Cause I'm leaving...

I am soooo ready for this Nudi Safari with Diving 4 Images in Indonesia.

I've loaded my iPad with lots of books and I'm ready for the 13 hour 50 minute flight to Seoul and then another 7 hours and 15 minutes to Bali on Korean Airlines.

Then I have a few hours in a little hotel room before boarding Garuda Airlines to Flores but that flight's only an hour and 35 minutes.

Then we jump on the Cheng Ho Liveaboard and dive North Rinca, Loh Liang, Padar, South Rinca, Mota and Muang.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go... The taxi's waiting, he's blowing his horn...

Cause I'm leaving ON A JET PLANE!!!

Done with Chiberia

As the Chicago weatherman talks about record-breaking cold today, my spirits are lifted a little bit by the thought of my upcoming trip to Indonesia.

After perusing the www.diving4images.com website, I came across Graham Abbott's story about the Joy of Nudibranchs!

Warms my gills.  :)

http://www.diving4images.com/info/the-joy-of-nudibranchs/

Cocos Island Trip (Nov/Dec 2013)

I took a trip to Cocos Island, 36 hours off the coast of Costa Rica in November/December.

Although there were no nudibrachs spotted at all, I did put together a Go Pro video:

http://youtu.be/6znQJhXciJI

Eye of the Lettuce

It's been pretty sluggishly slow around here looking for nudis...

However, I did find this Lettuce Sea Slug today rearing its head up seeking food or a mate when I noticed that it has EYES!  Very primitive eves like the sea hare, but they are there.

Super cool.

Lettuce is good for you.

Today I got a decent shot of the Lettuce Sea Slug.  It is pretty much the only "nudi proper" I think I'll see on this trip.  There are several living on a rock right by the ladder but it's really hard to get a good shot with all the surge.

So today on the dive site "Knife", I found this Lettuce Sea Slug:

Those two feelers up front are the rhinophores and today I learned that underneath it's got a black and white pattern with black and whites spots.

Bonaire Bunny

I'm in Bonaire now with a bunch of Shedd Aquarium people, volunteers, alumni, and friends.  I'm on a one week trip involving shore diving and boat diving.

There are not many nudis in Bonaire but I will share a couple of nudi-esque shots.

This is my version of the "Bonaire Bunny".  It's a very large sea hare:

I found it on our night dive in the sandy area on the way to the drop off.  I was so excited screaming through my regulator to Lori about it!

You Tube Debut

I finally got around to setting my Indonesia trip's nudis to music.

Check it out:
http://youtu.be/C27X2262jFs