Schooling Jackfish - Tulamben, Bali

With my newly aquired Nikonos V loaded with some Fuji Velvia, my good friend Agung and I had three dives on the USS Liberty wreck in Tulamben, Bali back in November 2010. Only minutes into our second dive whilst exploring the dark volcanic sea floor we were met by thousands of schooling jackfish. They formed a circle around us and continued to put on a show for us and we remained awe struck. At one stage, without realising my regulator had dropped out of my mouth, whilst I sat there wide eyed looking at this amazing event. I then remembered I had a camera and started snapping before remembering to breathe. I took several photos but also made a conscious decision to sit back and enjoy it and not spend all my time fiddling with my camera. I have seen bait balls and schooling fish on documentaries before, particularly on one of my favourites BBC’s “The Blue Planet”. I was always envious of how the photographers managed to not only find schooling fish but also get in the middle of them. Now here I was, experiencing it first hand!

Still in a awe induced stupour, we decided to surface and reload cameras quickly before finding the fish again. Once surfaced we realised that Agung’s video camera had seized up and he did not get any footage. When rewinding my film it also jammed up. We agreed that perhaps it was something that mother nature intended us to enjoy there and then without taking anything away from it except for our memories. I am not at all religious but this was truly a very special and spiritual moment for me.

With the aid of a semi-dark change room and my black t-shirt we carefully removed the jammed film from my camera and placed it in a canister. I then loaded a fresh roll of film in my camera, geared up and returned to the water.

Nervous about taking a taped up film canister in my luggage (particularly with Australia’s reputation of taking things into and out of Bali) I decided to leave the film with Agung. He tried to get the film developed in Indonesia but unfortunately he could not find a lab that could process E-6 slide film. When Agung returned to his job on cruise ships he took the film with him to the Caribbean with the hope of having the film processed when he visited New York. Unfortunately, he did not find the time to have it processed in New York. His ship then completed a trans-atlantic crossing to Europe, along with the roll of film. Several months later another cruise ship friend Michael was cruising on the same ship as Agung. Agung had kindly reloaded the film into a velvia roll and handed the film on to Michael who returned the film to me in Melbourne, Australia last week.

I dropped the film off at my local lab not expecting much from this well travelled roll that had most likely suffered from significant light leak and x-ray damage. I picked up the roll this morning and rushed home, held the negatives up against the light and was really happy to see some photos of the schooling jackfish. There was some minimal light damage but I was really happy to get anything out of the roll.

Now I just need to wait for some warmer weather or a holiday so I can keep practicing with my Nikonos.

On Saturday we checked out Kuta beach and some of the shops before returning to the hotel to enjoy the pool.

We are now staying at a villa in Lodtundah near Ubud. The villa is part of the T House sustainable tourism project. The land is leased from the locals and they are provided with employment with minimum impact on their way of life.

Our day in Lodtunduh kicks off early with the sound of roosters crowing and cows mooing. Light begins to stream in through our open air bedroom, defused slightly by the mosquito net. It is then time to take a shower which is is set in a small garden. Despite being in the open it is private, although we do occasionally share the bathroom with the odd snail or gecko.

We are then visited by Komang, one of the local girls who prepares us breakfast in our villa. We enjoy our breakfast outside overlooking more locals hard at work in the rice field.

Yesterday mostly consisted of eating. After breakfast we went to the Ubud palace and watched young boys and girls learn the Barong dance. Following this we looked at the art Market before heading to the famous Ibu Oka for Babi Guling. Perhaps the favourite dish of the Balinese, Babi Guling is a suckling pig stuffed with spices, it is then basted in coconut milk whilst roasted over an open fire.

We then looked around Ubud before finding a local driver Wayan who took us to the rice terraces. By this stage it was pouring with rain. After battling flooded streets and pot holes we arrived a a place known for it’s Kopi Luwak. It is often described as the most expensive and rarest coffees on earth, mostly due to the way in which is processed. It begins with the Civet, a type of Mongoose which feeds on coffee beans. The civet selects only the best red coffee beans to eat, the magic then begins in it’s digestive system. The coffee beans, which are eaten whole, react with the enzymes in the civets stomach before (for want of a better phrase) coming out the other end. The excreted beans are then collected, cleaned and dried in the sun before being roasted. To be honest, I did not find that it tasted much different to a regular Bali Coffee. The Balinese do have a great sense of humour, maybe it is just an elaborate joke? Regardless, it is all part of experiencing other places, cultures, traditions and flavours.

We returned to our villa to dry off from the rain. As if Komang’s breakfast, Babi Guling, Pisang Goreng & Kopi Luwak was not enough we decided to go to the Sunday night buffet at Cafe Wayan. The food was exceptional. Following this we went to the Havana Club for Marjorie to get her dose of Salsa music, an important part of any South Americans life. The local Balinese band memorised the words to the Latin songs phonetically, much to Marjories amusement. I watched some expat Aussie regulars dance with the Balinese staff, whilst I sipped on my large Bintang beer. What a melting pot of culture in one little bar!

I am now sitting outside, typing this post on my iPhone 4, having just finished another great breakfast that Komang prepared. Shortly our transport will arrive to take us to a spa for a full day of massage and relaxation.

One of the first sights seen was a large drawing of a cactus, this drawing is believed to pre-date the Nazca lines. It is believed to have been created around 500 BCE. The Islas Ballestas are home to millions of birds, their droppings produce guano. The Peruvian government collect and export approximately 2000 tonnes of guano from these islands every four years.