https://photos.app.goo.gl/1yfGk4S1ryM92Y169

Our first stop in Indonesia was Siladen, a tiny island off of Sulawesi.

Sulawesi has captured Vera’s imagination since she drew its octopus-arm shape on the map for her 6th grade project on Indonesia.  The 11th largest island in the world (4th largest island in Indonesia) cannot be thoroughly explored in a few short weeks - it’s full of rugged mountains and deep rainforests and some 300+ minor outlying islands administered by the Sulawesi provinces. Indeed we barely scratched the surface of the North Sulawesi province, visiting Siladen and Bangka islands for diving, and birding on land in Tangkoko and Tomohon reserves.

Sulawesi is in an incredible biological position - lying in 

, it combines creatures from Asia (e.g. primates, buffalo) and Australia (e.g. marsupials). 

Some 60% of mammals and 30% of bird species in Sulawesi are endemic

 (living nowhere else). More on above water creatures later.

Underwater, Sulawesi is also stunningly diverse. In North Sulawesi, the Bunaken / Siladen area has steep walls where you can spot creatures that enjoy deeper waters, as well as colorful coral gardens in the shallows filled with turtles and known for strange-looking creatures like frogfishes and ghost pipefish.  The nearby Bangka area is full of gorgeous soft corals and boasts highly sought-after fish like 

 and pygmy seahorses. And of course there are many more diving hotspots in and around Sulawesi that we didn't get to on this trip. 

One of many resting green sea turtles we saw near Siladen. 

Our first stop in Sulawesi was Siladen dive lodge, on the tiny island of Siladen near the international airport in Manado. Usually one can reach the resort about 1.5 hours after landing - about 30 minutes each for getting bags out of the airport, driving to the pier, and motoring to the island. But the night we arrived each stage was delayed - half our flight was missing their bags so our fellow guests were dragged into long bureaucratic conversations, driving on the winding rural roads was slow in heavy rain, and the sea was so rough the boat (thankfully covered) slowed its motor to avoid soaking us with salt water. But when we finally arrived, the welcome from the operators Ana and Miguel was so warm that any travel inconveniences were soon forgotten.

We weren’t exactly surprised. Our long-time diving advisor, Fabian (more on him later) told us that Ana and Miguel were his dear friends and highly recommended their place.

A typical dive resort/lodge is a lot like a summer camp.  Some are fancy, some are quite rustic, but they all revolve around a common schedule and group activities. You are assigned a dive guide for the length of your stay, who, like a camp counselor, organizes your time and leads you in a small group. A typical resort has 20-50 divers diving in groups of 2-6, but everyone wakes up early, eats meals at set times, dives at set times (~4 times a day), and relaxes in shared areas. The operators set the tone for the whole place, if they are friendly and actively engaged it’s a totally different experience than if they are aloof. Ana and Miguel were especially engaged - welcoming every guest, soliciting stories about our dives, heading a big communal table at all meals. They’ve become close friends with several guests who love the place so much they visit year after year, but Ana and Miguel treat everyone like old friends from the moment they meet you.

Siladen even has a friendly pet cat who likes to hang around the dive shop.

The food at Siladen, however, was much better than any summer camp we’ve ever been to. A typical dive resort has a buffet of acceptable food, but Siladen took food quality very seriously. Every day we’d think today’s desserts couldn’t possibly be tastier and prettier than yesterday's and we were mistaken. Most dive operations give you a snack after each dive, and Siladen’s were excellent of course, but they went above and beyond with “aromatherapy towels” - washcloths freshly soaked in hot scented water - to refresh yourself after each dive.

The resort is on a little island with a few other dive operators and a small village next door. In fact under certain tidal conditions we'd walk the three minutes through the village to the public jetty to board dive boats there instead of at the resort. 

The diving was excellent! With our eagle-eyed guide, Stenley, we saw dozens of fascinating creatures - many we’d never even heard of before! Hairy squat lobster (bright pink, smaller than a dime), the gorgeous but elusive comet fish, several types of frogfish (see below), Vera’s favorite fish - the juvenile harlequin sweetlips, several flatworms and nudibranchs including the enormous Spanish dancer (~10 inches), anemone-covered hermit crabs,  incredibly camouflaged ghost pipefishes, mantis shrimp and many many many turtles (mostly green sea turtles, some hawksbill). Bunaken, the island next to Siladen where we often dived, is so full of turtles that we’d stop pointing them out to each other. More info and photos in the album: 

Anemone hermit crab. Like other hermit crabs, these guys scavenge for shells, but then they also "decorate" them with anemones - animals with stinging tentacles that help with defense and camouflage. 

Frogfish are so named because their typical pose is to perch on their pectoral fins like a frog perches on its legs. These are sedentary hunters, most frogfish have a lure dangling in front of their mouth that attracts prey - the lure resembles different treats depending on the prey that each species targets. Frogfish can swim, but not well, they mostly stay in one place and “walk” small distances to readjust themselves. Their bright colors in most of our photos look striking, but against sea sponges and other reef backdrops they can be almost invisible, whether they are the size of a nickel or a dinner plate.

Painted frogfish, very small but at least it wasn't color matched in this position!

Another painted frogfish, also out of camouflage which helped us see it. 

A big highlight of our Siladen diving was the “black water” dive - stay tuned for the next post all about that!

Siladen, Sulawesi (Indonesia)