Culture Vultures

Today was a day for Old Town Jakarta Culture.  Graham arranged for a tour guide and tuk-tuks to take us around.  Thank God because it was a pretty warm day.

We started out with a very nice breakfast buffet at the hotel.  First we explored the bridge right outside our hotel that has been there since the 1800s when the Dutch ruled Jakarta.

Then we went to see Bastion Culemborg/Amsterdam which was a 17th-century Dutch colonial fortification and watchpost in old Batavia.  It was the Spice House where they stored all of the spices.

• Nutmeg and Mace: Sourced mainly from the Banda Islands and transshipped or consolidated through Batavia to Europe and global markets.
• Cloves: Sourced from the Maluku Islands (Moluccas) and routed through Dutch-controlled ports to international destinations.
• Pepper: Shipped in large quantities from Banten and South Sumatra through the port of Batavia. 

The trees have overtaken the building.

There was plenty of animal life, but not so wild.

Then we went to the old marina and learned that the city was sinking and Indonesia is going to relocate its capital to Nusantara in 2028.

Then we went back to the square we were in yesterday and learned about hangings and the Portuguese cannons.

Tradition was that if a woman was barren, she could sit on top of this hand and it would help her to conceive.  Ummm... And that is the hand signal for wanting sex.  OK.

Then we went to the Wayang Museum (a Puppet Museum) and sat and watched a show for a bit.  It was weird because only one guy did all the puppets and the voices.  Yet there was an enormous 50 person "orchestra" and three women singing.  And everything was done in a Javanese language that nobody understood, not even the locals.  Then the audience was so far back that we couldn't really see anything but there were closed circuit TVs on each side so we could see what what going on.  I didn't love it but it was good to sit for a bit.

Can you say creepy!  I do love the hands though.

These reminded me of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

Then we walked over to The House of Tugu where we had lunch.  From the outside, this place looked pretty crappy.  But on the inside it was spectacular!  Graham arranged a sampling of Indonsian dishes for us in a private room.

David trying the Durian Creme Brulee.

After lunch, we got a tour of the museum on the property with artifacts going back five generations from the owner.  It was very interesting but a LOT of stuff everywhere.  

I did pretty well on this walking tour but I was glad to be back at my hotel and definitely needed another shower.  It was so hot.

We are taking the afternoon/evening off and will be boarding transportation to the domestic terminal tomorrow morning at 7am.

Culture and Clay

I was still pretty tired in the morning so I slept in until noon-ish and finally headed down to the hotel lobby for lunch around 1pm.

Graham came and joined me.  It was so fun to see him again!  I need to look up the last time I saw him in person, but it has been a WHILE.  

Graham introduced me to David and Dennis from the Houston Underwater Photographers Society.  They invited me along for their adventures.

We went to the Museum of Fine Art and Ceramics.  It was like $3 to get in and had many paintings and ceramics on display.

I think this one was my favorite.

We came across this outdoor pottery studio at the museum.  Instead of the potters wheels spinning with electricity, the pottters spun it with their own feet!

This group was celebrating a birthday.

Afterward, we stopped to watch a band playing on plaza.  Graham knew the singer's husband who started playing this instrument in the Jakarta streets.  Now he is traveling throughout Indonesia playing.

Then we went to a Cafe Batavia and sat around the rest of the afternoon.

We started with a drink and a couple desserts, then stayed so long we decided to have dinner there too.

One of the desserts was a Graham surprise.  We had to taste it first, then he would tell us what it was.

OMG, it was made with durian.  The smelliest fruit in Asia.  So smelly in fact that some countries have banned it.  I mean it was ok and pretty mild.  But I could have done without it.

I got a pink flamingo mocktail.  Look how pretty.  It tasted good too.

Graham eating the head of the red snapper.  I was not as adventurous and got the chicken satay.

I got to know David and Dennis pretty well.  They were telling stories about their lives back home.  They aren't necessarily nudibranch fanatics, but they appreciate my obsession.

And Dennis has the same camera as me and uses it exclusively to shoot video.  What!?!?!?  That's pretty amazing.  I need to learn from him.

As we walked back to the hotel, we saw that so many people were sitting on the square watching a show.  It turns out that it was a mime.   Interesting.  Everyone had a cold drink in their hand with a straw in the cup but they didn't hold the cup.  Instead the cup was in a plastic bag with handles and they held it that way.  There were also lots of vendors lining the streets selling everything from sunglasses to stuffed animals.

O’Hare Happiness

I used Lyft for the first time and reserved a ride the day before.  The driver was really good and on time.  I realized I forgot my iPhone charger before we left the condo driveway and I ran back up to get it.  Hooray!  And the Lyft cost $20 less than uber.

I arrived long before the check in counter even opened, so I just sat and read my book and charged my phone… with the charger I almost forgot!

Then I got the friendliest older guy at the ANA counter and he DID NOT WEIGH MY CARRY ON.  Hallelujah.  This is always a point of contention since my carryon is way over the weight limit.  Since it has all my underwater camera gear, I definitely don't want to check it.

I quickly left the area before the guy at the counter could change his mind and… I caught a glimpse of a very skinny Cheryl Mell out of the corner of my eye before exiting.  Holy crap.  I didn’t stop but texted her.

We connected after security and it turns out she and Patti are going diving in the Spice Islands.  They are also leaving from Ambon.  So we are on the same flights to Jakarta!  Wow, what a small world that I would bump into some of my SCUBA Sistahs at O'Hare.

What are the chances?  They headed off to the fancy lounge and I hit Chilis.  The restaurant wasn't serving breakfast though so I went for buffalo wings at 9:30 in the morning.

The check in counter didn't seem very busy.  Maybe the flight won’t be that full.  That would be awesome.

Womp Womp.  My first flight to Tokyo was completely full, but 14 hours went pretty fast.  Then I had an empty middle seat on the second 8 hour flight, so that was great to have a little extra wiggle room.

I wasn't too bad off after landing and got my visa on arrival as well as my bags.  Then I hit the ATM before searching for my pre-arranged ride.  The ATMs here only let users get out 1million rupiah at a time which is only like $55 USD.  Well, I was glad to get some local currency out.

My ride was pretty easy but by now it was about 2am.  I don't think I fell asleep until 4am or so.

Foray into the Forgotten Islands

I'm excited for my next big adventure.  This quarter is going to be a LOT of traveling.

My first trip of this quarter is to Indonesia, the Forgotten Islands.  Graham Abbott organized it.

I did a Google Earth to see where we are going:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1KFWRqOiglLzqe0gp_vcRMfSNuiM1oSm5?usp=sharing

Here is what Graham shared about this exploratory trip on the Nusa Kembara Liveaboard:

This is going to be different than the nudi, macro focused trips I've been used to.  It's going to be some larger subjects and more adventure than usual.  I packed my Go Pro along with my regular macro setup.

I have been quieter than usual recently in preparation for this trip and the ones after it.  I feel like I am overthinking a lot of things.  Especially about my gear.  I just hope I don't have any issues.

I've worked hard on my Alor Nudi ID book.  I think I only have like 40 species to go.  It will be interesting to see if I find any new ones on this trip.  Really we are only in Alor for two dives on the last day.

Nudi Naming

I thought this was an interesting article about naming nudis: 

https://opistobranquis.info/en/taxonomia-dels-nudibranquis-quan-esta-justificat-canviar-un-nom/

Understanding Nudibranchs and Other Sea Slugs

David Mullins is coming out with a new book!  This is so exciting!

https://book.nudibranchdomain.org/product/understanding-nudibranchs-and-other-sea-slugs/

A joint position paper by 26 sea slug taxonomists

An interesting article about Guidelines for the Taxonomy of Nudibranchs:

https://en.seaslug.world/blog/stable-taxonomy-guidelines-2026

Some intel about Terry:

https://en.seaslug.world/blog/terry-gosliner

The Smallest Mollusk Museum

I came across this podcast today:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/podcast-the-smallest-mollusk-museum

Super Fun!  I need to visit it someday.

Halloween Costume Nudi

I need a really good Halloween Costume this year.  Should I get this?

https://www.anacosplayone.com/products/sea-slug-onesie

I could also wear it for SlugFest 2027... but it would be REALLY hot!

Steinbeck Slug Sentences

This came across my feed today:

https://slugsite.us/bow2007/nudwk1442.htm

In the book Cannery Row, Steinbeck mentions nudibranchs twice in the first 27 pages.  So cool.  

I guess I need to read that book now.

Nudi Merch

Waterlust just launched some nudi wear!

https://waterlust.com/collections/nudibranchs-marine-ecosystem-biodiversity

Blackwater Cozumel Slugs

From 7/16/26 - 7/24/26, I went on a trip to Cozumel to improve my Blackwater Dive skills.  I wasn't necessarily looking for any nudis but I came across three that I will share here.

On the first day, I did two morning checkout dives to ensure that my gear was functioning.

We had a great dive guide named Maya who was from Canada.  She found two slugs for me:

Thuridilla picta

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/382677417

Elysia ornata

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/382677416

On the very last blackwater dive, I left my camera on the boat.  On purpose.  I had forgotten to change the camera battery.  I was ok with this and just went with my spotter light.  Of course, as soon as I got down, I saw it.  The Pelagic Nudibranch!!!  I was sad because I didn't have my camera but ecstatic that I got to see it.

Phylliroe bucephala

Here is a picture of a pelagic nudibranch from Linda Ianniello:

https://lindaiphotography.com/black-water-mollusks/

I will find it again someday.  In fact, I am already considering a couple of other Blackwater trips.

Wool Creature Lab

A friend tipped me off to this vendor who makes nudibranchs made of wool.  Pretty awesome!

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/wool-creature-lab-arina-bovenich-felted-wool-nudibranchs/

https://woolcreaturelab.com/