FM7 Rest

I slept pretty well last night and didn't wake up until 6am.  Later Graham told me that I didn't snore.  Oh, thank God.  I even brought earplugs for others just in case.

So, we have such an interesting group of people on the trip with us.  Let me see if I can give the full run down.

1. Graham Abbott is our fearless trip leader.  He is English and has lived in Indonesia for decades.
2. Me, Pam McPherson.  Crazy American Nudi fanatic.
3. David Lenderman, American.  Part of the Houston Underwater Photography Society.
4. Dennis Deavenport, American.  Part of the Houston Underwater Photography Society.
5. Betsy Beasley, American.  Part of the Houston Underwater Photography Society.  She has these super cool contacts where she can change the color of her eyes daily.
6. Craig Beasley, American.  Part of the Houston Underwater Photography Society.  
7. Ellen, American.  Lives in Florida, traveling with Jackie.  They met diving in Honduras.
8. Jackie, American.  Lives in Mississippi, traveling with Ellen.
9. Todd, American.  Lives in Wyoming.  Retired Gym teacher and diving coach.
10. Rick, American.  Lives in Wyoming.  Retired Gym teacher and swim coach.
11. Tim Laman, American.  Lives in Massachusetts and is a visual wildlife storyteller working with Nat Geo, Cornell Labs among others.  https://www.timlaman.com/
12. Zafer Kizilkaya, Turkish.  Quite an accomplished environmentalist.  https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/zafer-kizilkaya/
13. Mariasole, Italian.
14. Gaida, Italian. 
15. Stefano, Italian or Turkish?
16. Alvi, Turkish.

I sneaked out of the room a bit early and set up my computer in the restaurant and started downing coffee.  It was fairly quiet and a nice place to be.  The breakfast is included in the stay and is a darn good spread with indonesian and western fare.  Lots of juices and fruit too.

I had such a lovely chat with Graham and Tim.  Tim has done a lot of work with Cornell Labs, the force behind the Merlin App which does the bird sound identification.  There is a Cornell Lab You Tube Channel for Tim's bird videos.  Here is one video about his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2LTuY0x_j0

We talked a lot about the birding community and compared notes on The Big Year and Listers.  I told him that I really want to do a Big Year of Nudibranchs.  And that I love compiling species counts.  I shared that I am just shy of 400 found in Alor alone.  

We need to fill our day today awaiting tomorrow's flights.  I welcome the rest here at FM7, but some others are taking a tour of Jakarta.

I would love to finish those last 25 nudi species in my Alor ID book.  Maybe I can make that happen.

I am thinking about the crew on the liveaboard.  They are moving the boat to Alor which will take three days for them to get there.  We have to spend at least one night at a hotel in Alor.  And we will do the cultural tour (which I've done before) and then snorkel with the horny dugong (nicknamed Harvey Weinstein).

We gathered back at The Porte for lunch.  I had Mango Chicken that was pretty good, but they ran out of coke zero.  We stayed around the table for a good long time just hanging out and telling dive trip stories.

Then I went to the pool for a while.  Although they have a cold plunge the rest of the space is just so hot.  I didn't stay for too too long.

I ate dinner with the Houston crew.  We had quite a conversation about Synesthesia.  Betsy has it and we were all really interested in how it works and what color she sees us each as.  I am a peach color.

For dinner I got a small salad hoping that I could finally order the banana dessert.  Of course, when I went to order it, they said they were out of it.  Oh man.

Graham has been talking about a game that he brought for us to play called Authenticity.  This will be interesting.  

He also told me about Edward Abbey.  Graham shared a great quote of his to set up our group for a fantastic trip.

Edward Abbey - Half Hearted Fanatic: 

One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.