Mar 23 - We end up taking a four hour snorkeling tour, starting at 9:00, with the company Run Gilis, for IDR 950,000. This is about what everyone is charging per time out on the ocean.
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The first stop is to Gili Trawangan (to the west), where are large shallow area hosts some short sea grasses. I say short because we were in a sea grass field at Gili Gede and they were very tall. Upon getting in the water we are immediately rewarded with green turtles feeding on the grass. They generally ignore people and go about their business. They mow the tiny grass blades meticulously, coming up for air every few minutes. We see five different turtles, the largest being close to a meter in length. Of course there is a person there who is so focused on getting video that she gets in everyone else’s way. I get tired of it and go look at a turtle far from the others, but soon enough I feel a push and realize that she is now over here, crowding in where I am, all upset that I might get in her filming. She has little control over herself, constantly kicking the sea floor and raising up clouds of sand.
The second stop is the west side of Gili Meno, where there is a shipwreck at about 10 meters. It looks more like a floating platform that sank. Here the coral is really good, the best we’ve seen so far.
The third stop is the east side of Gili Air, where the coral is even better. I don’t see much bleaching, and everything looks so healthy compared to where we’ve snorkeled so far in the trip. Here there is one hawksbill turtle, nosing around in the soft corals, I suppose looking for sponges.
Final stop is back on Gili Meno, just north of the pier. Again, great looking coral, here I see a couple types of pufferfish, a large dark boxfish, and a free-swimming moray eel.
Spend rest of day writing and getting other stuff done at the homestay. In the evening, the fun starts again at the mosque, it appears they have a lineup of children to quote passages of the Qur’an. It goes late again, maybe until 23:00.
Indonesia