Island Vortex (Gili Trawangan, Indonesia)

For a revised version of this post, go here.

March Something, 2009 - What the hell day is it? Still on Gili Trawangan. I've been scuba diving my hindquarters off. My chosen dive shop, Dive Buddha, is excellent. Professional, laid back, and financially sensitive (They accept credit cards). Super. On any given day visibility is somewhere in the neighborhood of a 100-150 ft. Fortunately, they also have a tall dark Russian woman working as an instructor. Yes, this dive shop has it all. They provide lodging so all I need do is roll out of bed onto the dive boat. All dive sites are minutes away on the boat so there is no wasting time traveling from point to point.

I’ve seen all kinds of fish and coral I have yet to identify. If I return for my divemaster certification I will spend much of my time determining what the hell I am looking at. I have seen numerous octopi but they have all been a bit antisocial and refuse to come outside and cavort with me. It is possible (and not dangerous) to play with them a bit (if I can coax them out of their abode). I have also seen a close relative, the cuttlefish. Amazing creatures are these. They hover in one place and pulsate, often changing color instantly for camouflage. The octopus can do this as well. Damn cool. We have also spotted large Green Humphead Parrotfish. It is difficult to get close but the visibility is such that you can still get a decent peek even at a distance.

What else? The sunsets are quite nice, as one might expect. I am sure the sunrise is equally impressive but I have yet to drag my ass out of bed. I was hit again by another stomach ailment that screwed me up for days. Not sure what the problem is but it is starting to get on my nerves. A few beers in the Irish Pub here on St. Patrick’s Day probably did nothing to help my cause. Fucking leprechauns! I have recovered but my appetite has vanished for the most part.

It is somewhat of a minor miracle women actually talk to me

I mentioned that the traffic here consists of bicycles and horse-drawn carts (cidomos). Much less chaotic but it would not take much to get swiped by one of the horsey carts. They move at a reasonably fast clip and do not even consider swerving or slowing down. Hati hati (Be carfeful)!

It will be a few more days of diving and then back to mainland Lombok. There is a volcano whispering my name. I’ve heard it is quite challenging. Hopefully, I am up for it. Nothing I’ve been doing has helped to whip me into shape for an arduous climb. Quite the opposite.

For some reason there are a disproportionate number of tourists from Finland here. Finland? How random is that? Luckily, some of them are female. I really must drop by that country someday.