Underwater happiness in Komodo
ENOctober. Already. Indonesia and Komodo are far away. And my underwater photos have been sleeping at the bottom of my hard drive for three months! I rediscover them these days with a new eye, astonished. I can't believe it. Did I see all that? It's crazy.
Hop, to the water!
You remember my princess boatI have already shown you, in videos, some of the bugs that frequent the place: bugs of the sea, bugs of the sea, bugs of the sea, bugs of the sea, bugs of the sea, bugs of the sea, bugs of the sea. I have already shown you, in videos, some of the bugs that frequent the place: some manta rays,, napoleons... And I have a lot of sharks on video too. I just need to find the time to edit my little sequences... It will come! 😉
In short, what is crazy in Komodo is the profusion and the infinite variety of the underwater fauna. Corals explode with colors, gorgonians are giant bushes, barrel sponges can contain a man, and schools of gaterins, so photogenic, are everywhere.
I have been diving in Asia for a long time, and Indonesia is by far my favorite destination. This huge chain of islands seems inexhaustible. Impossible to be blasé!
And Komodo, where I had never dipped my fins before last summer, is now at the top of my personal top Asian dive sites...
The Komodo National Marine Park is located in the so-called Lesser Sunda Islands (it is in the far east, near Flores, after Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa). It is further away and less accessible than Bali. Diving is not as cheap as in Thailand. There can be some crazy currents. But it is really worth it.
I have a dazzling memory of it, really. I love to come back to the surface, amazed, like a kid, forgetting everything. This joy, this happiness, seemed to me more intense in Komodo than elsewhere.
Komodo on land and underwater
Three months after this fabulous trip, caught up in everyday life again, I aspire to rediscover the exhilarating and soothing sensations that diving and underwater photography give me.
But when I talk about this Indonesian trip to my friends or my entourage, this is the part that interests them the least. As they don't dive, it doesn't tell them anything, it doesn't stir anything in them. Which I can understand quite well. Besides, I now avoid inflicting them my pictures of fishes when I come back... 😂
Nevertheless, diving has become, over the years, from my various trips to Asia, something important, essential, which brings me a lot. It is more than a simple leisure activity, more than a pleasant tourist distraction.
The more I explore it, the more the underwater world fascinates me. The more I feel good there too. For those of you who dive, do you feel the same way?
For the divers, I still deliver below some underwater pictures of Komodo... 😉 And for the others, I promise: in the next article, I will come back on the land, on the island of Rinca very exactly, to present you the famous dragons of Komodo!
Hello, NO, NO, above all keep posting notes about diving... I did a lot of diving in the Mediterranean when I was younger and it was always rather frustrating not to be able to bring back any photos (I'm talking about a time that people under 20 can't know...) and therefore not to be able to fully share those moments. You've got that chance today, so keep going. It's even more frustrating not to be able to dive (health problems) and to have to make do with snorkeling and looking at the pretty photos of the lucky ones!
The line photo is superb, lighting and angle of view, composition, Well Done ❗ ❗
Friendship.
Superb photo series!
The line is very impressive. Always a pleasure to come here :)
See you soon!
Yes, Corinne! We want our live fishsticks for a long time on your blog !!!
I don't dive (ear problems) but I do snorkel, and I have to say that the more I do it, the more I want to do it! It's like living in a parallel world!
I feel as frustrated as you do, Corinne, when I've been dry for too long....it's so light underwater, with that feeling of weightlessness when you can't see the bottom and the ocean reveals its treasures!
Komodo is dreaming ....
I've just returned from 3 weeks in Madagascar, it's an extraordinary island and I'd advise you to dip your flippers in it one day. What's more, the landscapes are grandiose, with the tsingy and forests where lemurs and chameleons hide!
I'm also announcing that I'm going to take advantage of the 599 euro Etihad Airways promotion to return to the Philippines and this time pay for the cruise to Tubbataha.
There are also special offers with Qatar Airways to be snapped up by 31/10 at the latest for travel until the end of March 2012....that leaves plenty of choice for the winter vacations, are you going to let yourself get on board?
A +
Lise
What magical memories, like you, in Komodo... I'd love to go back... I have the impression that once is not enough, there's so much to discover underwater!
@Thiojas: Thank you so much! I still have loads of underwater photos to share, and I can't get enough of them...
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@Alex: I'm glad you like my Petites Bulles d'Ailleurs!
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@Melissa: There'll be plenty more, I promise!
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@Lise: Yes, it's impossible to get bored of diving, once you've got the bug! I've spotted the Qatar promos, but my choice hasn't been made yet for the winter, so we'll see... Madagascar, I'll have to find out!!!!
8)
@Manta: Yes, Komodo seems to me to deserve several cruises. The sites are impressive, really.
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6 months ago I sold my car, my apartment, I quit my job, I stored all my personal belongings to live diving for a year, to try to satisfy my need to dive. I became a dive guide for a center in Bali and it's crazy, the more I dive, the more I want to dive... I can't see myself going back to an office in cold Montreal and diving like I used to only on vacations. I'm leaving Bali in a month for Sulawesi, where I'll be working for a few months, but in between, you've really got me craving Komodo! My customers tell me a lot about it, and every time it's positive.
@Guillaume: Wow, what a change of scenery! As for Komodo, yes, I can only warmly recommend that you go diving there. It's spectacular, and you won't regret it. The sites are truly exceptional. Enjoy!
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So Komodo has overtaken Sipadan in your ranking of dive sites? The thing is, you did the cruise in princess conditions, so that makes it even better! In Madagascar, I finally learned how to manage the white balance for my underwater photos, thanks to my white fins... so I played the clown underwater, which made the whole group of 4 divers laugh....
Beautiful photos. I've never been able to take a decent photo with flash underwater, that makes me appreciate your shots all the more 😀
Just like you I went diving in Komodo and came back amazed !!!
The funny thing is that we dove in at the same time ;))
So please continue to post articles, photos and videos of this little diver's paradise, because for me, it's a real talking point...
Waouhhh... That was the only word I could articulate coming back from a dive in Komodo 😉
The comparison will be hard with future dive sites ...
So no, you're not alone in feeling this way and yes yes yes, for the fishbowl photos ;)))
In the next article ...
Wonderful article! Splendid photos! We can't get enough of “fishy” stuff like this! Even if I don't dive (too much apprehension), I understand very well all that you can feel underwater, yourself back to being a “fish”, which you may have been in times long past! 😉 ❓
@Lise: Yes, clearly, when it comes to dive quality, Komodo surpasses Sipadan: more variety, more of everything (with the exception of turtles, which remain incredibly numerous in Sipadan). The thing is, the dives are still more difficult, in my humble opinion, in Komodo than in Sipadan... Bravo for the white balance!!!! Keep making the others laugh underwater. Afterwards, they'll be very happy to see the images you can manage to make!!!
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@Florent: You have to learn how to take a photo with a flash underwater... It's a question of experience, and patience, too!
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@Annabel: Yes, yes, yes... Count me in. There'll be plenty more fish, big and small, in photos and videos, on this site. Maybe we'll run into each other underwater one day! As you say, when you've «done» Komodo, it sets the bar high for other dive sites...
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@Ysbilia: Me, a fish, in a past life? Who knows... One thing's for sure, I'm fine underwater. And I'm delighted to be able to share a little of my wonderment through my little photos.
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