Bunaken Day 3

Under the Sea…Day 3

This morning we did two more incredible dives…we saw 3 sea turtles, a pygmy sea horse that was bright yellow and only the size of my pinky fingernail….it is actually a miracle anyone even spotted it! We saw a black moray eel that was opening and closing its mouth so wide that we could see its bright white teeth. We saw an electric pink leaf fish that has a fin running up its back that is twice as large as its body (which looks like a large leaf), a 2 ft long crocodile fish that blends into the sand. We saw whole schools of trigger fish, damsel fish, some unidentified large silver fish, so many schools of tiny tiny fish that move as though they have one mind. The coral is so wild, today I spotted some that looked almost exactly like little broccoli heads! Some of the corals are soft and move with the current, others are sharp and jagged. Some form enormous tunnels that we could fit inside…almost like a barrel! We swam into, up through, and out of a cavern of coral which was incredible. There are moments when you stop searching so narrowly at the space in front of you and just look up….and see hundreds of fish, and these indescribable silhouettes of the coral cliff outlined by the surface of the ocean so far above. In fact, Jeremy and I have devised a way of communicating with each other under the water…one of the things we “say” to each other is LOOK AROUND!

On our way back to the island, it was low tide so we had to anchor the boat 50 yards from the beach. The water is crystal clear and from the boat, one of the Indonesian guides spotted a bright yellow frog fish, which are really strange looking, so I leaped out of the boat (after asking) and walked over to him to get this picture. Meanwhile Jeremy jumps out of the boat right after and nearly steps on a baby striped sea snake! WHOA POISONOUS! We were only in like 2.5 feet of water! The visibility in shallow water wasn’t as great today because of all the rain last night…but we managed to snap a shot of the snake, although the picture doesn’t quite capture the bright blue and black bands that circle this snake. One of the Indonesian guides had hopped out at that time and he was all kinds of nervous that we were all gathered around this snake. Supposedly they are very docile but extremely lethal. We snapped a photo and moved on!

This afternoon we went right out front of our resort and snorkeled, again the visibility wasn’t fantastic but the fish and coral definitely were! We saw a HUGE lion fish which have all kinds of spines sticking out of it (like a mane) and they are poisonous. The lionfish’s spines confuse their prey so they can get really close without the prey fish knowing it is about to become dinner.

This evening we went on a night dive (Jeremy’s first one!). It was just sensational, we saw a sea snail that was the size of a football…moving all around. We saw 2 eels, 10+ crabs and shrimp, a turtle, clams, 2 frog fish, a leaf fish, a small cuttle fish, a scorpion fish, and parrot fish that were hiding. Parrot fish are bright, neon colors-pink, torquise, green, purples, etc and they hid at night in the coral. After they have picked their hiding spots, they spit out a web of mucus all around them to protect them from little fish “disturbing” them!

I think I got some great photos, but no time to upload right now.  Hopefully tomorrow we'll add some more.