Well, hello, Raja Ampat! This morning, many of us set off in the dark to climb a big hill, which left us dripping in sweat. Why? Because we went to enjoy one of the great bird and wildlife events in the world, a display of red birds-of-paradise. At least four males were showing off. They called like crazy, fluttering their wings and wagging their tail feathers. I must say, they looked really stunning. After well over an hour in paradise, we made our way back down for breakfast. Then, we had to choose between snorkeling with incredible coral and a diversity of fish or visiting a village and school filled with friendly people. Life is good.
If that wasn’t enough, we got in the water off Kri Island in the afternoon. Strong currents enabled us to drift dive and snorkel. While underwater, we enjoyed observing colorful clouds of fish. The coral was diverse, colorful, and incredibly healthy. We slowly drifted along in the bathwater-warm water as we enjoyed the highest biodiversity of marine life on the planet. It doesn’t get any better than today.
Photo caption and photographer: A spectacular red bird-of-paradise displaying on Gam Island. Photo by Mike Greenfelder
