Our trip to Bunaken happens to collide with our 1st wedding anniversary. I think just the fact that we managed to survive each other so far is worth a celebration ha ha... Or at least to admire how he can survive from me ha ha...
"You jump, I jump remember?" That's what Jack told Rose in Titanic. But for a beginner diver, you can't just jump like that. You should do back roll (like falling backwards with the tank in your back first). And as it's a small boat so we need to take turns going into the water. And to make it even less romantic, although Ian and I went together, we don't really dive side by side. As we don't have any dive certificate yet, we SEPARATELY need to be ushered by 2 dive masters. Ha ha, not really the idea of a romantic getaway.
Between those heavy tanks, regulators, BCD or whatever - diving turned out to be a lot tougher than I thought. No wonder you can't just "buy" the diving certificate (like you can buy driving license in Indo :P) without taking the real test. It's really difficult and you can put yourself in danger if you don't have the knowledge.
I never knew that it would make your throat really dry (they say it's because of the Oxygen level in the tank), also didn't know that no matter how tight you try to put your mask in - somehow the water will find their way in. Soon or later! I also having a hard time getting used to only breathing in and out with my mouth (you can't use your nose). Funny, in Jakarta I always breathe only with mouth when passing by dirty alleys (so I don't smell anything) - but it's really a different story when you feel like your life is hanging by a tube and gasping for air. And not to say the very least that uncomfortable feeling in your eardrum that you get each time you get deeper. It's like it's going to explode from within or something! (they teach you a trick to minimize the pain but I personally don't think it help that much *sigh*)
Anyway, despite of all the *misery* - it's really nice to see a totally different world down there. You see all sorts of strange creatures and really give a different feel vs the everyday life. The word "Fish" is no longer means that grey thing you saw dead in supermarket or sushi you saw in restaurants. They are really colorful! From bright blue, to prickly black and white, bright red, bright purple... All sorts of things - shapes and sizes: clown fish, angel fish, parrot fish, Napoleon Wrasse, etc. My husband is even lucky enough to see some sea turtle. Another special thing about Bunaken is the steep vertical wall (it's like an underwater valley) so you also see corals and reefs dangling in the wall.
Although honestly it's a bit hard to focus on enjoying the view when you're very conscious on the inconvenience you felt in every breath you take, every meter you went deeper. I just kept clicking my camera to whatever I saw ha ha¡K It takes away the anxiousness a bit.
As mentioned, there are about 150 dive sites around Bunaken - so you really have wide range of options. Go to Likuan if you want to see turtles; or to Fukui if you want to see some reef sharks. Lembeh strait is very well known for it's crazy creatures (even in shallow water < 5 m, really surreal nudibranches, Spanish dancers, etc. Very good for taking underwater picture. And really many many more. If you're into diving, THIS is the place to go. There I met with tourist (>98% are from Europe - no wonder all prices are in Euro; surprisingly not many local tourist); and about 50% of them already visited Bunaken multiple times. So if they kept coming back, definitely there's something special about this place. I even met a professional underwater photographer from Barcelona that's handling pictures at National Geographic level. He was kind enough to show his work to us and I'm amazed at how focus, sharp and amazing the picture was - considering the picture objects are moving and so are your body tossed around by waves.
Unfortunately I have to say that I started to see some reef damages here and there - so I'm not confident whether this place will look as great in the next 5-10 years. So you better go early :D See the pictures whether it'll inspire you like it did to me :)
At the end of the day, I really wish I'd fell in love with diving. But I didn't. For me it was like a thing you're excited to do once in a lifetime ¡V but that's it. I MIGHT do it again one day - if I ever in Amazing Race or Fear Factor show or something. Or if one day my adventurous side managed to persuade me to do it again (it's not like it didn't happen many times before) ha ha
Keep reading, I got better pictures in the next days. It's easier to take pictures when I don't feel that my life is threatened ha ha...
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