon resort. All in our group agreed that this has been the best vacation we could have ever hoped for. The resort staff are so friendly and attentive. We've come to know them in a matter of a week and feel so welcomed, as though we are a part of their family. Highest praise for the resort and staff, and none of us would hesitate to stay here again. And again. And again! But on to today's diving!
As usual, we were up by 6:30 and eager to start the day. When the sun comes up at 5am, it's pretty hard to sleep late anyway. After another fantastic breakfast, we were off and running at 8:30 headed towards Bunaken. We made two dives there today. The first site was a wall dive called Panggalisang. Very easy and no current made for a lot of time to linger over anything found along the wall. And we found plenty, as usual. This was probably the best dive for nudibranch variety.
Nudibranchs galore!
Nudibranchs galore!
Nudibranchs galore!
Nudibranchs galore!
Nudibranchs galore!
Nudibranchs galore!
The best find this time around was probably the sea turtle, who was graciously patient enough to allow 9 divers to take its portrait. They are amazing to watch swimming, but even better when sitting still for a photo op!
Turtle with a hitch hiker
This site was also Andy's first encounter with fire coral, which is aptly named for its ability to sting on contact and cause a very delightful (NOT) burning sensation.
Fire Coral = BAD!
A slight brush across the ankle was a reminder the whole rest of the dive to keep clear of this stuff! That's true of most things here, but it never takes away from the beauty of it all. Don't touch the marine life! After a quick feeding and a visit from the local merchant marine lady... Side story - The same woman visited us daily while out at Bunaken. She would come out in a small boat loaded up with shirts, jewelry, local artwork and the likes to sell to us tourists. It was decent stuff, really. No touristy junk. Prices were very reasonable and everyone definitely bought their share.
Merchant Marine Lady!
Time for dive 2, which would be our last at Bunaken. :-( This time we dove Lekuan 3. The dive was an easy one, beginning with a slope and leading into a wall dive.
One of many types of lionfish
Many cool critters were spotted along the wall as usual, but the dive ended all too soon after an hour bottom time.
Camoflaged crab
Amongst the most fun fish to check out along the reef were the many varieties of clownfish. They get extremely protective of their anemone domain, and will defend it as best they can for their size.
Clownfish couple
Have to admire their stout little hearts! They will even nip if you get too close.
But, they are about the only fish willing to face you, which makes for some great photo opportunities! We found an adult and a juvenile that were just beautiful together.
Adult & juvenile clownfish
Juvenile clownfish
Disney gave everyone a very wrong impression of clownfish. They may be cute like Nemo, but the comparison ends there! We finished off the dive by lingering in the coral gardens. Incredible beauty and variety. It's amazing that so much life can exist in one place. More than the eye can possibly take in. This is definitely a trip worth repeating. Best part of it is, we're not done yet!
Tomorrow we move out of Minahasa and will take the Highland tour on our way to the Lembeh Resort. Apparently we'll check out some scenery, a local market, and who knows what else. I can tell you we're not looking forward to seeing the local meat market, but that story will have to wait until tomorrow. Lembeh also has reefs, but is primarily all about muck diving. We're definitely sad to leave Minahasa, but excited by what lies next in store for us! Bye for now!
Andy and Pam
