A sudden and small blue line moving on the rubble. The attention was on the reefs and fish fighting the currents, but the eyes turn to that blue strike, curving, getting shorter and longer…The blue and the yellow. A colorful ribbon eel can’t stop moving, when we get close goes back to its hole, and a few seconds later comes back out. They are beautiful, with bright colors and intricate face; they try to hide, but its colors make them obvious, If you look to the right place.

This eels look like ribbons, mainly when they are swimming freely, out of their holes, but to witness that magic performance you have to be extremely lucky! And their colors change through age, and as they change sex. The one on the photo, taken by Jade, that was the first one seen this week, at Sental (north of Penida), but not the only one, as more have been seen these last days on our dive sites, is blue, that is the second stage: Is considered that they start being black (with a yellow line in the back) when juvenile, then turn into blue (with also that yellow line) as adult males, and then, some turn into females, becoming yellow. The ones we have seen this week have been mainly male adults.

A favorite to the macro photographers, although it’s also one of the more challenging creatures due to its continuous movements. Nudibranches are much easier “to shoot” 🙂

This week, again we had divers from many different countries and diving levels: Fernando, from Uruguay; Luke, from England; also from England we have had Jade and Pete, two good old friends (thanks for the pic!!!); also the German family living in China: Tom and Candy, the daughter Lily that got certified as Lembongan Manta Awareness Specialist!! (having lots of chances in Manta Bay to study and get pics of this awesome creatures) and May, still a little young to dive but that have been enjoying a lot the mornings at the Resort with our official babysitter Ririn. Another family joined us: Matt, the dad, an experienced diver did some fun dives, Sophie tried diving for the first time (and saw a manta in her minute one ever diving), and Carla and Matilda, the mum and other daughter, were snorkeling also with Mantas and then on Crystal Bay reefs. And other experienced divers: Chrissie, Jill, MJ and Alex, that is doing an amazing diving tour around Indonesia and that is a great photographer.