After a day at sea, we were ready for new adventures in the water. Exploring the world in the coral reefs around the rarely visited island of Tambelan, part of the Badas group in the Karimata Strait, was a much-welcomed plan by all. Our first chance to jump in the water with plenty of time to seek the creatures that make a living around the coral was readily taken by many of us, while others enjoyed what they thought was going to be the drier option: a tour on the glass bottom Zodiac. The short lived, but nonetheless great, tropical storm that visited us during the morning made sure the glass bottom Zodiac guests ended up wetter than the ones that had actually choose to go snorkeling! It was a powerful demonstration of the typical rain showers of these regions.
In any case, either option was rewarded with great encounters with dozens of different tropical fish (including Nemo!), several types of coral and anemones and for those that managed to get their eyes out of the water for a minute or two, hovering over the island were some fascinating frigatebirds, a family of white-bellied sea eagles and even a few of the remarkable nicobar pigeons were spotted!
After a few hours playing in the water, we all came back on board for a delicious (yet again!) lunch and a well-deserved nap. Later in the afternoon, we continued sailing towards our next destination, while a series of lecturers provided entertainment and education on some of the wildlife and the natural wonders we have been enjoying during the last days, some of the threats they are under and the things we can do to help improve the health of these ecosystems we had the pleasure to visit.
