Ken Kurtis
Contributor
It's nice to be home . . .
BACK FROM INDONESIA - We had a fabulous time with our friends at Murex in Manado, Indonesia. We did 25 dives over the course of 8 dive days which included a day trip up to Bangka for the fabulous soft coral reefs there, a number of dives along the southern shores of Manado Bay for the muck diving, dives at Bunaken for the spectacular vertical coral walls, and a day in the legendary Lembeh Straits for the wonderfully wacky and weird creatures you find there. As I detailed in TWARS last week, I was able to do a Top 10 Pix FOR EACH DIVE in Lembeh, it's that critter-rich. Diving conditions there aren't ideal because the water's cooler (generally around 79º as opposed to 83º on the reefs) and the viz is less (30-40' as opposed to 60-100'). But you can't beat the things you find in the dark sand bottom which included a Mimic Octopus, Blue-Ringed Octopus (two of them), and a whole lot more. What's great about diving Indonesia and specifically the way we've got this trip set up, is that you experience incredible diversity and variety in the dives. Want spectacularly colorful nudibranches? Got 'em. Want pristine vertical coral walls? Got 'em. Want tiny critters? Got 'em. Want larger stuff? Got 'em. Want turtles? Got 'em. Want critters you've never seen before? Got 'em. Want a fabulous place to stay and wonderful people to dive with? Got 'em. This is a type of trip where you can pretty much check off everything on your "What I Want Out of a Dive Trip" list and that's why we keep going back. And if you're interested in joining us next year, let me know now and we'll start planning for 2020.
TRIP REPORT & PIX - Still a work in progress. Got some of the report done on the plane but it's hard to type with turbulence or while I'm asleep so didn't get quite as far along as I had hoped. I shot some video too, so will work on that as well as the still pix. In the meantime, if you haven't taken a gander at the various Daily Top 10 shots I posted, here's that link (choose from any or all of the 12 galleries posted): INDO DAILY TOP 10 PIX GALLERIES.
SPEAKING OF THE BLUE-RINGED OCTOPUS - For background, the Blue-Ringed Octopus (aka, BRO - but he ain't your Bro, bro) is one of the most venomous creatures on earth. If you get bitten underwater, you likely will be dead before you can get back to shore. And you only clearly see the blue rings when the octo is pissed off. The bluer the rings, the more agitated the animal. With that in mind, take a peek at this short video which a nuber o fpeople sent me and note how blue the rings look. It underlines my motto of "If you don't know what it is, don't touch it." Take a look at 15 seconds of "STUPID WAYS TO KILL YOURSELF". We applaud the octo for his restraint.
NO ISLA THIS YEAR - Much as I love the trip, there's not enough interest in DIVING WITH WHALE SHARKS to go to Isla Mujeres this year so I've removed it from our schedule. Maybe in 2020???
HOW ABOUT CATALINA INSTEAD? - No Whale Sharks there (at least none have ever been recorded) but likely Giant Sea Bass and other cool SoCal critters. We're looking to go next Sunday (7/28), most likely on the 8:45AM out of San Pedro, leaving the island on the 5:30PM, with plenty of time for three leisurely dives in between. Call us at 310/652-4990 to sign up.
ONE NON-DIVING THING - I'm not a tree guy. I'm a fish guy. But I can still appreciate the beauty of the trees in West L.A. which seems to have exploded with red flowers while I was gone. These are in front of my building. Simply stunning.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
BACK FROM INDONESIA - We had a fabulous time with our friends at Murex in Manado, Indonesia. We did 25 dives over the course of 8 dive days which included a day trip up to Bangka for the fabulous soft coral reefs there, a number of dives along the southern shores of Manado Bay for the muck diving, dives at Bunaken for the spectacular vertical coral walls, and a day in the legendary Lembeh Straits for the wonderfully wacky and weird creatures you find there. As I detailed in TWARS last week, I was able to do a Top 10 Pix FOR EACH DIVE in Lembeh, it's that critter-rich. Diving conditions there aren't ideal because the water's cooler (generally around 79º as opposed to 83º on the reefs) and the viz is less (30-40' as opposed to 60-100'). But you can't beat the things you find in the dark sand bottom which included a Mimic Octopus, Blue-Ringed Octopus (two of them), and a whole lot more. What's great about diving Indonesia and specifically the way we've got this trip set up, is that you experience incredible diversity and variety in the dives. Want spectacularly colorful nudibranches? Got 'em. Want pristine vertical coral walls? Got 'em. Want tiny critters? Got 'em. Want larger stuff? Got 'em. Want turtles? Got 'em. Want critters you've never seen before? Got 'em. Want a fabulous place to stay and wonderful people to dive with? Got 'em. This is a type of trip where you can pretty much check off everything on your "What I Want Out of a Dive Trip" list and that's why we keep going back. And if you're interested in joining us next year, let me know now and we'll start planning for 2020.
TRIP REPORT & PIX - Still a work in progress. Got some of the report done on the plane but it's hard to type with turbulence or while I'm asleep so didn't get quite as far along as I had hoped. I shot some video too, so will work on that as well as the still pix. In the meantime, if you haven't taken a gander at the various Daily Top 10 shots I posted, here's that link (choose from any or all of the 12 galleries posted): INDO DAILY TOP 10 PIX GALLERIES.
SPEAKING OF THE BLUE-RINGED OCTOPUS - For background, the Blue-Ringed Octopus (aka, BRO - but he ain't your Bro, bro) is one of the most venomous creatures on earth. If you get bitten underwater, you likely will be dead before you can get back to shore. And you only clearly see the blue rings when the octo is pissed off. The bluer the rings, the more agitated the animal. With that in mind, take a peek at this short video which a nuber o fpeople sent me and note how blue the rings look. It underlines my motto of "If you don't know what it is, don't touch it." Take a look at 15 seconds of "STUPID WAYS TO KILL YOURSELF". We applaud the octo for his restraint.
NO ISLA THIS YEAR - Much as I love the trip, there's not enough interest in DIVING WITH WHALE SHARKS to go to Isla Mujeres this year so I've removed it from our schedule. Maybe in 2020???
HOW ABOUT CATALINA INSTEAD? - No Whale Sharks there (at least none have ever been recorded) but likely Giant Sea Bass and other cool SoCal critters. We're looking to go next Sunday (7/28), most likely on the 8:45AM out of San Pedro, leaving the island on the 5:30PM, with plenty of time for three leisurely dives in between. Call us at 310/652-4990 to sign up.
ONE NON-DIVING THING - I'm not a tree guy. I'm a fish guy. But I can still appreciate the beauty of the trees in West L.A. which seems to have exploded with red flowers while I was gone. These are in front of my building. Simply stunning.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken