Let’s all travel vicariously during the coronavirus era, and to start us off, I’m going to start posting photoblogs of my January/February trip to Indonesia!
[Read more…] about You Can Travel Vicariously During the Coronavirus Era!Are you ready for more amazing travel photos from 2017?
Raja Ampat means the “four kings” in Indonesian. Raja Ampat is an archipelago with four main islands, or “kings” in West Papua. They are Misool, Waigeo, Batanta, and Salawati, and I had the privilege of diving all of them, and participating with Ray of Hope Expeditions in citizen science. Dr Andrea Marshall led the expedition. The photography opportunities were amazing above, and below, the waterline!
I love Cozumel, and have been there many times. My summer trip was highlighted by a wedding on my lawn, whale sharks, Isla Mujeres and its turtle farm, and my cousins coming to visit.
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I participate in Citizen Science trips because I am a big believer in giving back. When we receive a benefit, I believe we should provide a benefit in return somewhere, somehow. Scuba Diving is a passion for me, animals are a passion, and photography underwater is a passion. I love the ocean, the earth, and all of its creatures. The point is, I must give back to the ocean in some way since I enjoy the ocean in so many different ways. How do I give back? I go on Citizen Science trips, which means I participate in collecting data for scientists to use, and in doing so, I also help support their work. I’ve done trips with All Out Africa, Marine Megafauna Foundation, and REEF. Why do I do it? Here are 4 of my reasons.
The last trip I took with Marine Megafauna’s Dr Andrea Marshall, Queen of Mantas, was an 11 day voyage in Raja Ampat, Indonesia on the luxury boutique liveaboard, The Arenui (not all trips are so luxurious, believe me!). It was a wonderful trip, and I enjoyed getting to know the other divers, who mostly were not there for the same reason I was, but who became very enthusiastic about taking Manta ID photographs. I believe no matter where they are diving, they will take ID photos of animals and send them to the databases for turtles, whales, dolphins, mola mola, and others. Inspiring others to take part in citizen science is also a contribution, and a way of giving back. You can do it too!
One doesn’t have to dive to do citizen science!No matter where you are, there are opportunities to participate. There is National Geographic’s list, and there are projects closer to home. I live in Dallas, Texas and here is a program to document wildlife in urban areas in North Texas Wild. You can also go to www.citizensciencecenter.com. Citizen scientists are a boon to scientists because so much more data can be obtained. If you are interested, you can find an opportunity near you! I highly recommend it!
On day 8 of one of the best dive trips of my life, the Arenui Liveaboard headed into the Dampier Strait of Raja Ampat. Our dive sites were Cape Kri, Blue Magic, and Saonek Jetty. Saonek Jetty brought the biggest shock of the day! The dive site is at a jetty, just as it sounds, and it was a nice, shallow dive site. During my first dive there, I saw a Titan Triggerfish. The Titan has a bad reputation for being aggressive, and I had heard the stories of broken jaws, stitches, and broken ribs. Yikes! I have always been very respectful of the Titan, it is a meaty, muscular triggerfish. On this dive, I saw a Titan diving down, and realized it was building a nest. I didn’t go close to her, but she saw me and came after me with a vengeance! Scared me to death. I had my brand new camera in my brand new Nauticam housing, and the only thing between my face and the fish was my housing. As the fish shot toward me I pushed out at it with my housing. My thought was, great, my first trip with this gear and it is going to be broken. The Titan came after me three times, and how it did not crash into my housing dome I will never know. My dive buddy swam up afterward to make sure I was okay. Okay but a bit shaken, I admit!
Cape Kri was an absolutely beautiful dive site, one of the most visually beautiful of the trip, both above and below. A large group of Bumphead Parrotfish were in the shallows, hanging out on our safety stop. The light was decent so I was able to take good photos of them. They are so ugly, but big and fascinating to watch!
Blue Magic was a gorgeous dive site, and almost an eerie dive. The fish shoals were huge, and so still, we all knew there had to be predators around. We were rewarded with Black Tip Reef Sharks, and finding a Woebeggone Shark snoozing under a ledge. We did two dives at Blue Magic, so we also saw a variety of fish, and a couple of Giant Manta Rays!
Black Tip Reef Sharks were hanging around the shoals. It was so still and quiet!
It was a beautiful day of diving!
This completely awesome trip was a Ray of Hope Expedition from Marine Megafauna Foundation with Dr Andrea Marshall.
Ear problems are a most unpleasant surprise! “I can’t dive because of my ears” is something I have heard a million times. Generally, it is not true, most people can clear their ears, and if you don’t believe me, just yawn! They clear. It is a fact that there are divers who have ear trouble, and my husband was among them. He burst his eardrum at least 3 times that we know of. I used to get what they call “swimmers ear”, which is an outside the ear infection that is very painful, but I haven’t had it in years. Until Raja Ampat!
On the 6th day of diving my ears began to hurt. By Day 7 I knew there had to be an infection, so I made the decision to skip the rest of the day’s diving, take antibiotics and ear drops, and rest. The day was spent sorting photos and resting, and by dinner I was feeling much better. Until I put alcohol based ear drops in my ear. I actually screamed the pain was so absolutely unexpected! A nurse on board told me that I had probably burst an eardrum. Well, I was pretty sure of it, and the alcohol drops just confirmed it. However, I could not miss the incredibly beautiful sunset dive! My ear ached a bit for the rest of the trip, but I was very careful and had no major issues. The benefit of having a burst eardrum? You don’t have to clear your ears! A little diver humor!
My trip to Indonesia, like most of my other trips, was solo travel. The great thing about traveling solo on dive trips is you meet all kinds of new friends! After diving the Watch Towers, we went on an expedition to Tomolol Cave, a sacred site. A Muslim shrine is located at the entrance. Tomolol Cave has a river with fantastic limestone and rock formations. Most people use a life jacket or ring to float through the caves, much of it in the dark. Many people had lights, of course, so we could see the inner walls of the cave. From the boat to the caves on small boats, there is a pearl farm on the way. Boats must stop and pick up local guards to go to Tomolol Cave. One cannot take anything out of the cave, and the guards make sure no one dives the pearl farm for pearls!
The cave itself is like a cathedral to stone, water, and nature. Carnivorous Pitcher Plants hang on its outer walls. Misool is jungly along the rivers leading to the cave, and there are even cliff burial sites! It is bizarre to see human remains on the side of the cliffs. The presence of the guards guarantees they are not disturbed. Floating through the monoliths was a surreal experience, and one I tried to soak into my very skin. I never want to forget the beauty of Raja Ampat.
