Extendible

No, Indonesia’s new visa on arrival is not extendible. But the mouth of an undescribed specie of wrasse is. Guests diving yesterday with Miguel’s Diving got a direct look at this remarkable fish. Until it is officially named, we are calling it Yellow-spot slingjaw wrasse (Epibulus sp.), a specie distinct from the usual one (Epibulus insidiator) that is not found in Gorontalo waters. While approaching one of the huge coral pinnacles of the Sentinels dive site, we saw one of these fish being groomed by a cleaner wrasse. It detached its jaw several times during the cleaning process, once even extending it fully to form a tube about half its body length. No picture of this fish is available.

Guests also enjoyed the masses of schooling fish during a current dive at our Honeycomb dive site. Visibility was 25 meters and water temperature remains at 30 degrees Celsius.

Another Rare Beauty

Miguel’s Diving staff have confirmed the presence of Redhead fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus solorensis) in Gorontalo waters. The color of its back varies considerably from aqua to green to orange. Found only occasionally in Gorontalo, it mixes with schools of our plentiful endemic Orangeback wrasse (Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis). In its nuptial phase it is quite distinct with red head, white belly, and dark chin strap. In Tomini Bay where Miguel’s Diving operates, this wildly colored plankton feeder remains in its nuptial phase coloring. In other locations this coloration is only occasional. It is endemic to central Indonesia, being found only from Bali and Sulawesi to Flores.

New Sightings at Favorite Sites

In this morning’s 20-meter visibility, a lone Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) patrolled the large Japanese cargo wreck, a favorite dive site in Gorontalo. Towards the bow, a purple vase sponge one meter in diameter sat in 30 meters of water near the wall. At 20 meters atop the second wall, a bright Bluefin trevally (Caranx melampygus) circled encrusted metal beams. The real surprise was seeing a new specie of dottyback just below the encrusted anchor. With its orange dorsal fin and grey checked body, it most closely resembles an undescribed specie found in Raja Ampat and New Guinea. Nearby a school of beautiful Redspot cardinalfish (Apogon parvulus) hovered near branching Acropora. This is the first time this fish, found from eastern Indonesia to Japan, has been sighted in Gorontalo. During the safety stop, the dive master found a freckle-sized yellow nudibranch with black lateral line. A dozen meter-long Crocodile longtoms (Tylosurus crocodilus) came to look, too.

The ever-popular Traffic Jam dive site certainly lived up to its name for the second dive. With currents running - countless mackerel, fusilier, anthias, and unicornfish flashed silver, blue, yellow, and purple as schools swam below, above, and around. With so many fish, looking for macro subjects became pointless. All those fish even distracted the eye from the huge sponges characteristic of the Gorontalo walls. Visibility was 25 meters and water temperature 30-degrees Celsius.

Gorontalo: Where is this place?

Thanks to all the visitors to our stand at last week’s Asian Diving Expo (ADEX) in Singapore. We handed out an estimated 1,500 brochures about diving in Gorontalo. There are only a couple more weeks of diving left of this season before the winds shift. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. We hope to see you soon in person here in Gorontalo, the hidden paradise.

Ask for a Window Seat

Divers flying out of Gorontalo bound for Makassar (formerly Ujung Pandang) would do well to ask for window seats. Citilink Garuda flies out over Gorontalo City before turning southwards over the deep blue waters of Tomini Bay. Those sitting on the port (left!) side of the plane (seat A) can clearly see the river mouth, the ferry terminal, and the Japanese fish factory. Following the coastline, divers can identify the steep, mountainous point where no road skirts the sea. With these landmarks, those who have been out with Miguel’s Diving can see sites where they have been diving. Aerial views area fantastic. The waters are deep indigo blue right up to a narrow band of coral or sand edging the coastline.

Fishermen Rescue Pilot Whales

Sulawesi waters teem with life of all sizes, including cetaceans. Last week a pod of 18 whales beached near the border of Gorontalo and North Sulawesi provinces, only a few hours east of diving sites. Miguel’s Diving staff confirmed with fishermen friends that these were Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). For some reason the pod entered a small cove that only has a narrow outlet to the sea and beached. Using only their small outrigger canoes powered by tiny motors, local fishermen were able to tow the whales outside the inlet to the open sea. Fifteen were saved. The huge carcasses of the three that died were also towed out to sea away from homes. We have reported the incident to the biologist at North Sulawesi’s Bunaken Marine Park.

See You at ADEX

Miguel’s Diving with be introducing Gorontalo to the international diving community at this year’s Asian Diving Exhibition in Singapore at Suntec City from April 16 to 18. Look for the stand Gorontalo: Hidden Paradise right next to the Maldives exhibit on the right side of the hall after you enter. Diving in Gorontalo will resume April 20 after our technical staff return from Singapore. We are not sure if we will be able to pick up email and apologize for any inconvenience this causes you.

Ethereal Blue

Diving the Japanese cargo wreck yesterday turned up more than the usual pair of Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) and Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) that frequent the spot. Large Spanish mackerel or wahoo were also hanging about. Below 20 meters the visibility was fantastic. The wreck’s immense profile looked clean, resting in deep ethereal blue water. Also, blue was a nudibranch with yellow gills and rhinophores that we had assumed to be a typical Bullock’s nudibranch. But the blue variation has not been documented. Guests last week photographed three of these on the wreck. We hope the photo turns out! While traveling to farther dive sites, we watched a lone frigate bird (Fregata sp.) approach a school of large fish that were jumping and thrashing the deep blue water. Because these birds quickly becoming water logged, they rarely try to snatch fish directly from the ocean. This one, too, decided not to try.

FiNS Magazine Features Gorontalo

Singapore-based diving magazine FiNS has an article on Gorontalo diving in this April’s edition, just in time for the Asian Diving Exhibition (ADEX). Famous underwater photographer, violinist, and snack connoisseur William Tan wrote the clever article and provided the stunning macro photographs taken here in Gorontalo. The pre-publication peek we received looks wonderful. Great job, Edric and team!