Wicked Diving Expedition Part 3
‘No Rest For The Wicked’
So the diving expedition started in Raja Ampat, Papua New Guinea, (south of the Philippines), 1500 nautical miles away, and headed south to the Banda Islands, seven specks in the vast Indonesian Archipelago, and stretching 3000 miles along the equator. We are only doing a part of this island system by boat, the most remote part. There are estimated 300 distinct ethnic groups throughout. The Banda Islands are in the center of the Moluccas Islands. Through exploration and exploitation it is not unusual to find Chinese, Arab, Dutch, British or Portuguese sir names amongst the locals living out here in veritably the middle of the Spice Islands. We’ve been travelling mostly at night to within sight of Timor to the south and turned west along the chain to the Island of Alor arriving in the port town and capital, Kalabahi.
Most everybody went ashore to a village that makes beautiful blankets and masks. I on the other hand had developed a couple of infected spots around my ankles due to abrasions caused by scuba booties and tight fins slowly sanding off the skin. Two have healed on their own accord but the 3rdis still a mess and out here a small mess can be a big mess in a hurry so I went to the local clinic/hospital with Sari, the only Indonesian dive guide on the boat, as a translator. As the others went off to the village we caught a ride from the tour guide’s wife and she streamlined the hospital process as best she could be manage. They don’t get a lot of foreigners out here as far as I could tell; I was the only one I saw in town. The doc had a look, cleaned it up, and told me to continue on the regiment of 3-4 antibiotics a day, clean bandages regularly, and if I dive, which I will, wear a sock to prevent rubber from touching my skin. Right, off I went to top-up my phone, sort out my bank, and buy a Magnum ice cream for Sari and myself. We walked back to the Jaya in the heat of the day but it wasn’t as humid as it had been to the north.
When the others returned they were laden with bags of large avocados, carved masks, heavy hand woven blankets and cans and bottles of Guinness. I think avocados will be in everything we eat for the next few days and that is just fine with me. With the antibiotics doing their thing I figure I get to do mine and get back in the water. I did skip the morning dive to get more antibiotics into my system before torturing it with more abrasive activities. We peeled out of the harbor part way and came to Arch Wall dive site. I sat on the boat and had an above water look around. A small boat of women followed us with their crafts and trinkets but by the time they reached us, all the divers were in the water. They drifted patiently and then came up and spoke with the captain for a while. When the divers got back on board some of them bought a few sarongs or scarves and then their boat moved off. Our journey continued along the north side of the Indonesian Islands, Alor, Pantar, Lembata, Andora, Soor, Komodo where the Komodo Dragons live and last but not least Flores Island. Two of us didn’t dive the first day for illness or infection reasons but now everybody seems back on track. Everybody else did four dives that day including a night dive seeing lots of baby or miniature Cuttlefish among other odds and ends.
The following day there were two dives planned and the morning dive was a sloping reef with little current. There were some really nice photo opportunities that we all took advantage of before motoring some 6 hours through a loosely cloudy blue water day with a wind-provoked swell from the north. We arrived at the base of a smoking volcano island, Komba, and watched it for some time hoping it would spew some lava before diving in again 29 C temps. One group noticed erratic fish behavior all heading in one direction and they waited to see four dolphins coming toward them seconds later. After the dive the captain maneuvered the Jaya to the sunset side of the island and we took a few photos before the rains caught us. We found a strange Nudibranch below the volcano that isn’t in the identification book. No one else had a camera except me, everyone else had GoPros and they just won’t do for Macro photos. Does anybody know what it is? Comment below if you’ve seen this species or know the name. Thanks.
We travelled most of the night to get to our next dive site, Tanjung, where we expected colder water temps but that didn’t happen. The water temp was holding at 29 C and there were Black Tip Sharks and large rays that swam by just out of photo range. The visibility is also holding at 25-30 meters. The second dive basically started with a swim through under an arch and looking out into the blue. We coasted the wall. This whole area is thick with Lionfish and we had one very interested in our light before we moved on. Sari found a baby pigmy sea horse and I got lucky with a photo because they look like a small piece of lint caught on a coral fan to the naked eye and many people doubted it’s identification until I took a look at the photos. Thank you Sari!
The island of Flores is very long and we are following it rarely out of sight of land and coastal village lights now. The sea is calm and the Milky Way stretches across the sky. Sunrises and sunsets are particularly awesome but then again so has the whole trip so far and the guides are all getting excited to dive northern Komodo. To them it’s like the night before Christmas when they get to open a visual present. But in the meantime the group are diving regularly with a few new ear infections and fin blisters needing attention. No one is considering not diving because this is a trip ‘once in a lifetime’ for some and there is no rest for these wicked guests including myself.
We broke up our dive group of three and one person joined each of the other three dive guides as we descended on to Castle Rock, a famous dive site off the north end of Komodo Island. Sharks were plentiful languidly hunting in between the large Wrasse and the meter size Trevally. The current was just about to change so we didn’t get the full effect of hanging on to rocks to maintain a viewpoint as fish and octopus swam around looking for food or a better hiding place. We were down about 27 meters when a small herd of other divers from another boat joined the viewing. I must say we have been very spoiled on this trip diving sites by ourselves. We are not in the Moluccas islands anymore. To the surprise of everyone the temperature remains high and a pair of trunks and a rash guard still do the job.
Within two hours of our first dive the current changed directions and we dropped in on the lee side instead of the ‘split’ at Crystal Rock. Still sharks abound along with a plethora of other big stuff. I powered my air trying to get to the split and then we decided the current was too much of a battle and had to settle for the lee side exploration. It was still beautiful and full of color and fish. Our third dive of the day was the kicker and no one besides the guides were prepared for what was coming next. The briefing was okay but the imagination and reality have little in common. We plopped in the water and kicked into hiding moving from boulder to coral head and trying to hide from the current behind piles of sand. We crossed from left to right and the current swung around behind us and pushed us into the narrow passage heading for The Cauldron. We had a very interesting profile after this dive. After getting sorted at the beginning we all took a second to calm and then took a leap of faith in Jess our guide following her every move, or not and tumbling through a six knot current and eventually kicking like mad into another current returning in a large sea eddy. People were sweating in 29 C water while watching their gauges and computers race up or down or both. At one point at the end of the current purge we all collected and realized there was a Frogfish sitting watching us. I must say after a few days on shore I’m going to have to come back and do these again. A merchant selling handicrafts, bowls, plates, black and pink farmed pearls and wooden carvings of Komodo Dragons. The man used to be a fisherman here in the Komodo area but when it turned into a park where there is no fishing allowed the government gave him a new line of work. He wore a Wicked Diving shirt and charmed the others. Some bought a lot of trinkets for friends back home where ever that is.
Everybody took off for a hike up a mountain and I decided to rest my infections, also flip-flops aren’t that good for mountains. We are holed up in a nice cove surrounded by a Mangrove line on the beach followed by what look to me like California foothills except on Komodo the lizards are called Dragons. This would be a great bay for shrimp farming with the Mangroves present. We spent the evening watching footage of the Cauldron drift, it reminded me of those crazies that wear a flying squirrel suit and jump off mountain peaks and fly at ballistic speeds around mountain peaks and drop into forested valleys eventually parachuting to the ground. That’s what if felt like only in water and no parachute just a current that wants to spit you out into the blue.
With the engine off for the night everybody slept hard. I awoke around 5 am like usual and had a cup of tea and watched the fish swim around in the light and the sun draw an arch in the darkness. We motored out of the quiet bay around 6 am heading for our second to last day of diving. We pulled up to Batu Bolong, rock with a hole. The current was swift on both sides making whirlpools and serious down currents into 200 plus meters of water. The divers dropped into the lee side and did a zigzag pattern back up. I didn’t dive because I’m bleeding out of my infection from too much kicking yesterday so I am giving it a break. Everybody came up in smiles seeing mantas, sharks, and schools of fish all over the place. This spot is in the middle of Lintah Strait. The name means ‘sucking’ because it sucks the energy out of an engine. The currents can reach four or five knots on a full moon.
The next stop was Manta Point. I wish I had been here before the local fishermen dynamite fished the place into rubble but the Mantas still like it. The seabed looks like a barren desert of bits of coral. There are a few outcrops of coral but basically nothing but a few cleaning stations for the Mantas. Our dive was a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly. We saw a couple Mantas heading for the shallows but then we were swept off the site by the changing current and we had to abort the dive after 30 minutes. We got back to the boat and decided to go snorkeling for a little while on the site. We jumped in and there were at least three Mantas curious enough to hang around and check us out. The ugly was the sea floor rubble and the amount of garbage in the tide line we were swimming in. I saw jackets floating, shoes, plastic of every size and purpose including toothbrushes, cups, Styrofoam, candy wrappers, plastic bags, and more floating just under the surface. For such a pristine park I was sickened by what I saw. It's all of our fault.
We boarded the Jaya and headed for Komodo Island Park to take a walk and check out the Komodo Dragons.
We took a short hike around the park with a couple rangers answering our questions and showing us the way and keeping the dragons away from us. Last time I was here was 1989, a year after it became a park. I looked around for my old bungalow and found them back off the beach. New bungalows of concrete have been built and there are a few tourist shops about that weren’t there before but pretty much it remains the same. The local Komodo village has changed, doubling it’s population and building houses with tin roofs. Besides the dragons there are wild pig, Komodo deer, and water buffalo that were imported long ago. In the sky we saw a few white Cockatoos, and gliding lizards and the ranger told me about the three types of venomous snakes, Spitting Cobra, Green Viper, and another viper I didn’t catch the name. Apparently the Komodo Dragons can eat the poisonous snakes with no ill affect due to their strong immune system.
We hooked on a mooring line and spent our last night with the engines off. Half the people did one last night dive for a conclusion. As morning broke we began heading back through Lintah Strait to get to Labuan Bajo. The current was against us and it sucked the power out of the engine. I watched the current rip past Batu Bolong even stronger than when the others dove in the day before.
We are now in Labuan Bajo, Flores Island, Indonesia and the expedition has come to a close. I feel somehow blessed and in a daze with all I have seen and the people I met and laughed with on the Jaya. I recommend this expedition to any scuba enthusiast who wants to see amazing sights and check out of the Internet for a while. Yes, life goes on after the Jaya and so do the memories.
The name of the schooner is Jaya and means ‘Victorious’ in Bhasa Indonesian.
www.davidcdagley.com
