My first days in Bali – Meeting the Blue Season Team

By admin on May 17, 2012 in Uncategorized

My first day in Bali

Well, I am finally here! After about 24 hours of travel I reached Bali. My first day was a bit of a blur. I arrived in Bali at about noon on the 16th. The BSB crew picked me up at the airport and brought me back the shop to meet everyone. On the drive they gave me a nice little welcome packet that helped get me oriented. It also had information about all the dive sights, which was super exciting to read!

After I met everyone in the shop the team brought me back to my accommodation. I met some of the other interns who are living in the same home stay as I am. They were nice enough to invite me to dinner and start to show me the ropes. Afterwards we went out for a few drinks and I met some more of the BSB crew. We went to the local hangout, a cute little bar with giant comfy beanbag chairs and live music. First day in Bali was a total success!

My first dive in Bali

The next morning I got up bright and early and headed to the shop around 6 am for my first dives in Bali. After the morning dive brief we jumped in the van and for the 2-hour drive to Seraya, our dive site for the day. You all know that I am not a morning person, I passed out the entire drive, I think I might have even drooled a bit. Seraya is known for its muck diving sights. It is a stunning isolated beach where you can find everything from beautiful nudibranchs to blue spotted stingrays, to mimic octopi. We entered the water from the beach, which was very different to the giant stride entry I am accustomed to. I was nice to be able to walk right into the water and also made navigation a bit easier.

Check out this video taken before my first dive in Bali: First dive at Seraya

Muck diving was a really cool experience. At first glance the site looks like boring brown sand. When you look closer life starts to appear all around you like magic! I saw all kinds of things that I have never seen before. My favorites were the toby puffer fish and the shrimpgobies. Shrimpgobies are really cool because they always come with a shrimp. The shrimp digs out a hole while the goby protects it. If a predator comes near the goby will dive into the hole and push the shrimp behind him. They are cute little buddies! I sat and watched a pair for a good 5 minutes. Toby puffers are officially my new favorite fish, I might even start a “toby count” to see how many I can find during my stay here in Bali. They are tiny little guys who range from about 1 ½- 5 inches in length. They are really funny to watch because they swim around awkwardly so they look pretty silly.

Well, that’s what’s going on here in Bali. I start my EFR and Rescue Diver courses on Sunday. I will let you all know how those go! I should also be getting an underwater camera soon so expect some pictures.