Day 11: Raja Ampat

Day 11: Raja Ampat

Those long narrow shapes in the water at top are baby sharks: 3-4 feet of solid muscle, not aggressive 

Quote of the Day: 

Baby shark, doh-doh-doh

Baby shark, doh-doh-doh

Weather: Same-same

Rattle stopper

Up early for 6:30 am excursion, the ship has been in motion all night and thus many of the cruisers had to get up in the middle of the night and silence the rattles and banging in their cabins. THB and DB no exception: DB stopped doors from banging (THB slept thru) and THB stopped the metal blinds from rattling (DB slept thru). So the 6:15 wake-up call came way too early.

11 cruisers ride the tender into one of the most photogenic lagoons in the world, get out and swim for a while and back to the ship by 8am. Breakfast is awaiting and THB has noodles and granola and yogurt…at little too much of both. Of course, THB did not factor in the number of pastries he ate on the tender.

Which way is out?

Breakfast #2: chow fun noodles

It turns out that the Aqua Blu has a limit of 8 divers at a time, so the 4 are getting plenty of attention, usually 2 dives a day. The 9 snorkelers are on average getting 1 less snorkel every other day. There are many boats dedicated to diving and on those the divers can be doing 4-5 dives a day.

Department of Rumors: There is a bit of dissention in the divers’ ranks. One of the divers is complaining that they are going back up to the surface as one the divers is running low on air while he still has a half tank of air. Since there’s only one dive master for the four of them, they all go back up when one is low on air. Hmmm, someone is on the wrong boat.

Excellent snorkeling either side of the jetty, THB never makes it to the right side

Baby sharkes

Department of Best Snorkel Ever: Suaka Alam Perairan, Waigio Sebelah Barat. THB copied the name off a sign, it might be this place. Regardless, it ranks as one of the top 3 and he’s hard pressed to put any others above it other than a few spots in Bonaire, from many years ago. Right off the boat at a short jetty, there are non-aggressive “baby” sharks, then there’s a patch of bleached corral and a number of small fish. Past that, the many varieties of coral are alive, pretty clams, and an unbelievable number of tropical fish varieties. Over an hour in the water (it felt a bit cooler to THB than our other spots, probably because we were out longer) and we’re lobbying for a repeat visit this afternoon to replace the kayaking.

Lunch is another winner: tomato based gazpacho, rigatoni with mild cheese, fish with crispy sun-dried tomatoes (i.e., sliced thin and left out on the deck for a few hours), cucumber salad in vinegar, and a peanut butter ice cream covered by chocolate sauce and a few peanuts.

Glenn, cruise director, agrees to switch the location of the afternoon activity and now we’ll be able to go to two different snorkeling spots, very near each other.

The first spot is a no-go: too deep a drop off with no visibility.

Bonanza! The second spot is terrific. Our guide doesn’t give it high marks for visibility due to plankton, we think it is fabulous. And we only cover about a third of the reef. Lots of giant clams in various colors, plenty of good-sized fish, a number of fish we haven’t seen before. Two great snorkels in one day and THB’s mask works like a charm.

Dinner is another nice feast: tuna crudo (really good), roast suckling pig and accoutrements, small piece of cake that is more a rhum baba (this one with orange just). 

THB thinks these are some of the fish we have seen, copied from a book in the Aqua Blu library, There are many we did see that weren't in the book