Amed

So Blackie Montana and I jumped on a scooter to hit up Amed. I don't think Blackie fully understood that I was going to drag him along with me to Amed...20-30 minutes away to work. He thought I was on "Holiday"? Funny, I had to laugh really hard. I don't schlup all this shit for Holiday! Anyhoo. Amed is a big dive location in Bali. Beautiful coral reefs, great diving and very private villas. But, it's very hot. You can tell which sides of the island get the most rain. The landscape looks like Africa and it's so dry. I have no idea what these cows, goats and chickens actually find to eat. Well, actually alot of them end up eating Plastic. There is so much plastic in Bali in general, but alot of the animals try to pick through it to find something to eat. Yeh...don't pet the dogs....or if you do...if you do....wash your hands with tons of soap..not so cute and cuddly...get it.

Okay, so Blackie escorted me to about 6 or 7 dive shops. Great response and some of the locals are really happy to see that the efforts in particular areas of the island can work co-hesively under one umbrella. Bali Reef Project. What happens alot is....some dive shops want to be the saviors of there area. They want all the credit for doing anything about the reefs...but all the other dive shops want to work as a team, no matter how big or small the operation is....also in Amed, hardly anyone has a outboard motor speed boat or "dive boat". In areas as isolated as Amed the government will not allow you to have your own boat...because it will interfere and take away the earnings of the local fisherman. So alot of divers use the local fishing boats to escort guests out to dive spots. I think this is actually a great idea...the government trying to take care of the locals, but I can see how it my inconvenience a dive business.

Reef Check recently did a big study in this area and have surveyed the health of the reefs here. Alot needs to be done. Alot of dead coral. Luckily I arrived just in time. Some of the shops were debating what to do, and I think I will try to get ahold of the person from Reef Check so that we can work together. Just recently a good 15ft patch bleached out. It seemed to happen overnight, according to the locals. I really value the education from the locals, because they see things happen over short and long periods of time. The information and insight they give, is equally valuable as that of Reef Check. Reef Check does not create artificial reefs. It is more of a credible biological resource that conducts tests and surveys all over the world. So with the aid of WWF, Reef Check and Project Aware, I hope that alot can happen. That we can be instrumental in taking action. I've got my hands in many things right now. It's really exciting to ride this wave of momentum.

After sweating like a pig, I needed to get my gills wet. Blackie and I went for a dip. It's really cute cause Blackie doesn't like to wear fins, so he flounders about kicking to get around the area in the water. It's not very gracefull, but the guy covers alot of ground and he can hold his breath for a long time. I really enjoyed having a co-pilot in the water and looking at everything. There are a couple of existing artifical reef attempts in the area. Some are concrete cages, some are concrete blocks and some look like metal foundations for a house...like something before you pour the concrete.

Lots of coral, just steps from the beach. Lots of fish. A great place for snorkeling or diving. The locals recently did an underwater beach clean up here in the bay. Interesting, but the number one item that had to pull out from the sea...were bra's!! Ladies, hang onto your bra's! Or at least get back to burning them.....

So snorekling was great. Lots of angel fish, parrot fish, and some others that I have no idea what they are. I always get a little startled when they get so close because I am afraid they are going to nibble on me. Really...I know, I know...It's just a fish...but, they are parrot fish! Those things eat coral! Good little nibblers. I think that they think I am going to feed them or something, so I actually shooooooo them away. Shoooo, shooo, go away. I always end up looking behind me to see who's following me....sure enough...mr parrot fish! So I kick a little harder. shoooo, shoooo!!

So that was a good day. This was actually yesterday. I am a day behind with my posts. Today was Tulamben.