Light up my ... Ears?

Ear Candling (or Thermal-Auricular Therapy, because everything has to have a proper, seemingly scientific name) seems to be a new 'trend' in Indonesia these past few months.  It is an alternative treatment whose origin is in dispute, but seems to go back thousands of years in several different societies.

I tried it at home once years ago in an attempt to decrease my deafness... hey, who know, right!?  I tend to believe that for the most part our bodies take care of themselves, and we generally don't need to (nor should) interfere.  A little ear wax is probably a good thing for the proper functioning of our ears (otherwise, somehow I doubt it would exist)... but I also don't think the amount of pollution in the air is natural, and my hearing, let's face it, is not getting any better.

Anyway, I have tried ear candling a few times now in Indonesia, with similar results to Canada... you can't believe how much wax comes out of your ears (even as a 'diciplined ear cleaner' - which I am, again in an attempt to prevent wax build-up and minimize its impact on my already-sketchy hearing!).  Whether it has any effect on hearing is debatable.  I do feel like it clears the sinuses in general, and 'unplugs' me (but I've never had any real issues).  Some people claim that it cures infections, and does all kinds of other wonders, and Martin told me the divers in Galapagos use a similar method to remove 'air' and marine critter from their ears (he once had a miniature crab living in his ear for a day, and this is how they removed it)!  Basically, if you want to know what it'll do for you, just try it for yourself!

Check out the process and its result (for those of you weak-in-the-knees about this sort of stuff, you might just want to scroll down and read the next section without looking at the pics):

The beeswax (or paraffin) candle burns in each ear for about 5 minutes, and usually there's a slight warm tingling sensation, accompanied by some hisses and crackles and pops as the candle does what it does (if it does anything!?)... then... ta-da!

Supposedly the dark yellow/orange is ear wax (although I think some of it must be from the candle itself!?), and the whitish residue is sinus debris.  Obviously, there are some dangers to this 'remedy' as well (see this CBC story), but as long as it is done by a professional, and in moderation it should be fine.

Please remain calm...

Yes, there is a LIVE vest under your seat...

... But don't let it out except in case of emergency... they're sensitive creatures, you see, and don't like to be disturbed!

Strange and Unidentified things that Live in the Sea

Anyone have any idea what this is?

It's like some strange mutation of a jellyfish....  Hundreds of them were brought in by a tide when we were docked at a village in Fam area of Raja Ampat.  They were over a meter long, transparent with iridescent electric lights around the border.


There is another mystery that I am trying to figure out as well... twice now on night dives around Waigeo I have seen the strangest form of bioluminescence...  Not just the usual small, non-descript shaped flecks of light that your average photoplankton produce, nor the glow from the shiny eyes of the flashlight fish.... but something that looks like the 'trailers' you get when you wave a glow stick around in the pitch dark...  I think it's actually some kind of worm that leaves a false trail or something... hmmm... any thoughts or ideas???

Black Spiny Sea Urchins

You may remember reading about my previous run-in with these nasty little (poisonous) creatures...

Well, a crew member of ours has a trick to be able to touch these poisonous points without getting infected...  and he promptly demonstrated his method to us.

The key, he said, is right before scooping one up off the sea floor, is cupping both hands around his nether regions!?  Maybe his privates' poisonousness rival that of the urchins!?!

Icarus

A solar-powered plane... amazing.





















Should be pretty quiet, too!?  Just hope it doesn't fly TOO close to the sun!

Sea Spaghetti

These spaghetti worms are some of the most common marine worms found on tropical reefs in Raja Ampat.  Their super-long while spaghetti-like tentacles reach out from their tube in search of food.  I think, just like the song, they are looking for the meatball (On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.... it rolled off the table, and onto the floor, and then my poor meatball, rolled right out the door!).

Their arms can reach for over a meter, but if you touch or brush them, they immediately retract their tentacles into the safe haven of their tubes.

I was frauded!?

I didn't realize until too late, however, due to a combination of factors (away in the field, traveling, hard to identify item descriptions on my bill from indonesia in general).  So I paid for some jackass hacker to gamble online with my credit card!?!

The shock and silence when the Visa customer service agent on the phone told me what the charge was that I was unable to identify on my visa statement was definitely enough to convince him that I hadn't used my card for that activity... But WTF!?!

I guess I was lucky it was only once, since I didn't catch it for several months... it could have been much much worse!  But I'm still miffed I got stuck with the bill.  I guess I will be more diligent in checking my bills AND following-up with any charges that I don't recognize!

A Week in Wayag!

My favourite Papuan Song has a great line which refers to the land of Papua being full of mystery.  This week in Wayag has proved that beyond a doubt!

I was here for several days of meetings, and then to hold a training for Kalabia Conservation Educators, but before and after heavy, yet productive days, we took advantage of the amazing backdrop and explored the area.

We snorkeled in a Secret Bay...

the entrance to 'Secret Bay'

'Secret Bay' - over

The floor of Secret Bay - covered with a floral coral garden

Climbed to the top of two different karst mountains... (with two different groups!)

Bright clear morning overlooking the Wayag karst peaks reflected in a mirror-like sea!

Kalabia training group at Wayag

This is not staged - it is really 'climbing' to get to the peak!

Dove amongst the highest marine biodiversity on the planet...

Diving Wayag's 'Figure-8 Rock'

Bubbles trapped under a leather coral

Turnicate up-close

Explored a hidden salt-water lake full of stingless jellyfish...

Not to mention endless snorkeling on the considerable house reef right at the Wayag Field Station, which is home to several large black-tip reef sharks (and a baby), curious bat-fish, giant clams, massive mantis shrimp, mating octopusses and many many other species taking shelter in the special safety this entirely protected area provides.

Wayag is incredible!

Bird's-eye view - can you find the snorkelers?  

Wayag also gave me the opportunity to get back to a tent again!

I have been missing living in a tent since I haven’t been spending time in the forests of Canada… but this week also gave me the opportunity to tent-it again!  What a treat!  Although the view from my front door is slightly different that the view I’m used to from a tent, I can’t say that’s been a problem (as you can see below)!

Painless Encounter with Alien Beauty!

There is this Bay in Raja Ampat that I have wanted to visit for YEARS - I guess you could say it's right up there on my 'bucket list'!  It's been there ever since I first heard about this spot, which, when the light and conditions are absolutely right, you can enjoy swimming with thousands of jellies!  I was even there once, too, with the right local guy to find us the spot, but he said it wasn't really the right season at the time, so we only saw one or two...  so I can't cross this place off my list just yet!

BUT....  During our annual Bird's Head Seascape meeting, which was held at our Wayag field station this year, there were a few opportunities to explore this amazing area...

And it turns out, hidden amongst these stunning karst mountains, there is a saltwater jellyfish lake RIGHT HERE!!!  There were at least two species of jellyfish in the lake, one virtually carpeting the entire floor of the lake, and the other, much larger, much more intimidating one free-swimming around the slightly deeper areas.

It was such a peaceful, calm place -- hidden away from the roaring sea, it was like being in a dream.  No coral tinkling, only my own heartbeat in sync with the pulsating jellyfish as I floated through the algae-thick green waters.

(Sorry, the video is not loading on the bandwidth from the field station... maybe once i'm in town again...)

In fact, an aerial survey of Wayag has shown there are actually 12 saltwater lakes here - I wonder what mysteries the other ones hold!?!

The only place in the world I had heard about where you could swim with thousands of stingless jellyfish is a land-locked lake in Palau...

Even though Palau is geographically the closest place to Raja Ampat (closer than most of the rest of Indonesia, in fact!), it is virtually impossible to get there from here!  There are absolutely no direct connections.  Although this is probably the most famous place on earth to experience the stingless jellies, I also just found out about another place right here in Indonesia called Kakaban Lake, in East Kalimantan!  Turns out it is actually part of an area in which CI works - hmmm.....

The Jellyfish lake in Palau is also a very different situation from the bay in Raja Ampat - it is a land-locked lake, which used to be part of the sea, but which has been cut off from the sea, probably in a geological 'lifting'.  It is still connected to the sea only by small fizures in the porous limestone walls surrounding it.  The jellyfish were trapped in the lake, and over time in their predator-free safe haven, have evolved into 'stingless' jellyfish.  Their stinging cells (or cnidocytes/nematocycts) have all but disappeared, making it possible, and some might say pleasureful, to swim amongst them.

This makes them unique from the stinging cousins in the open ocean, some species of which can cause serious pain and even death to humans!

Manokwari mind-meld

View Larger Map

Having just returned from a very productive, intense, week-long training session on MPA Management Planning (part of our Bird's Head Seascape Capacity-Building Training Program), I have a bit of brain drain... so I guess this post should be called Manokwari Mind MELT... 

In fact, this is just to try out embedding a Google Map into my blog.  Manokwari is "A" (I haven't figured out how to change the marker yet)... you can see Sorong also (the gateway city to Raja Ampat).  In fact, I was trying to embed a google tour, which would've flown you from Canada (Ontario) to Manokwari, so you could get an idea of how far away we are, but it's only producing errors so far!

Catching on?

Yes, everything and anything can be carried on a motorcycle... they are not just the asian family mini-van anymore, but also the moving van...

Yay, Martin - you're catching on!

Fast Food

And by fast I mean, often seen speeding along the road at 50kmph!

This is the 'fried things vendor', and there are many more like him, displaying their wares on the backs of their bikes!

SeaWeed - Micro Mysteries

I don't really understand why this word holds such negative connotations for us as kids - I guess at that stage, 'icky, slimy green stuff' is easier to understand about seaweed than all the variety of impressive uses in food (directly in soups, salads and sushi, or extracts in things like ice cream, dressings and jellies), medicines (for everything from cancer to impotence), and cosmetics (lotions, shampoos, toothpaste and lipstick).  Of course, there are over 60 species of red, brown, and green seaweeds, which actually aren't 'weeds' at all, nor plants for that matter.  Seaweed is actually ALGAE!

Anyway, I have come to appreciate another aspect of one particular species of seaweed over the course of my growing love affair with the ocean...  Floating Sargassum Seaweed mats comprise a complex mini-ecosystem of their own - an entire miniature world within a square meter!  An encounter with this stuff in the wild open ocean, on the fringes of the reefs, can be a real eye-opener.  I can spend ages searching each inch of any given floating mass for all kinds of interesting critters - juvenile fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, flatworms, hydroids, seahorses, etc!  See if you can find some in these photos:

The sargassum frogfish, of course, being the ultimate find... Although I have never encountered one myself, I am including a few pictures here so you can see how well-camouflaged they are to their homes in the Sargassum seaweed!

SeaWeed

Aaah, the wonders of this 'weed'!

Not only good for making jello, medicines and make-up anymore...

It's best use:  accessorizing any costume!

Seaweed farming is on par with tourism in the islands of Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida, the area of Bali Martin is calling home for now, while he enjoys showing guests the natural wonders of the seas.

This seaweed stuff is pretty incredible, really, and new uses are being discovered for it all the time, specifically with regards to new medicines...  and in fact, if done properly and sustainably, seaweed farming doesn't have to be destructive to the marine and coastal environment.  Unfortunately, in Nusa Penida, a great deal of mangrove forests were cleared and coral reefs were lifted in the creation of these expansive seaweed farms.