Raja Ampat

I had always heard about a place far away in Indonesia: Raja Ampat. A place that had always been out of my reach.

This year 2023, I enter the decade of 6 and what better way to celebrate it than traveling there with my friends from Buceo Navarra (Luis Gorricho and Mari Mar)

Location:

Raja Ampat (“Four Kings” in Spanish) is an archipelago of 1500 islands in the area of West Papua and is composed of four main islands: Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo.

It is located in the coral triangle, the area with the greatest marine biodiversity in the world and known area of inspiration for James Cameron in the creation of Avatar II.

Although we thought the area belonged to the Indian Ocean, Raja Ampat belongs to the Pacific Ocean (in the Molucca Sea or Almalera Sea) and is located far below the Equator.

The Journey:

During more than ten days of life on board, we were able to visit on foot some islands such as Mioskun, Wayang and some others whose name I cannot remember, nor pronounce.

We dived in the Manta Sandy area, a very well-known area to see manta rays and to be a cleaning station for them (where there is a lot of plankton). We also dived in Melissa’s Garden, Sardine Reef, Boo Windows, etc. reaching almost 30 total dives.

Even though I have been able to travel to Indonesia other times, I am still surprised by the joy, kindness and humility of its people. Being far from your home, family, wife and children, their people make the trip even easier.

We were disconnected from the technological world and were able to enjoy nature in its purest state.

This has been an experience that even with two thousand photos I cannot convey everything I saw and felt. This was the trip to “the neverland”!

Here you will find a small selection of this great trip.