The coral triangle by Alberto Friscione

Rajan Ampat

Atthe end of last year my wife Cristina and I had the opportunity to cross the ocean to go on a diving excursion to one of the most beautiful reefs in the world, the Rajan Ampat archipelago in Indonesia.

The flights were long to get to the port of Sorong, and then we boarded a boat that took us to an island located in the very center of the coral triangle.

The island is called Sorido Bay in Papua, and apart from the luxury cabins, they have a very well-organized diving operation, Papua Diving.

After leaving our luggage, we went out to sea to make our first dive. We were greeted by a large school of horse mackerel, who guided us to a garden of thin sponges. My cousin Rocio called me insistently because she had found a small wobbegong shark or carpet shark. These types of sharks do not exist in our waters.

The word wobbegong is believed to come from an Australian Aboriginal language, which means something like rough beard in reference to the filaments that grow around its mouth and are an element that facilitates its excellent camouflage, in addition they act as sensory receptors

Wobbegon sharks live on the seabed and spend a lot of time resting

Most measure 1.25 meters except the spotted or mottled wobbegon that can reach 3 meters in length. This species of shark feeds at night and its diet includes fish, octopus, crabs and lobsters. It is also known as a shark hunter because it feeds on them www.solobuceo.com

Wobbegons are not dangerous to humans unless provoked These sharks are found in shallow waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, mainly around Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines and are not in danger of extinction. Their main predator is reef sharks, which are larger than them.

We continue our underwater journey, and we observe large gorgonians, with butterfly fish resting on their bases and crinolines hanging from their fins.

Soft corals display their brilliant colors and different shapes, together with hard corals and other organisms, they form one of the most complex and beautiful ecosystems in all of creation, coral reefs. In addition to their amazing diversity, reef gardens surpass any land landscape in delicacy and color. Supported by water, the living tissue takes on the most unusual and subtle forms. The color of the reef’s fixed beings is overflowing. The end result is a magical, fairy-tale world, where the impossible can become reality. And they provide shelter to an endless number of marine life, of various shapes and colors, such as turtles, anemones, where clownfish live, giant clams and giant manta rays.

I could go on for hours listing the more than 1,000 species of fish, more than 500 species of coral that exist in the area. There is no other place like this on the planet. Here, the limestone formations and their erosion allow you to enjoy a unique landscape, dotted with different islets with spectacular seabeds covered by crystal-clear waters.

This is the Rajan Ampat archipelago, in Indonesia, in the area of West Papua, in the center of the coral triangle.