Lipah Bay, the good, the bad and the Terrifying.

  As we have settled in at Bayu Cottages, Sandra and I seem to have developed a pattern, at least for the first few days.   We have a delicious Bali breakfast with lots of hot French pressed coffee, while enjoying a

Singular Bannerfish  Lipah Bay, Bali  2014

friendly morning repartee with our fellow tourists and the staff, of whom we are immeasurably fond.  At first it was Anna and Christian from Denmark (Their two children, glued to their tablets, chose not to participate in the conversation.).  The last two mornings we’ve had wide ranging discussions with John, an ex-pat from South Hampton (Go Saints) and his youngish Indonesian wife, Kathy.  They hooked up when he was working for two years in Jakarta and they now live happily in Holland.  He works as an engineer and she runs a spa and a transport business in Jakarta.. 
  
    Following breakfast we enjoy  a nice long swim, where we invariably have seen an impressive variety of fish and invertebrates.  As we have explored the bay, we have found areas where the hard and soft corals are more intact.  From that standpoint things are not nearly so grim as I painted them early on. 

Sixbar Wrasse  Lipah Bay, Bali  2014

    After some reading and writing, we find some lunch at one of the nearby establishments.  The last two days we have taken our almuerzo at Pondok Vienna Beach, the beachside hotel across the street.  The food isn’t nearly as good as Wayan’s, but it has several advantages.  It is closer (afternoon is beastly hot, so a shorter walk in the sun is a welcome relief.)  The restaurant is right on the water with a splendid view of Lipah Bay and the ocean breezes keep the flies away.  Our host is Made, an ageless leprechaun of  remarkably human sensibilities.  He was our host five years ago and while he is not the dear friend that Wayan is, we are yet quite fond of him. 

    In the afternoon, following a well deserved nap, Sandra returns to reading alternating between her air

Wassinki Cardinalfish   Lipah Bay, Bali 2014

conditioned cocoon and the lanai with the killer view of Lipah Bay.  I, as always the drudge,  head down for an afternoon swim.  Around 4 PM the air starts to cool; there are more people on the beach and one can stand and chat for a few minutes without suffering sun stroke.  With the sun angling towards the horizon, it is possible to snorkel without a swim shirt, which is quite pleasant in the warm water of the Java Sea.
  
    The best part, though, is that the fish are much more active in the evening than earlier in the day.  As many of you know, this is not the case in Hawaii.  An evening swim in the land of Madame Pele  can be pleasant enough, but one does not expect to see a profusion of fish totally out of proportion to a few hours earlier.  Yesterday my swim was quite productive.  I added Singular Bannerfish

Palette Surgeon, Lipah Bay, Bali  2014

and Meyer’s Butterflyfish, among several others, to the list for our trip.  And I saw what might be a new pattern for the Fingerprint Toby.   Of course, that will require some investigative work.  In a later blog, you will see that we are at some disadvantage in the research department here at the Lipah Bay.

   Two evenings previous, on the cooling sand, I had a nice chat with a handsome Dutch couple and their toddler.  While baby Monique was unable to contribute, she seemed quite happy with the goings on.   There was a small surge in the water, but it was still clear.  Starting in the middle of the bay, I headed a bit further left.  Here the coral was much more intact than at the near end.  I am told that we are facing north, making our point of entry onto the beach the east end, which is exactly opposite of what I anticipated.  (Life in the antipodes can be upside down and backwards)

Yellow Margin Triggerfish  Lipah Bay, Bali  2014

     Regardless of  compass heading,  I found myself among larger coral heads with numerous varieties of soft corals.  The profusion of fish above these corals was too rich to describe quickly.  In a trench I saw a family of Copper Sweepers, a new species for me. The Sixbar Wrasse, a gorgeous little fish, made close passes, begging for a photo.  A bit deeper there was a squadron of Wassinki Cardinal fish (Apogon wassinki) which, as you can see,  yielded to my photographic efforts.

     A bit deeper yet, there was a family of Palette Surgeonfish.  I had only seen two or three individuals total in the past and never in Lipah Bay.  Here, living among a branching coral on the edge of the reef, was a veritable family…at least four individuals, each just a dab bigger than the one before.  They progressed from 2 inches up to 7.  A lot of effort went into the picture you see here of the largest individual. 

The Banded Kraik Comes Up for a Breath.   Lipah Bay Bali  2014

     Swimming further down the bay over the sand, I encountered a handsome Yellow Margin Trigger.  He was standing on his head blowing into the sand in search of supper.  I pursued him for a while and got  a couple pretty good photos.

    Before heading for the barn, I decided to swim over to the taller coral to look for a lionfish.  No large cats, but in the depths was a large snake.!  A banded sea snake to be precise.  He was actively hunting among the coral, similar to the manner in which we see whitemouth moray forage on our reef.  He was more persistent, though. And tolerated me watching him for a couple minutes.  Eventually familiarity bred contempt and I started to dive to get better pictures.  We swam around the coral head and as I watched he began to rise.  I was almost directly above him as he languidly rose, undulating ever so slightly, directly at me. 

    Suffice it to say, a moray would never do this.  As he came at me, I reminded myself that the snake eel mouth is too small to inflict a bite.  By the time he got withing two feet, I wasn’t so sure at all.  I flipped over and  thrashed my fins.  At last look he was shooting into the coral.

   It wasn’t until the next morning that I was able to hook up with the internet and discover the following.  Sea snakes (not to be confused with snake eels, which we occasionally encounter in the Sandwich Islands)  are descended from the snakes of Australia.  They are among the most venomous reptiles on earth.  Contrary to what I had thought, they are perfectly capable of biting people.  About ten percent of these bites can be quite serious.  On the other hand, sea snakes, being reptiles, are obligate air breathers and must surface occasionally for a puff or two of air.  And, most snake eels are not aggressive.   The Banded Kraik falls into this group.

    Well, no one was bitten.  The poor kraik was probably as disconcerted as I was.  (He, after all, was now suffering from respiro-interupticus.)  I headed into the shore and on the way Kanaloa made it up to me by presenting a cooperative Orange Striped Triggerfish.  This is a gorgeous fish that up to that moment had proved too twitchy for photography.  A perfect end to a full and exciting day!

jeff