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8~ January, 2022 - Coral Triangle Snorkeling - Days 1 and 2


My first day at Bunaken I asked the owner of the resort I was staying (the Happy Gecko in Bunaken, Indonesia) what do I need to know to swim out to the reef. Willeke said from the Mangroves swim over the lagoon until you get to the reef. Going over the deep lagoon was a little creepy, since there was no telling what was down in the dark water. (I had heard of crocodiles being spotted in the Mangroves on Bunaken). After about 15 minutes though you get to the inner side of the reef. It can be almost impossible to get through the reef coral at low tide, but that was not the case on my first afternoon. I swam over the coral and got past the reef edge, where it drops off abruptly to depths of one mile. I spent most of my snorkeling time on the outside of the reef, where there was little risk of accidently touching the coral. (at low tide you can swim east towards the channel the boats use to get into the Lagoon, and pass through to the outer reef there).

The soft evening light broke out of the clouds and illuminated the coral and fish. I got some of my best photos of the two weeks in Indonesia on that first afternoon, because of the perfect light. The truth about underwater photography is that obtaining good photos is usually dependent on the type of light sifting down from the surface. On that first afternoon it was optimum.



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