Liveaboard life, Avoiding the Big Blue, High dive

Our first night on the liveaboard was better than I expected - I wasn't barfing. But sleep was suboptimal.

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise and Super Moon/Sturgeon Moon setting in Komodo National Park. Shortly after the sun rose, no time was wasted in doing the dive briefing and getting underwater (all before breakfast). The dive was at Batu Balong meaning "hole in the rock". The current kept us on the south side, but it did not make me worried about being sucked out into the Big Blue this time. The dive was like being in an aquarium. Of all the dives we did, this may have been my favorite.

The hole in the rock for which the dive site is named

Our next dive was to see the manta rays at Manta Point. They like swimming in current so this was a current dive. Basically, the boat drops you off in one spot and pick you up several kilometers down current. As long as you don't need to swim against the current, it's great. So, when Dan looked down at his wrist and saw that the GoPro was missing, it became interesting. Miraculously, one of the dive guides was able to swim against the current and find it (he had barely dropped it, so it wasn't far). We were lucky to see several mantas rays. Whenever we were able to hold on to the ground somewhere to manage the current, we could just hang out next to them. However, this was easier said than done. These animals are massive and majestic - I could watch them all day (if I was able to hold on).

Manta ray

Morey eel

Scorpion fish - you have to look closely because it is so well camouflaged

Sea turtle

Breakfast in between dives

After our two dives, we were able to check out a cool atoll. The water was ridiculously blue and perfect. There were turtles around, so we were able to snorkel with them. The sand was also a beautiful pinkish color from a microorganism.

Dan heading out to snorkel with sea turtles

Dan snorkeling with the sea turtles

The sand was a pinkish color from a microorganism

The briefing for the cauldron dive which included a "shotgun" section

A yummy lunch on the boat

Briefing for Manta explaining the current and the topography

Briefing for Batu Balong showing our dive pattern for the south side

While on the atoll in the middle of Komodo, I met a woman named Julia who is a professor in Jakarta. We chatted about our work and she is interested in connecting with me about implementing mental health services at her school. We laughed about the fact that we met in the middle of nowhere on something that is only an island during low tide.

While on the atoll, I met Julia and her family traveling together and chatted with them for a while and she would like to connect about work in the future

Hanging out on the atoll was fun, but there's only so much to do there so we got back on the boat and headed for our third dive of the day. This was in a small channel between two islands and a cauldron type feature in the middle on the bottom. There was a strong current, especially when you got to the "shotgun" section. The shotgun is where you get to a point where the channel narrows and all of a sudden the current gets really strong and takes you for a ride. Before you hit it, you need to make sure your BCD has the right amount of air and you are ready to go. Then, you need to swim hard to the left so you don't end up in the Big Blue. Once again, the dive masters talked about not going in front of them and making sure you knew what to do if you got sucked into the Big Blue. I had a little fight or flight reaction, but it ended up being super fun - especially the shotgun. 

The corals and fish (including a few sharks) were strikingly beautiful - it's hard to believe that fish have evolved to look so unique. The coral reefs truly create an underwater oasis of life. Everywhere you look, there are little ecosystems and symbiotic relationships that rely on each other. It's not often that the interconnectedness of life is staring you in the face. 

Spending time underwater is great, but so were the activities above water. Dan asked if we could jump off the boat and next thing we knew, we were. Dan, Sem, Oscar and I all launched ourselves off the roof of the boat. 

Kara clearing the deck on the top level

The covered lounging area on the boat - this is where we hung out most of the time between dives

A super small kitchen with one cook

We were treated to another beautiful sunset and then we went out for yet another dive. It was right where we were anchored for the night. It was a nice wall of coral, but both Dan and I came to the conclusion that night diving is not our favorite. It's tough to communicate and everyone has to stay really close together. There are cool things to see at night, but we don't like bumping into other divers underwater.  

It was a day filled with four dives and above water activities. We capped the night off with a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity. Dan and I capitalized on our knowledge of each other and were able to win lots of cards because of it. Go team Kara and Dan! Getting to know everyone through the game has us all enjoying big belly laughs.

Cards Against Humanity game with our liveaboard crew