Indonesia, here we come ...

[Grateful Diver]

Cheng and I are joining another couple we often do dive trips with for a 3-week tour of Indonesia.

We'll be flying from Seattle to Taipei to Denpasar, Bali ... where we'll stay for three days and dive at Tulamben, in the northeast part of the island. Cheng and I have been to Tulamben before ... but we were very new divers back then ... we're looking forward to returning now that we actually know how to dive.

Tulamben is a great place to dive. There are three distinctly different sites there, all accessible (easily) from the beach. To the south is a wall, dropping down to depths well below anything I'd want to do. To the north is a WWII shipwreck ... the USS Liberty ... which ranges in depth from about 25 feet to about 120 feet. It's completely covered in the most beautiful corals I've ever seen. And directly out in front of the beach is a slope they refer to as the "Coral Gardens" ... aptly named.

After Tulamben, we fly out to a tiny island called Bimi, where we're boarding a liveaboard ... http://pelagian.wakatobi.com/pel_homepage.htm ... for a week of touring and diving the Komodo area. Then we fly back to Bali and on to Sulawesi for eight days.

Our first four days in Sulawesi will be in the Bunaken area ... on the northwest side of the island. Our second four days will be in the Lembeh Straits area ... on the northeast side of the island.

Finally, we'll head back to Bali for a couple days of sightseeing and offgassing before flying home.

We're leaving on March 8th, and returning on March 30th ... hope to have some stories and pictures to add here when we return ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[LCF]

"Hope to have" some stories and pictures? Hah! I hope you're taking a laptop with an empty hard drive . . .

As you know, Peter and I had a ball in Bunaken and Lembeh. Although Bunaken is clearer water and more color, I enjoyed Lembeh even more. It's the kind of "go slow and spot the camouflaged critters" diving that Cove 2 prepares well for. And the critters are so outlandish and improbable (as well as sometimes quite beautiful). Be sure to do night dives -- LOTS of stuff comes out and cruises at night!

[BDub]

Have a great time Bob. I know you've been looking forward to this for a long time.

Brian

[Grateful Diver]

Making one last swing thru cyber-space before heading out. The shuttle picks us up in a couple hours, and at 1:30 AM our plane leaves for Indonesia (via Taipei). I don't expect to be on the Internet for the next three weeks or so.

Y'all play safe ... catch ya on the flip side ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[cardiver]

Have a great time, Bob! Be safe and post lots of pics when you get home.

[Penopolypants]

Have a great time, and please wish Cheng a happy birthday!!

[Pez7378]

Be safe and have FUN! Happy Birthday Cheng! :occasion5:

[Tom Nic]

Safe journey and diving.

Looking forward to the pics and report on your return.

[Ah, another dive trip I hope to make someday...]

[Grateful Diver]

Got back in last evening, after a grueling 40-hour final day ... those time zone shifts are killer.

Anyway, had a great time ... 54 dives, nearly 59 hours of bottom time.

I'll write up a trip report and do a photo show when I get a chance. In the meantime, a couple "teasers" ...

From Bali ...


From Komodo ...


From Sulawesi ...


... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Penopolypants]

Welcome back! I can't wait to see the rest of the photos and report!

[spatman]

welcome back, bob!!!
:hello2:

[LCF]

Welcome home! Can't wait to hear all about it . . . You're going to need to schedule a night for a dinner and slideshow, I think!

[Sounder]

Welcome back Bob!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!

[airsix]

Welcome back Bob. While you were gone we all went diving in the snow and I don't think any of us managed 59 hours of bottom time. You definitely win this round. Pictures look great. Glad you're back safe and sound. Rest up. We'll be here waiting for the full report and pictures when you're ready.

-Ben

[Zen Diver]

Welcome home!

-Valerie

[Pez7378]

In the meantime, a couple "teasers" ...

WOW! Holy Moly! I can't wait to see more! Welcome home Bob and Cheng.

[Grateful Diver]

Got the photo show done ... the trip report's gonna take some more work.

It's kind've long ... had trouble paring it down to about 125 pictures. And for the first time, I really felt the limitations of a point-n-shoot camera. Some of the subjects are so small you'd have trouble seeing them with the naked eye, and others were big enough or distant enough that a strobe would've been more appropriate. But here ya go ... enjoy ...

http://photoshow.comcast.net/watch/UX2xw6in

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[spatman]

absolutely amazing, bob! the variety of colors is just stunning!

[Pez7378]

So, it appears that the only underwater species you didn't see was the Elusive, Trilam Clad PNW Diver! Fantastic photoshow Bob.

[Penopolypants]

Beautiful! All those nudis and cuttlefish. And frogfish. And mantas. And seahorses. And...well, all of it, really.

[WylerBear]

Wow!

[nwbobber]

Awesome, Bob! I can't wait to hear what you have to say about it!

[airsix]

...But here ya go ... enjoy ...

http://photoshow.comcast.net/watch/UX2xw6in

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob, thank you for sharing. Amazing subjects, but the photography is equally pleasing. You've really outdone yourself. I bet a lot of those shots took a great deal of patience. For example, I love the Mandarin fish, and aren't they extremely difficult to observe? (Rarely expose themselves) Bravo!
-Ben

[Grateful Diver]

Bob, thank you for sharing. Amazing subjects, but the photography is equally pleasing. You've really outdone yourself. I bet a lot of those shots took a great deal of patience. For example, I love the Mandarin fish, and aren't they extremely difficult to observe? (Rarely expose themselves) Bravo!
-Ben

Yes, the mandarin dive involves long periods of time searching among the corals to find them ... then patiently waiting for them to rise out of the corals for their "mating dance". They apparently only do this at dusk, and you have to keep your light well shielded. The thing is this makes it difficult for your camera to focus on the subject, and the time lag between when you push the shutter button and when it takes the picture is longer than normal.

I used the "blind squirrel" approach ... took maybe 60 pictures and got a few that were in focus and with the subject still in the frame ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Jan K]

Welcome back, Bob. What a show. From Manta to Pygmy and everything in between. And with P&S camera. My compliments master Bob.