Bangka Island
Bangka Island is located at the north end of Sulawesi where there are a few other islands such as Talise and Gangga etc. It took me one hour from the airport of Manado to reach the harbour, Likupang by car and 40 minutes to the island by boat. This trip was really impressive that this post could be pretty long ... please bear with me.
Coral Eye
Coral Eye is located on the west side of Bangka Island, north of Manado (North Sulawesi's provincial capital) and it's within the Coral Triangle area, the global epicenter of marine biodiversity.. that is why many researchers and volunteers gather here for projects and experiments. Besides marine research and conservation, travellers and divers will enjoy the serenity, peace and quiet environment. Staying at Coral Eye gives a feeling of being in paradise, a place where there is no sadness or pain, troubles or sorrows
This resort gives their guests a homely feeling. Besides having our three meals, coffee and snacks together at the communal table, we meet each other several times a day. You can relax on the hammocks downstairs, rest or read on the mattresses upstairs just outside your room or laze on the beach chairs. You will see the same people everywhere you go. No other place to go anyway, besides the beach, the resort or the dive boat.
There are no roads or cars, not even a motorbike in sight. There is only one resort here overlooking a 1 km white sand beach with their private jetty, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 pigs and few roosters reared by the villagers who are family of the staff. Nobody stays in their room besides bedtime which is 1130 pm when power will be turned off. Total darkness. That was my problem having not enough time to charge my Eneloops. Power also turns off everyday from 1pm to 5pm to conserve energy.
The architecture of the resort is very unique, designed by an architect relative of the Italian owner , the idea was thought of to merge work, life and private spaces together to form a cohesive environment. There are 8 rooms for tourists and a separate bungalow for students. 3 superior rooms with attached bath and the other 5 bathrooms are located at the corner. Our beds are made and bathrooms cleaned everyday!
Diving
Waves were too strong for the boat to go to Sahaung the first few days but we did it on my last two days. Sahaung is beautiful and popular for its topography of boulders and pinnacles with abundance in colorful corals. This is my first attempt taking wide angle corals. You can also find baby white tip reef sharks hiding under the ledge.
We did lots of muck dives near the mainland of Pulisan where we saw different types of frogfish, scorpionfish, boxfish, pufferfish, porcupine fish, ornate ghostpipefish and my favourite flamboyant cuttlefish and pygmy seahorse and of course, many nudibranch. Not many pelagics but some schooling yellow snappers. Visibility was about 15 to 20m during this trip when winds were strong but I believe it should be better.
 |
| Black Pygmy Seahorse |
 |
| Pink Frogfish |
 |
| Green Frogfish |
 |
| Painted Frogfish |
 |
| Painted Frogfish |
 |
| Clara & daughter |
 |
| Marco |
 |
| Nembrotha kubaryana |
Movie still processing. Please be patient.
