Nudi Gal: This is NOT a good macro site... Whale Shark!

I was up before the Muslim chanting started. I heard the first refrains from my porch. It’s so weird. I feel like I’m hearing steps but it is really just the leaves/rain.

OMG. Now there are at least two competing Mosques chanting. This is insane! I’m not sure how people sleep through this!

I was on the boat with Graham and his groupies today.

Before the dive boat left, I did a little snorkeling on the house reef. I saw the blacktip reef sharks from underwater this time. They were just patrolling the shoreline. I can see why they like it there. There are tons of little silvery fish they can have for breakfast.

The dives were awesome. Amil said in the second dive briefing that the dive was not good for macro. But of course with this group, we were able to make it so. I never look out into the blue anymore really. And every once in a while I wonder… what if a whale shark is right behind me looking over my shoulder wondering what the heck I’m looking at. And today, that came true. I looked up and over at Amil and he dropped his pointer sticks. I thought that was weird. Why would he drop them? Something must be going on. So before he even rapped on his tank, I looked out into the blue and sure enough, there it was.

WHALE SHARK!!!!

I yanked out the Go Pro I keep attached to my BC, turned it on and just pointed the thing at the blue. It’s not a very good video, but it is proof we saw it!!!

I swam fast toward it but he was moving along at a pretty good pace. Also, I didn’t know what the etiquette was here. Some boats get mad if you swim toward a whale shark thinking you will scare it away.

Unfortunately, Graham/Kevin/Pat didn’t see it. And Kevin has never seen a whale shark.

I showed it to Valentina and Peter and some of the other guests and they commented that this is EXTREMELY rare. We should consider ourselves very lucky. Woo Hoo!

I donned my crazy wetsuit for the afternoon dive and it feels just so much more comfortable underwater. Maybe I’ll start wearing just that until I get cold.

I dove the house reef in the evening right after the afternoon dive and before dinner. So I am able to get in my four dives a day. Awesome! I’m going to make that my habit every day.

I actually took photos of the mandarinfish there. They seem bigger and more colorful than in Palau… and they stay out longer. I joked that it is because of my colorful wetsuit.

Here are the nudis I saw today:

21 - Chromodoris magnifica

22 - Nembrotha sp. 2

23 - Nembrotha chamberlaini

24 - Thecacera sp. 14

25 - Glossodoris cincta

26 - Dendronotus regius

27 - Chelidonura hirundinina

28 - Pteraeolidia semperi

29 - Dermatobranchus rodmani

30 - Jorunna funebris

31 - Phyllidiella nigra

32 - Tambja morosa

33 - Thuridilla gracilis

34 - Flabellina exoptata

35 - Unknown (juvenile phyllodesmium of some sort with white with brown curly lines running thru the cerata)

David Beherns thinks this is sp.2. Maybe sp. 9? I put this on Nudibase and Hsin Li said "Yes, a not yet described one. This is the 4th time I saw record of this Alor species." Terry Gosliner says Phyllodesmium opalescens.

36 - Glossodoris rufomarginata