1000 Islands Fishing

Hello From Sicily – A Driving Tour Through Lipari And A Magical Evening In Vulcano

Our beautiful dinner in the old town of Lipari last night was another opportunity to get to know Sicilian cuisine. A light-hearted evening was followed by a night of deep sleep and by 8 am this morning I stuck my head out of the boat: another gorgeous day! Everyone was still sleeping and I had about an hour and half to walk into town and catch another glimpse of picturesque Lipari. I mailed my postcards and picked up some fresh locally grown oranges for the gang on the boat.

Once back at the boat, my co-travellers Herbert, Claudia and I were ready for another excursion: a driving tour of Lipari. Herbert is a German TV travel journalist and is planning to bring a television crew to Sicily next year to film the Italian language learning experience aboard a sailboat provided by Laboratorio Linguistico. Naturally he has to scout out the various locations to check into sights of interest, lighting, and facilities – all the factors that will have a bearing on the shoot.

He had asked our captain Francesco to arrange for a local guide who would drive him around the island and generously invited Claudia and me to come along. Our driver Pasquale Liberatore (what a great name), a Lipari resident, arrived punctually at 9:30 am to pick us up at the Lipari pleasure craft harbour to take us on a tour through this beautiful island.

Pasquale packed us into his vehicle and off we went. His personal story, incidentally, is also quite interesting: Pasquale was born and grew up in Lipari and then in the lat 1950s his family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where there is a large community of southern Italian émigrés. Southern Italy went through real economic hardship after World War II, and many hundreds of thousands of people emigrated from the mainland and the islands. Pasquale spent a few decades in Australia but as the only person from his immediate family, he returned to Lipari to live here. He has now been back for about 15 years and loves living here although he occasionally misses his brothers and sisters and their families who are still living in Australia. Of course he speaks excellent English, and that is how he markets himself – Pasquale, the English-speaking cab driver and tour guide.

The first place he took us to was a village north of Lipari called Canneto which has a beautiful waterfront location, draped around a horseshoe-shaped bay. We decided to catch a little late breakfast first, and I really enjoyed my refreshing lemon granita, a typical Sicilian specialty – crushed ice that comes in a variety of flavours, a great idea for starting off the day. Herbert enjoyed a fresh croissant and an espresso.

On our way out of the bar, parked by the lungomare, the waterfront promenade, a local fisherman was selling fresh fish he caught this morning out of a little three-wheeled cargo vehicle. He shouted out the names of the fish with a peculiar cadence that was sure to attract the attention of passers-by. This is one thing I noticed about Sicily: street selling, particularly of fish, produce and other edible products, is still a popular way of marketing one’s merchandise.

We continued our drive towards the white pumice quarries that Lipari is famous for. This volcanic stone is used for the production of cement, as an abrasive and a cosmetic exfoliant. Pumice is a highly porous, extremely light-weight, usually white stone that is formed during volcanic eruptions. Just a few dozen meters away from the pumice quarries we stopped to see another type of volcanic stone: obsidian, or volcanic glass, which is a dark-brown, dense, virtually opaque and heavy substance.

Pasquale explained that the chemical make-up of obsidian and pumice is essentially the same, but that they are ejected a different temperatures during volcanic eruptions. Obsidian has been used for eons; because of its flint-like quality it can easily be shaped into blades and spear tips and other cutting instruments. Today obsidian is even used as for surgical scalpels which produce less trauma than steel scalpels. Another less high-tech use of obsidian is as a gemstone, and many stores in the Eolian Islands sell jewelry crafted from this volcanic glass.

We came around the northern tip of Lipari where a beautiful view opened up toward the island of Salina. Pasquale took us up a mountain road to the Santuario di Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani, a beautiful country church located on a hill with a phenomenal view over several of the Eolian Islands. As we were standing by the railing of the terrace, a jet fighter flew by at what seemed like supersonic speed, literally a few meters above the water. By the time we realized where the booming sound was coming from it was already disappearing into the horizon.

Another 15 minutes further on the west side of the island we stopped at an abandoned kaolin quarry. Kaolin is a silica-based mineral that is used in the production of ceramics, as a food additive and even as an ingredient in toothpaste. Everything was blooming around here, and yellow and purple flowers lit up the crags overlooking the sea.

At the southern tip of Lipari we stopped on a parking lot beside a private village and had a phenomenal view of the nearby island of Vulcano. We could even see the columns of sulphur fumes emanating from the fissures near the crater of this still active volcano. A flat stretch of land called Vulcanello is located in front of the main island of Vulcano. This part of the island appeared only about 2000 years ago in a volcanic eruption. Volcanism is still reshaping the earth all around here.

We had seen almost every corner of this small island and Pasquale dropped us off near downtown Lipari. This guided tour provided by a local expert was a great way of getting to know the island of Lipari. Claudia and I headed straight for an outdoor restaurant on the piazza by Marina Corta and had a well-deserved lunch and another nice stroll through town before we started to head back to our sailboat.

Around 3 pm we said goodbye to Lipari and set sail for our next destination: Vulcano. On our way our skipper Francesco took us past some very interesting rock formations at the southern end of Lipari. One protruding rock column was reminiscent of a praying pope while several tall isolated rocks grew right out of the sea in front of Lipari. We circled around to the eastern side of Vulcano and dropped anchor in the bay in front of Porto di Levante, the only landing place on the island. Several ferry boats were making their entries to and exits from the bay, and several other sailboats were anchored at a distance from the island.

Now it was time for our Italian lesson: for two hours in the late afternoon Claudia, Agnieszka and I were studying concepts such as the Italian Condizionale as well as the Congiuntivo under the guidance of our expert teacher Franco. You would definitely be hard-pressed to find a more stimulating environment to study Italian than a sailboat anchored in a beautiful bay in Southern Italy.

The wonderful thing about this sailing trip has been so far that it has been a nearly perfect immersion in Italian, where we are hearing the language all day and both our teachers communicate only in Italian with us. This concept is as close to full immersion as one can imagine, and the learning process is very intense and fast.

For the evening we stayed on the boat and watched a beautiful sunset which bathed the entire scene in hues of pink and purple. After our on-board dinner we retreated outside where Agnieszka, a gifted singer, and Franco, a great guitar player, teamed up and entertained us with many different soulfully delivered classics.

Sitting on a sailboat at night, by candlelight, in the beautiful bay of Vulcano, listening to the touching melodies of two gifted artists, was a magical, almost spiritual experience. I knew tomorrow was going to be our last day on this sailing trip, but I didn’t want this moment to end…..

Ripe, Red Coffee and Blood on the Deck

The not-so-nice scent of rotting fruit from the nearby Coopeatenas coffee processing plant, the Benificio Diamante, let me know that harvest had begun.  Not in a big time way yet, jut small amounts selectively picked as bushes with a little too much sun for this altitude ripened.  But it has to be picked; green to yellow to orangish to red and then brown and down on the ground and lost.  Don Ramon and young David had picked the little ripened fruit on Finca Zacatal, only two cajuelas – maybe forty pounds.  But like a Beaujolais Nouveau, the first fruit of the season carries a certain excitement.

I was just putting the half-full sack in the back of my Montero when a huge Ford pickup pulled into Casi el Cielo.  Capt. Jose of Angry Marlin Sport Fishing, www.angrymarlin.com stuck his head out the window and yelled “Come on, let’s go: it’s time to put the Montauk in the water”. He had added a costa rica charter boats to his adventure armada, a 17 foot, center console, walk around Boston Whaler. So the coffee moved from my car to his and then to the Beneficio San Isidro, where, after Capt. Jose and I shared lots of fishing stories with Rolando Rojas, it began the fermentation, cleaning, drying, husk removal, pre-roasting, roasting and packaging that puts in on our shelves.

Puntarenas and the Costa Rica Yacht Club are a little over an hour from Atenas, and soon we were putt-putting from the dock across to dry storage where Capt. Jose’s fishing boats are kept clean and dry on their trailers.  Radio, rods and reels and other gear came from another boat as the full black cover was pulled from the new baby.  White and cream and chrome it glistened in front of the huge 4 stroke outboard.  Dock crew backed it down the boat ramp and we were off.  Off very slowly at first, since the tide was out and there are places where there is less than two feet of water and even the Montauk needs a foot and a half.

Capt. Jose taught me the instruments and controls and the channels and obstructions as we high propped out to deeper water, but soon we were on plane and zipping toward the fishing grounds.  Working birds disclosed fish feeding at the surface and we slowed, stopped and cast metal jigs at the diminishing boil. As fast as the fish showed they departed. I was so excited being back on the water that I cannot tell you how long the run to the Negritas took, but it wasn’t long, and a few minutes after getting there we switched to white, red head, five inch Rapalas and were trolling around the island just off the rocks.  We were in the Pacific; the little chain of islands including Tortugero and the Negritas is where the blue ocean and the brownish green Gulf of Nicoya come together, where Los Suenos Fishing and Tambor Fishing are famed after.

Roosterfish, pargo, grouper, dorado, sierra mackerel, jurel or jack and even the occasional wahoo or sailfish were possibilities, this information was an outcome of a detailed statics from costa rica fishing report. Rod holders had not been installed so it was only possible to fish one rod at a time, so under the guise of wanting to test the boat and all components (but really more interested in my getting a fish) Capt. Jose steered the swifty costa rica charter boats clear of the rocks and slow trolled keeping an eye on the fish finder for water depth and for the small and larger blips on the screen indicating baitfish and under them – game fish. It was great experincing Fishing Costa Rica. Each time we passed over schools of baitfish Capt. Jose would then see larger fish images and command, “Two hands tight on that gear Martin, that’s a thousand dollars you are holding and there are fish down there capable of ripping it overboard”. White knuckled I waited while the end of the G. Loomis rod vibrated the Rapala dance.  Rainy season.  Too many previous moonlit nights.  Middle of the day.  Quien sabé?  But a couple of hours of trolling produced only one small Spanish Mackerel, a beautiful little fish, and the one which christened the deck with its bright red blood. The dock boys would enjoy this fish for dinner. It fought well but was no match for the gold anodized Calcutta 700 reel. This was one of ours adventurous experince in our entire Costa Rica SportFishing.

I had taken the helm after clearing port on the way out, but was tired from the constant movement of the boat and the toll that that takes on your legs as you stand bent kneed and bowlegged struggling for balance, so Capt. Jose “drove” back.  He loves this little Costa Rica charter boats and pushed it to the limits as we flew over the slight chop and in between the winter wood in the water.

In the center of the Gulf, Birds!  We stopped as the few birds of earlier had grown to hundreds and the surface was broken in bands thirty feet by thirty yards as some unknown predators slashed at baitfish driven to the surface.  Again metal was tossed to them and this time we were both hooked up to the hard fighting Jack known locally as Jurel.  Ten/twelve pounds each they were a good fight and there were thousand of them within casting distance.  We cast, hooked up, fought and landed or released as many as we had the arm and leg strength for.  The school would veer away, break up and then re-group as we fought the hooked ones.  A short run to where they resurfaced and we were hooked up again.  It was the largest school of feeding game fish I have ever seen and what fun. Four went into the ice chest and the rest swim to grow and wait for our return.

Over spicy lemon shrimp soup and beers at Restaurante Leda in Mata Limon Capt. Jose and I exchanged views of photos on our digital cameras and told stories of our great fishing costa rica experinces of past and future. (Capt. Jose and his Montauk went on the following September to take two first place prizes winning a major tarpon fishing tournament on the Rio San Juan!  But that’s another story of the great Costa Rica SportFishing!)

From coffee harvest to café con leche at sunset at the beach, with singing reels and pounding waves in between just another average day in Costa Rica.

Angry Marlin Sportfishing offers a variety of fishing, tours in great boats at reasonable prices here in Costa Rica. Check the website www.angrymarlin.com , or call Capt. Jose at 506.2237.2953 or from the US at 805.880.1270.

Mans Worst Environmental Destruction

The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States recently added a further 10 toxic waste sites to the 527 contaminated properties which endanger life. There are around 1,060 hazardous waste sites on their list, all created from man’s use of technology.

Toxic contamination however, is a world-wide issue and not restricted to any one country. Here are just a few of the worst man-made disasters, or improve man’s lot through technology.

The most toxic place in the U.S.A. Picher, Oklahoma, was once the world’s richest lead and zinc mining field, housing 20,000 people. Less than 25 people remain. Mountains of mining, lead contaminated waste, loom over the town.

The Aral Sea is nearly dry from Soviet irrigation projects. Fishing boats sit aground, rusting in a vast, contaminated desert wasteland.

Guiyu, China, is the world’s second-most polluted place on the planet. It is the largest e-waste village, where electronic trash is pulled apart by hand, to retrieve valuable parts and wires. Circuit boards are burned, cooked and soaked in acid to extract scraps of precious metals.

The Pacific Rubbish Vortex, twice the size of Texas, consists of 3.5 million tons of rubbish, 90% of which is plastic debris, swirls between California and Hawaii.

Following gas drilling on the Indonesian island of Java, a “mud volcano” killed 13 people. Hot sulfuric mud continuously gushes from the ground. The steaming pool of mud covers more than 25sq k and is growing at an estimated 50,000 cubic meters every day.

Scientists expect the mud volcano to continue erupting for another 30 years.
The Berkeley Pit Lake, a copper mine, is filled with more than 40 billion gallons of acidic water and heavy metals. It is a hazard to migrating birds.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Station exploded in 1986, releasing radioactive material into the air and contaminating millions of square miles. Two decades later, the area is a radioactive freeze frame of the old USSR.

In 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant in Bhopal, India, leaked 32 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate. Thousands were blinded, deformed and disabled, while thousands died. More than 2,000 bodies were cremated in one day. The water and soil close to the factory are toxic from the still leaking plant. There has been no attempt made to clean-up the area.

Trying to clean up following nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, in the late 1970s, the U.S. government dug up 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive soil and deposited it on Runit Island, in a 350-foot wide crater left by the nuclear tests. An enormous, foot-and-a-half-thick, 100,000-square-foot dome made up of 358 gigantic concrete panels, was built over the site. The area is still radioactive.

A Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, in 1971, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Poisonous fumes began leaking from the hole. The 328 ft. wide hole, in the Turkmenistan desert, has been continuously on fire, for 38 years, since the Russians set the hole aflame, in order to head off a potential deadly catastrophe.

Now a toxic ghost town, Australia’s Wittenoom, Pilbara, was once the area’s largest town in the asbestos mining area. In 1966 it was officially closed down due to health concerns.
Centralia, Pennsylvania’s underground coal fire, ignited sometime in 1962. In 1981 a 12-year-old boy fell into a 150-foot hole that suddenly appeared in his back yard. In 1992 the entire town was condemned.

Nauru has just a 150-meter-wide strip of fertile land left along one of its shores, after decades of strip mining for phosphorus. The mining has devastated over 80 % of Nauru’s land, leaving it a barren wasteland of jagged limestone pinnacles up to 49 ft. high.

Finally we have the Mexico Gulf oil spill which is as however unmeasurable. Yet man and his technology are having difficulty correcting the problemThe Environmental Protection Agency in the United States recently added a further 10 toxic waste sites to the 527 contaminated properties which endanger life. There are around 1,060 hazardous waste sites on their list, all created from man’s use of technology.

Toxic contamination however, is a world-wide issue and not restricted to any one country. Here are just a few of the worst man-made disasters, or improve man’s lot through technology.

The most toxic place in the U.S.A. Picher, Oklahoma, was once the world’s richest lead and zinc mining field, housing 20,000 people. Less than 25 people remain. Mountains of mining, lead contaminated waste, loom over the town.

The Aral Sea is nearly dry from Soviet irrigation projects. Fishing boats sit aground, rusting in a vast, contaminated desert wasteland.

Guiyu, China, is the world’s second-most polluted place on the planet. It is the largest e-waste village, where electronic trash is pulled apart by hand, to retrieve valuable parts and wires. Circuit boards are burned, cooked and soaked in acid to extract scraps of precious metals.

The Pacific Rubbish Vortex, twice the size of Texas, consists of 3.5 million tons of rubbish, 90% of which is plastic debris, swirls between California and Hawaii.

Following gas drilling on the Indonesian island of Java, a “mud volcano” killed 13 people. Hot sulfuric mud continuously gushes from the ground. The steaming pool of mud covers more than 25sq k and is growing at an estimated 50,000 cubic meters every day.

Scientists expect the mud volcano to continue erupting for another 30 years.
The Berkeley Pit Lake, a copper mine, is filled with more than 40 billion gallons of acidic water and heavy metals. It is a hazard to migrating birds.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Station exploded in 1986, releasing radioactive material into the air and contaminating millions of square miles. Two decades later, the area is a radioactive freeze frame of the old USSR.

In 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant in Bhopal, India, leaked 32 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate. Thousands were blinded, deformed and disabled, while thousands died. More than 2,000 bodies were cremated in one day. The water and soil close to the factory are toxic from the still leaking plant. There has been no attempt made to clean-up the area.

Trying to clean up following nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, in the late 1970s, the U.S. government dug up 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive soil and deposited it on Runit Island, in a 350-foot wide crater left by the nuclear tests. An enormous, foot-and-a-half-thick, 100,000-square-foot dome made up of 358 gigantic concrete panels, was built over the site. The area is still radioactive.

A Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, in 1971, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Poisonous fumes began leaking from the hole. The 328 ft. wide hole, in the Turkmenistan desert, has been continuously on fire, for 38 years, since the Russians set the hole aflame, in order to head off a potential deadly catastrophe.

Now a toxic ghost town, Australia’s Wittenoom, Pilbara, was once the area’s largest town in the asbestos mining area. In 1966 it was officially closed down due to health concerns.

Centralia, Pennsylvania’s underground coal fire, ignited sometime in 1962. In 1981 a 12-year-old boy fell into a 150-foot hole that suddenly appeared in his back yard. In 1992 the entire town was condemned.

Nauru has just a 150-meter-wide strip of fertile land left along one of its shores, after decades of strip mining for phosphorus. The mining has devastated over 80 % of Nauru’s land, leaving it a barren wasteland of jagged limestone pinnacles up to 49 ft. high.

Finally we have the Mexico Gulf oil spill which is as however unmeasurable. Yet man and his technology are having difficulty correcting the problem

The Gulf Oil Leak Is Getting Personal!

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana has gotten personal, but in no way do I equate myself with those that are now suffering because of this tragedy. I don’t have to valiantly try to make a living from once reliable fishing grounds that had sustained families in varied walks of life for generations. The only thing I have lost is the excitement I usually feel when I’m about to spend a couple of weeks on the beach.

I’ve tried to keep a level head about the whole thing and at one time even defended BP when accused of dragging their feet in response to this disaster. After 56 days the massive leak is still only partially capped and thousands of gallons of oil are drifting with the currents of the Gulf.

When the first globs of petroleum drifted onto the Louisiana coast, everyone, with the possible exception of the CEO of British Petroleum, knew that this was a disaster of monumental proportions. While this was bad for the people of that state, to my self-centered way of thinking, it was their problem.

Then recently, the first small clumps of foul-smelling red, brown oil washed up on the shores of Dauphin Island, Alabama, a barrier island located south of Mobile Bay. By coincidence, television cameras were set up just a few feet from where I caught the largest, sweetest tasting Pompano I’ve ever managed to land. I was watching the waters of one of my favorite fishing spots heave small balls of oil onto the beach.

The beach is open, but few are swimming on Dauphin Island.  Fishermen aren’t allowed to fish in the gulf where they have made their living for years! The federal government has closed fishing in the area because of the oil in the water. Thousands of people are affected by this monstrous oil leak; not just me and my leisure activities.

As of the first ten days of June, there have been only a few traces of oil on the beach. Ship skimmer boats farther out and closer to the Gulf of Mexico; have so far been successful in removing oil slicks from the top of the water. This keeps the oil away from the beaches but no one seems to know exactly how deep beneath the surface the petroleum is sinking.

An old friend of mine, a charter boat captain, who lives on Orange Beach, between Gulf Shores, Alabama and Perdido Key, Florida, reported that earlier in the week a few oil globs and tar balls spotted on the beaches there. Clean-up crews rushed to contain them. All city and state officials proclaimed that their beaches were still pristine and sugar like in appearance. Then the weekend came!

Slabs of oil are now rolling onto the Orange Beach with each wave.  The stench of the oil smell is sickening to many of those who have been brave enough to venture down to the sand. Some tourists on the beach say the odor is not bad, but others vehemently disagree.

One can almost feel the fear in the voices of interviewees who have been corralled by the media. While trying to appear calm, there is an underlying uneasiness from those who see their livelihoods being pushed aside by this gigantic oil leak.

The ocean has always held an enchantment for me and millions of others who visit it from time to time and marvel at its mysteries and enjoy its bounties. We don’t depend on the ocean and beaches for any kind of livelihood, but as for me, I am scared of what the future will be for this stricken bit of paradise.

For me and everyone who has ever walked the beach, swam in the surf, got a bite from an unidentified denizen of the deep or has eaten wild Gulf Coast shrimp, this oil cricis is  indeed getting personal.

The best dive sites in Bali

The best dive sites in Bali.

By Dive Around Bali.

Detailed information on the best dive sites around Bali per region..

Nusa Penida & Nusa Lembongan:

Toyapakeh: A very nice underwater topography made up of great coral boulders and pillars. The fish life is excellent and the deeper areas offer chance encounters with mola mola and other pelagics. Clear and simple, a great Bali dive site!

Gamat Bay: The water of this tiny bay is always crystal clear, and the reef, a steep, rugged slope leading up into the bay, is exceedingly rich in hard and soft corals and fish life. On a bright day this reef simply glows.

Like other sites of Peneeda, currents can be tricky here. Unfortunally, the surface often looks like a washing machine, even if it is just fine under water.

Crystal Bay: There is a white sandy base to the reef, covered with anemones and soft corals. Following the north side of the bay into the corner, at a depth of 12 metres there is a cave, which opens to the sky that has bats asleep in it. Most of the time there are reef sharks inside the cave. From the bat cave continue following the wall (the reef is not particularly rich) looking out for lobsters that have made their home in the hard coral. The bay is vulnerable to swell, creating up and down currents. When the current is present there is the opportunity to see white tip sharks, leopard sharks, mantas and eagle rays.

SD and Ped: These two sites are also extremely popular for their steep walls and prolific marine life. Drift diving along the steep sloped coral encrusted wall with sponges, hard and soft corals, gorgonians and myriad reef fish is awesome. Larger pelagics such as barracuda, tuna and jacks often put in an appearance here.

Malibu Point:?The dive site is small and often tricky to dive if currents are strong but it is one of the better places to see sharks. Also big dogtooth tuna, rainbow runners and mackerel to be found at this spot.

Blue Corner on the northwest of Nusa Lembongan is a very popular drift dive location. The current can be strong here and can try to pull you downwards. The dive starts east off the point where the lighthouse is. Descend to the slope that starts at 10 metres where you are swept in a drift towards the corner in a westerly direction. At the corner there is a vertical wall with a depth of around 30 metres plus. The main reason to dive this site is because ocean sunfish can be seen here from April to September, but there are marble rays, eagle rays and other pelagics. This is big boy country.

Manta point: The name says it all… This is a limestone rock off the southwest coast of Nusa Penida. The above water scenery is dramatic with limestone cliffs that descend straight into the ocean. This is the place for the big manta’s, but if the manta’s are not present, there is noting much to see accept your buddy. Swells can be really big here, so this site has to be dived at the right time.

Amuk Bay: Candi Dasa & Padangbai:

Tepekong: Dive site The Canyon is a striking structure of angular black boulders. Explore the canyon you’ll be able to see an area with huge schools of sweetlips, batfish, snapper, bumphead parrotfish, unicornfish and big-eyed trevally, all of which can nearly fill the canyon. Sharks are relatively common in this area, usually white tip reef sharks and sightings of Mola Mola is possible. It is very rare not to have a current here. (note: this site can ONLY be dived under good conditions, it is probably one of the most exiting sites in Bali but probably also the most dangerous one. It is nicknamed “the toilet”.)

Mimpang: is remarkably varied, combining wall and sloping reefs. The reefs here are amongst of the richest in the whole of Bali, (reminding of the famous sites of southern Komodo and Rinca). The fish life exceptional, including schooling fish, lots of sharks, and even Molas. A very fine diving area.

Gili Biaha: This tiny island is one of the most beautiful of the Amuk Bay sites. A steep drop-off reef, nicely fissured and terraced in places, rings most of the island. There are fascinating smaller species as cuttlefish, octopus, nudibranch, and rich soft corals, gorgonians, and black corals, many with commensals.

The Blue Lagoon is the location that less experienced divers are usually taken to first, as the dive  sites in this area are generally much less exposed to the strong currents   experienced at the other sites. However, don’t let this fool you into   thinking that this is a second rate area – it’s not. with healthy  bommies and  terrific  general marine life. More of a macro than a wide angle area, there are frogfish, leaf scorpion fish, moray eels, scorpion & stone fish,  blue spotted stingrays and lots of nudibranchs. Blue Lagoon is popular with   tourists from Candi Dasa who go there to snorkel.  The more correct name for the area is Tanjung Sari and there are a number of sites to dive, not just the bay in front of the resort. The relative lack of currents and maximum depths of around 1-18m offer a pleasant combination of an uncomplicated dive site but with plenty to see.

Amed:

Amed walls: These sites are actually reef slopes combined with walls at the two sites of quiet idyllic Jemeluk bay. Incredibly rich in fish life and always a possibility for pelagic around. Trevally, dogtooth tuna, spanish mackerel, eagle ray, cruise amongst swarms of smaller reef fish above a gorgonian and barrel sponges covered reef slope and wall that drops to 60 metres.

There is also a delightful easy dive on old artificial reefs that where put there by the local villagers. Early proof of how well very simple artificial reef structures work. These are just concrete pyramids, about three metres high, but have a dense coral coverage and attract an astonishing amount of reef fish and act as nurseries.

Bunutan: This dive site is something special, but has as most important feature the most hallucinating amount of fish imaginable. Clouds of banner fish, surgeon fish and redtooth trigger fish surround you and actually block your view of the reef. Stingrays are everywhere. Cruising white tip sharks and great barracuda are always there. The start of the dive before you descent to 30 meter where there is a deep reef, is in shallow water at a sandy bottom where you swim trough the biggest field of garden eels you will ever see. There are thousands of them. Then there is the big fish show while you drift with the current for a while before you arrive for the last portion on a very rich hard coral reef flat.

Deep Blue: From here on the exploration diving of Amed starts. This dive site is only dived by a very few local dive operators. You will likely be the only divers here. This a drift dive with an amazing diversity and number of fish. Sharks are also relatively common.

Japanese wreck: A little bay where the wreck lies of a small steel freighter. It rests in very shallow water and is nicely encrusted with gorgonians and black coral bushes. The actual dive site is the reef next to the wreck and is also very rich with soft corals, gorgonians and sponges and shallow fields of staghorn and table corals. It makes a calm wonderful dive, although this dive site is very easily affected by visibility.

Gili Selang: This little island looks like it just broke away from the mainland. This is a very nice dive site and covered everywhere with soft corals – probably the healthiest corals in Bali – but also a lot of fish and a good chance to find turtles, bumphead parrotfishes, tunas and whitetip reef sharks. You dive in a very current-swept area, so this dive is only for experienced divers.

Kafe Garam: Amed has some very decent muck-diving that is rarely visited and we would like to keep it that way. You dive from the beach on very fine gray volcanic sand and among purposely-dropped rubbish. Ghost pipefish and mimic octopus, stonefish and even the Ambon scorpion fish can be found here.

Tulamben:

US Liberty Wreck: the federal shipbuilding company in Kearny, New Jersey built The Liberty. She was 120 meters long, 17 meters in beam, drafted 7.3 meters and grossed 6.211 tons powered by a 2500 horsepower steam turbine engine. Early in the morning of January 11th 1942, the Liberty was motoring across the Lombok Strait, bringing war material from Australia to the Philippines. At 4.15 am the ship was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-166. Although crippled by the blow, the Liberty did not sink. Two destroyers tried to tow the ship toward Singaraja where it was hoped she could be repaired, however the ship was taking in too much water so she was beached at Tulamben. Over the coming year anything of value was removed.

In 1963, Bali’s highest and most holy mountain, Gunung Agung, erupted creating a powerful earthquake that rolled the ship in to deeper water and broke her at the bow and stern. The Liberty now lies almost parallel to the beach, the shallowest part of the wreck touches the sandy slope at 7-9 meters and the deepest part is at 28-30 meters. It’s a lovely, easy wreck dive that is popular for photographers as it is totally encrusted in anemones, gorgonians and corals. Tulamben’s black sand provides an excellent colour contrast for the incredible variety of marine life. It’s quite difficult to list what you will see on this dive because you will come across just about everything in any Indo-Pacific reef guidebook. The variety is amazing with minute angelfish, nudibranchs, pipefish and gobies through to the areas of garden eels, huge schools of big-eyed trevally, sweetlips, batfish, butterflyfish set against hard coral, black corals, sponges and sea fans. Current is rarely present and at most it will be mild. The wreck is great for night dives, particularly if the moon is full. You may see Spanish dancers, flashlight fish, or sleeping parrotfish and will notice the different behaviour of marine life compared to the daytime.

Drop-off: The Drop Off is an old lava flow from Mount Agung leading out from a temple onshore. It is located at the opposite end of the bay from the wreck. The dive starts off on a steep sandy slope with nudibranchs, flounder and shrimp (be careful with your fins) at 10 metres. There are big sponges with many varieties of shrimp and lionfish and continuing to the right, the slope develops into a reef with very impressive topography, becoming a vertical wall from 15 metres and descending to below 60 metres. The wall has nice, craggy structure and is exceedingly rich. At a depth of 28 metres you will find a sea fan that is almost 2 metres across.

Octopus, Bumphead parrotfish, scorpion fish etc. Are all quiet common here.

Batu Kelibit: Just around the corner from Tulamben bay, this beautiful site consists of steep, coral covered ridges separated by valleys of bright white sand. The best site in the area to see big animals.

Coral Garden: Just in the front of Tulamben resort in 5- 12 metres of water is a delightfully rich little patch reef, which is dominated by hard coral, including some large table and fire corals, interspersed with anemones and sponges. There is a little bit of everything here. Blue ribbon eels are a very easy find here. The black sand slope to the deep makes an interesting area for good critter findings. It also is an excellent night dive.

Seraya secrets: Notorious muck diving site with seahorse, frogfish, harlequin shrimp and a great number of nudibranch species.

Kubu is a small fishing village north of Tulamben that is very rarely dived but is becoming justly more popular. There are two dive sites and the coral reef is extremely rich with an abundance of fish life.

There is more diving in Batu Niti that lies about half a kilometer to the east. Batu Niti is a volcanic ridge with a lava flow that drops into the sea. Exploration diving!

Menjangan:

Garden Eel point: is one of the more popular dive sites where coral growth is healthiest. Longnose hawkfish can be found on the gorginians here and whitetip sharks are often seen on the sandy bottom at around 35 meters. The garden eel colony is on a slope in roughly 20 meters of water.

Pos II (park service guard post), off Menjangan’s most southeasterly point, is usually done as a drift dive in the gentle current along the wall. An explosion of colour from the wall of soft coral can be seen here and thermoclines are present where upwellings of cold waters from the deep are met. This often brings in bigger visitors such as mantas and sharks. Just west of Pos II are a couple of caves at around 18 meters that are worth a look.

The Anker Wreck: This wreck is actually named for the anchor that still lies about 6-8 meters from the surface. Follow the anchor chain down the steep slope to the flattened remains of the shipwreck at 35 – 50 meters, which lie across about 60 meters of sand. The Anker is a 25 metre long 19th century wooden ship, that carried ceramics and copper, parts of which can still be seen across the site.

Further Away, North Bali muck-diving:

Secret Bay is located approximately 3.5 hours drive from the south in a small bay called Teluk Gilimanuk where the ferries from Java dock. It is about 2 km across and very shallow with most of it less than five metres deep. Gilimanuk Bay is the only bay off the narrow Bali Strait, where currents can reach 7 knots. This means that it acts as a catch tank for many larval fish and other plankton sweeping between Java and Bali.

Be prepared – you are diving on fine black and gray volcanic sand and rubble and not on a coral reef! This place is a great place for the rare and unusual. On offer are a number of rare jewels for the macro photographer including gobies, frogfish, dragonets, nudibranchs, seahorses, juvenile Batavia batfish and many other organisms.

Night diving at Secret Bay is a truly magnificent experience! You will see some unique creatures that you won’t see on the day dive. This is a shallow dive site with no rich coral growth and limited weed and coral beds. The water can be cold and visibility can be very low due to the dark mud/sand bottom.

Puri Jati (PJ): A relatively new dive site for muckdiving lying west of Pemuteran.

You dive from the beach on very fine gray volcanic sand and some seaweed similar to Seraya, Gilimanuk or Lembeh. There are snails, slugs and seahares and even frogfish among the seaweed. You reach a large flat area with sea grass. There are coconut octopuses, hiding in burrows made with shells and pieces of rubbish. On this flat area (6-10m) you also find seahorses, several types of eels, flying gurnard and with good eyes, some hidden scorpionfishes, mostly lionfishes but also the rare Ambon scorpionfish.

There is also a small river close by where you can take a dip.

For more information on your dive holiday in Bali feel free to contact me at Dive Around Bali.

Michel De Ruyck