Our first dive did not seem warmly welcomed by the sun. The cloud hangs.
Our ship was slightly swayed by the waves while trying to get east from Mansuar Island.
No doubt, my colleague, uncle @motulz, began to eviscerate his stomach. I, who had not been at sea in this condition for a long time, began to feel wobbly.
Actually, I’m a little hesitant to dive in conditions like this. I last dived almost a year ago, I’m a little clumsy when it comes to diving. But with the help of the divemasters, Uncle Saka, Uncle Rudi, and also Aunt @r_djangkaru, I felt a little calmer.
“Raja Ampat at the top is like this, it’s no different from the Thousand Islands, especially when it’s cloudy like this,” I muttered.
The air tube was fully loaded, the seven kilogram ballast was mounted on my fat body, the BCD was deflated, and we started our descent.
Our main target at this mioskon dive point is to meet the typical Indonesian shark, Wobbegong. Wobbegongs are not the sharks we usually imagine. Fish with scientific names Orectolobus leptolineatus this is more like a broom fish sweeping the shallow ocean floor. With a pattern of brown spots and a flat body, he also has the nickname carpet shark.
“If we’ve seen wobbegong, it means welcome to Raja Ampat!” said Teteh Riyanni.
The depth gauge shows a depth of 23 meters, and luckily we saw the Wobbegong casually parked beside a rock. He was not at all bothered and indifferent to our presence. Every now and then the fins touching the sand patted as if to invite dance.
Wobbegongs are harmless, and so are other sharks. As long as we don’t disturb the comfort of the sea king. After we took a few shots, the wobbegong went to relax by snaking gracefully.
The underwater world always manages to amaze me. Maybe, because we are not from their world. Mysteries about underwater life can not all be solved. We humans are only able to observe and learn a speck from it.
“Welcome to Raja Ampat, dude. Enjoy,” said the wobbegong while smoking a cigar, in my imagination.
Several yellow tail fish were found busy at school here. In Mioskon, many fine red corals are found. I associate diving spots in Indonesia with their dominant colors. Raja Ampat is red, Wakatobi is orange, Komodo is yellow, and Kep. A thousand with gray. *clapped*
About 30 minutes after the dive, a slightly strong current dragged us into the sand. Without warning the ‘storm’ hordes of sand ambush us. It’s like sand blowing in Bromo. Blurred vision. Visibility may be 30 cm only. We were separated, fortunately I still met Teh Riyanni who immediately gave the code to immediately stop safety and rise to the surface.
***
I think Mioskon island is an uninhabited island. However, when I landed there, it seemed that an inn was about to be built.
“Mioskon Island is the most strategic island in Raja Ampat, many good dive sites are very close from here,” said my divemaster. Not surprisingly, Raja Ampat’s ‘premium’ dive sites like Mioskon itself, Cape kri, Mike’s point, blue magic, or Sardine reef may be only ten minutes away by speedboat.
“There was once a bargain on this island for 67 trillion, but we didn’t want it, this is customary land that cannot be transferred,” said Steven, a middle-aged man who seems to be the ‘owner’ of this island.
My eyes widened, I couldn’t believe that such a small island could be offered so high. I really don’t understand what the island’s price rate is, but that price is certainly very high. Reportedly, the bidder is one of the world’s richest people.
I talked for a long time with this man and his wife, Grace Wawiai. I don’t really understand, because they told me about this customary land conflict. Among them, the wawiai clan, local government, and investors. About this island that should be kept natural until about other successful Wawiai people in Jakarta there.
Whatever it is, I, who is only a tourist, hope that the top and bottom of Mioskon will still be maintained and be able to prosper the local population, without being biased towards one side.
Speaking at length, I didn’t realize that I had been left by the ship! I shouted at those who were starting to move a bit away from the shore. They just laughed evilly when they saw I was almost left alone at Mioskon.
“Where we now?” I asked uncle Rudi.
“Manta points!” the answer is solid.
~
Thanks to Mayang for the underwater photos. I hope you don’t get bitten by mosquitoes again!
Create by ipadguides in category of Travel Story