As Lalo proved it to Nick and Wilfried this week, it’s quite easy for our guides to find Whip Coral Shrimp in Bunaken. His keen eyes spotted one of the least common; the Dragon Shrimp (miropandalus hardingi) which is about 2cm long. Although it looks like the Zanzibar Whip Coral Shrimp (dasycaris zanzibarica) which has one spine or the Anker’s Whip Coral Shrimp (pontonides ankeri) which has none, the Dragon Shrimp has three big spines on its back, hence the name Dragon. If you’re a fairly new photographer, macro and slow-moving species like the Whip Coral Shrimp in Bunaken are a good subject to practice on to train your photography skills as well as your buoyancy. If you are struggling then you can always take a PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course with an instructor and even do the PADI Digital Underwater Imaging specialty.
Before we went underwater in search of Whip Coral Shrimp and other critters we did rescue skills practice on the surface with guides, divemasters, instructors and boat crew all taking part. A good occasion to sharpen our skills so we are prepared to deal with rare emergencies that might occur. Monday was also the last dive here for our Divemaster Nick after 7 weeks of training and interning on the spectacular walls of Bunaken. We will miss him but hopefully, he’ll come back next year for his Instructor Development Course (IDC) with Two Fish Divers Go Pro.
As one DM left, other returns! Wilfried came back after finishing his divemaster training all around Indonesia, from Two Fish Bunaken to Two Fish Lembongan; Amed to Lembeh, he has seen many different faces, dived in a variety of conditions and learned heaps along the way. Now he is back to put it all into practice with a busy month ahead. As always when people come and go, this was an occasion for a good party and our guests joined in the fun to celebrate their own achievements or just enjoy their holiday in paradise.
Bertrand and Alice were congratulating each other for completing their Advanced Open Water Course, Luca finished his Scuba Diver to Open Water upgrade after starting his underwater journey in the Maldives, and our other guests Christian and Vinda from Flores were enjoying the delights of Bunaken for a change of underwater scenery. It’s always sad to say goodbye to long and short term guests but everybody leaves as a friend and we hope to welcome you back again one day as a family.
