Getting There - Aneel's Travelogue

Three dives and a visit to Komodo Island today. The first dive was at Castle Rock. There was a fairly strong current for part of the dive, so I used a (borrowed) reef hook for the first time. It's a hook on a short line that you hook onto something solid and use as an anchor to hold you in place. The only tricky thing is that you want to be a little more buoyant than usual so that there is tension on the line or the hook will slip. The dive was awesome. Huge numbers of fish, sharks cruising around, looking for opportunities to snack, and, at the end of the dive, a dolphin! I think this is the first time I've seen a dolphin during a dive. It was fun watching it zoom around and jump through the ceiling.

The second dive covered a lot of ground, with very little effort. There was a mild current, and I just let it carry me over forests of coral. Occasionally, I'd turn into the current and look at things, but mostly I was content to drift. It feels like flying.

In the afternoon, we visited the Komodo Island National Park. It is mating season, so the dragons must have been off having fun on more secluded parts of the island. We did get to see one, a 7 year old female, over by the Post Office. Perhaps she had some postcards to send. We did see a lot of dragon food: Timor Deer, wild pigs, and wild chickens. They all seemed pretty relaxed in the absence of the dragons.

The highlight of the night dive today was a large cuttlefish. It was hunting and paid no mind to us and our lights. It had its tentacles curled when we found it, but struck out with them and grabbed a fish while we were watching. I also saw a sea snail crawling along in its shell, plentiful nudibranchs, and basket stars.