9 minute read
MENJANGAN VISITING ISLAND
MENJANGAN VISITING ISLAND
Text SYLWIA KOSMALSKA-JURIEWICZ Photos ADRIAN JURIEWICZ
John Francis
To Pemuteran, lying in the west of Bali, leads a winding, narrow road that leads through the mountains, crosses rivers, picturesque towns and numerous waterfalls, hidden in the rainforest, which cannot be seen from the road, but our driver and the signposts assure us that they are there.
The peaks of the hills covered with dense, green forest are shrouded in clouds, which like a heavy white veil fall towards the valleys. The view is captivating, and the route is extremely charming and picturesque.
We reach the place in the late afternoon. The road from Denpasar to Pemuteran takes us almost four hours. We stay in one of nine intimate villas located in a beautiful garden right on the beach. I open the door to our cottage, the island breaks in, the smell of the ocean and sand warmed in the sun, fills its interior. Also, the sounds of nature, a whole bunch of different sounds echo from the wooden walls. This bustling rainforest located just behind our houses makes itself felt and reminds of its existence. Due to its remote location, Pemuteran Bay has retained its pristine climate and unique biodiversity. It is surprising that in this area of Bali there are no waves, and sea currents are negligible.
The next morning I get up before dawn. I wake up to the sounds of geckos and birds long before the alarm goes off. I make a cup of delicious coffee, open the door of the cottage wide and sit down by the ocean. I look at the calm, velvety water, colorful fishermen's boats moored right next to the beach, a white heron wading in the ocean, tropical orange flowers, which densely cover the beach and the sky painted with pastels in pink and amaranth.
After breakfast in Indonesian style, we sail to Menjangan Island, which is part of Bali Barat National Park and belongs to the protected area. It was for this island, its unusual inhabitants and fantastic dives, that we visited the western part of Bali. The captain unmoores the and we leave the shore in no hurry. The further we move away from the island, the more beautiful view we leave behind. From the perspective of water everything looks different, the village, in which we live disappears in the arms of the greenery that surrounds it. After a while, you can only see the strip of the beach with dark volcanic sand and mountains covered with dense, green forest.
We swim along the evergreen mangrove forest that grows out of the ocean. The plants adapted to life in high salinity water and created a home for numerous species of sea creatures. Mangroves act as guardians of the coastal ecosystem and are unfortunately an endangered species, mainly due to human activity.
After forty minutes of sailing in a speedboat we reach the coast of Menjangan Island. It is surrounded by beautiful pristine beaches with white coral sand. The island owes its name to the local inhabitants: "Menjangan" in Indonesian means "deer". It was the local community that in the spring observed herds of deer that sailed to the island, covering considerable distances. The sight of these beautiful creatures walking along the beach, taking a dip in the ocean is absolutely surprising and unbelievable.
While the captain moores the boat off the coast of the island, I look down. The transparency of the water and the number of sea creatures swimming right off the shore is astonishing. The sea is very calm, pleasant, warm wind gently wrinkles its surface. We put on our diving equipment and jump into water as clear as crystal. We slowly plunge into a vibrant Ocean, the water temperature is thirty degrees, and visibility exceeds forty-five meters. We dive by a steeply sloping wall, overgrown with both hard and soft corals. We immerse slowly in this extraordinary world, enjoying its delicate beauty. The reefs and their inhabitants are safe here because there is a total ban on fishing in this area, which makes it a real paradise for animals that inhabit these waters.
We sail slowly, admiring the unusual shapes, colours and species of sea creatures, sharks, eagles, barracudas, tuna, and mobulas, appearing and disappearing in the navy blue abyss immortalised on a camera card. The sea turtle slowly devours the jellyfish, which like a ragged, white veil floats limply in the water, small anemone fish fiercely defend their anemones, and almost invisible shrimps clean the jaws of the moray eel, whose gigantic head protrudes from a small crevice in the rock. I know these creatures, I've seen them so many times that I'm not able to count them, and yet every time their presence makes my heart rate speed up and my body is flooded with a wave of delight. Time passes inexorably fast under the surface of the water, my computer indicates that we are already diving over an hour. The guide releases a signalling buoy and we begin to slowly emerge.
After diving, we rest on the island of Menjangan. A long, wooden pier leads to it, at which the captain moored the boat.
We pass through a stone, carefully carved gate that opens onto a kind of patio. On the right side we see a traditional temple hidden among greenery, made of volcanic dark stone, decorated with shells and broken corals, washed up by the ocean on the shore. Two stone, large statues guard the entrance to the temple, immersed in flowers, and attract colourful butterflies. Every day, the local community makes gifts in the temple in the form of fruits, flowers, rice, and at the end, they light incense and ask for prosperity for themselves and their loved ones.
On the patio there are several pagodas that resemble small wooden gazebos. A narrow concrete path leads to each of them We sit in one of them and have lunch. A delicious, simple meal consisting of tofu, fried mushrooms, rice and vegetables. From the Pagoda there is a beautiful view, on one side of the Ocean, and on the other of the forest and clearing, on which deer walk. They feed on plants, and the vegetation in Indonesia at this time of year is very juicy and lush, because the rainy season is at its best. Deer spend their days eating, walking on the beach, resting, or taking sea baths, swimming in the ocean ignoring the people who are watching them.
After lunch, we leave the island and sail for another dive, very similar to the one that we have already completed. This time we also dive next to the wall, steeply descending down. Visibility is a little worse, but the amount of underwater life is staggering. We dive among an astonishing number of small fish that appear and disappear in the crowns of hard corals. Three, large black tip sharks swim parallel with us, accompany us for a while and disappear into the depths of the ocean. Stonefish, one of the most venomous sea creatures, Intriguing, extremely difficult to spot fish thanks to its camouflage imitating the environment, carefully looks for prey. Frogfish moves on the sand on its small "paws", puffing up its mouth and from time to time it puts a lure, which is located on the top of the head and resembles a worm hooked to a fishing rod. In this way it lures, tempts a potential victim...
After diving we return to Pemutran. We sail in the pouring rain, which is coming at us from all sides. This year in Bali the rainy season is much more rainy compared to previous years that we spent in Indonesia. We reach the shore dripping wet, but happy that the ocean showed us its beauty and the island Menjangan charmed us with its unique atmosphere and unique inhabitants.
In the late afternoon, when the rain stops and the fishermen prepare their nets and boats for the evening fishing. We put on our diving gear and enter the ocean from the beach. We slowly plunge beneath the surface of the velvety water, which closes above us like an invisible cocoon. This time we are looking for small and sometimes millimeter-sized creatures. We float above the bottom, swim slowly so as not to disturb it. The sand is dark, and in it we look for tiny creatures, so much like those we discovered with such enthusiasm in the Strait of Lembech in the north of Sulawesi. After a while, we see two blue and white nudibranchs, and right next to them a leaf-like fish swaying limply on the water moved by tides. A bunch of small catfish comb the sand in search of food, and we swim over them closely watching this process. It is so peaceful and quiet, only us, the ocean and the millions of creatures that live in it, have no place for galloping thoughts or other human affairs that occupy our minds. It is difficult for us to part with this beautiful underwater world... I close my eyes and try to remember every detail, every moment I spent here in this peaceful, underwater world.
