Raja Ampat: a week at Gibran Homestay, Kri

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Bryan Keith

Our last week in Raja Ampat. Another good one. We stayed at Gibran Homestay on Kri’s south coast. Another beautiful spot. Here’s the bungalow.

IMG_20230122_125238 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Raja Ampat: a week at Black Swiss, Barie, Batanta

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Bryan Keith

The snorkeling at Black Swiss is excellent. If I had to compare it with snorkeling I’ve done everywhere else in the world except Raja Ampat, well, it’d be right up there near the top. However, if I were to redo our six weeks in Raja Ampat, I’d skip Black Swiss and slot in Meos Ambower (also don’t miss (we did) snorkeling at a mangrove reef in the Pam Islands, perhaps Mangrove Reef (?)).

Indo-Pacific Sargeant (Abudefduf vaigiensis) by bryandkeith on flickr
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Raja Ampat: a week at Marandan Weser, Batanta

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Bryan Keith

Marandan Weser was the only village we stayed at in Raja Ampat. We ended up having a fantastic week, perhaps our favorite of the six places we stayed. We got to meet some villagers and get a feel for the pace of life in a Raja Ampat village.

Bauni Merk was smiling on the beach when we arrived, smiling a week later when he dropped us at our next homestay, and always seemed genuinely happy to see us.

IMG_20230108_092031 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Raja Ampat: a week at Dayan, western Batanta

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Bryan Keith

Of our six weeks in Raja Ampat, Dayan had the best snorkeling. It was the only time we snorkeled with manta rays, I had my best cuttlefish encounter at Dayan, and we saw more bumphead parrotfish here than anywhere else. The sun came out a couple times making the coral glow and sparkle like a psychedelic kaleidoscope.

20230102_091858A by bryandkeith on flickr
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Raja Ampat: a week at Batu Rufas, Pam Islands

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Bryan Keith

I am way behind on writing about Raja Ampat. However, now I have the benefit of perspective. In my notes from this week I am still amazed by the big species and crazy colors, and my energy still has the excited novice edge. In hindsight I can now say that we saw more sharks at Batu Rufas than we did anywhere else and had also reached the pinnacle of the colorful plankton-feeding, current-loving, somewhat stationary stuff like crinoids, fans, ascidians, tunicates and sponges.

20221226_135700A by bryandkeith on flickr

Batu Rufas is near Piaynemo in the northern Pam Islands, the most remote that we got in Raja Ampat. It is a good deal west of our last stop, Yenros Homestay on Gam. Along the way we stopped at the very western tip of Gam to snorkel at Citrus Ridge.

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