12 Sept 2025
Today started at 0200 when a rat ran across my dresser!
I heard some rustling and looked up in time to see a dark shadow run across the dresser at the foot of my bed, where I’ve got my dive camera set out.
I bolted awake, hit the lights, but couldn’t see where it went, so I checked the floor (to make sure I wasn’t gonna step on anything), went out to use the bathroom and saw the rat run across the floor on my way back.
AHHH!!!!!
Lizards/geckos don’t bother me; I tolerate bugs:
but I draw the line at vermin. I pulled the dresser away from the wall (one less hiding spot?), put anything loose back into my bag, zipped everything up and made sure there were no gaps in the zippers, and “slept” with the lights on for the rest of the night, with my mosquito curtains drawn tight. I really hope it doesn’t find its way up onto my bed because I will absolutely lose it if that happens.
Didn’t really sleep much after that, but I did catch this sunrise:
Yesterday, the resort packed us box breakfasts, today, they set up the buffet just a bit early so we could pack our own. I loaded mine up with fresh fruits including this water apple:
You bite into it just like you would an apple- it’s juicy, with a bit of a spongy texture. Not bad!
The harbormaster gets in around 0645/0700, so even though we were told yesterday that Nusa Penida would be closed again today, we figured we’d double check and sure enough, they decided to open the harbor!
So off to find the Mola mola we go!!!
I’m already wearing my hooded vest in an attempt to stave off the cold, but Aaron didn’t have a hood, so I let him wear my dino hood:
I think he wears it well 🙂
Elephant rock:
That fog coming off the water is because of the temperature difference between the air and the water- it’s gonna be another cold one!
Dive #4 – Manta Point
We tried Crystal Bay, which seems to be the Mola mola hot-spot, but the current was too strong, so we went a little further down the coast to Manta Point:
There were already other dive boats here, but we were one of the first groups to drop.
This site is aptly named as we spotted mantas within minutes of starting our dive:
Manta cleaning station:
An octopus who tucked back into his hole right after I took this picture:
Not the greatest picture, but I love these Bignose unicornfish:
Such an odd looking fish!
During our surface interval, we drove the boat back over to Crystal Bay, where we were joined by a dozen or so other dive boats:
There were dolphins swimming around the bay, which is usually a bad sign in terms of Mola mola hunting- dolphins tend to scare them off 🙁 so fingers crossed for us!
Dive #5 – Crystal Bay
Turtle munching away:
Redtoothed triggerfish:
And then someone spotted it, the Mola mola!!!
There were actually 3 initially, but 2 took off as we approached:
This one, however, was content to let us circle around and take pictures for a good 5-10 minutes!
Such an odd critter!
This is a screengrab from Dan’s video– I’m the diver on the left:
Screenshot from video by Dan
Found some other fun fish as we moved back into the shallows, like this Semicircle angelfish:
Phyllidiella pustulosa:
Blackspotted puffer:
Mantis shrimp:
This guy was bold and fully out of his hiding spot:
Nembrotha milleri, another new-to-me nudi!
A little flounder:
And a wee lionfish:
I liked the pattern this goatfish was digging in the sand:
WE SAW THE MOLA MOLA!!!
Dive #6 – SD Point
Named after a school (Sekolah Dasar=elementary school) just off shore.
Pinktail triggerfish:
Not a great shot, but here’s another with his first dorsal fin open:
Frogfish:
he was down in a crevice so I couldn’t get a good shot of his face 🙁
Not-nemos!
There was a whole school of these guys, but very few of them wanted to come close enough for a picture:
He’s not in my fish book, but the internet tells me he’s a type of unicornfish- a Naso minor.
Thysanozoon nigropapillosum:
A whole school of various anthias:
Titan triggerfish:
Turtle:
Orangutan crab:
NEMO!
A pair of Papaun tobies:
one had a very sad eye though 🙁
Phyllidia varicosa:
Chromodoris annae:
and another larger one:
Why are nudis always crawling around corners away from my camera!?
Giant clam slowing being taken over by coral:
Also, another Freedom plate in the wild!!! Tom has one too!
After a late lunch on the beach, it was back up to the resort to rinse gear (the outdoor shower was super handy for that!) and get it hanging- hopefully it’ll be dry by tomorrow, when we fly out to meet our boat.
I ended up just snacking on pastries I snagged from the breakfast buffet rather than eating a formal dinner, and once again crashed early (but with the lights on, just in case the rat returns).
Goodnight!
