MV Mermaid I Ambon-Banda Sea-Alor-Maumere
Sep 29t – Oct 10th, 2022
Returning from Ambon to Maumere, on another incredible journey through the Forgotten islands and one of my favourite places, Alor!
Let’s talk about Alor, located on the east of Flores Island, this is a region not many people talk about. Maybe ‘cos most divers focus on Raja Ampat and Komodo trips.
However there are many unique reasons to love this part of Indonesia. The macro variety is outstanding, the walls are filled with rare corals and sponges, schoolings, drift dives, colourful jetties.
The culture in Alor is also very interesting, often during the dives, you will see the locals free diving catching food using their traditional methods with homemade goggles and traps.
Now this is what gets to me, Alor is a magical place for cetacean lovers. Most of my drone shots of dolphins and whales are filmed in this deep channel region. During this trip we had 4 different species including Mellonhead whales, Pilot whales, a large Sperm whale and a massive pod of Bottle-nosed dolphins!
One more Banda sea crossing trip to be continued in November, stay tuned for more!
Marcelo Johan Ogata
#bugDreamer