I Scuba Dived in Mioskon of Raja Ampat this morning

I had a nice diving experience in Raja Ampat today. I saw a lot of species of reef fish in the waters of Mioskon. It was a small uninhabited islet near Gam island. I and two American tourists, Bruce and Paige Hancock are staying in Raja Ampat Dive Resort. Our main goal of visiting Waigeo was to watch tropical birds in this beautiful regency. I work as their birding guide.

Scuba Diving in Raja Ampat

The night before we did the diving excursion, we had a long conversation during dinner time. We discussed about marine life, coral reef and scuba diving. Because Bruce and Paige like scuba diving, they offered me to scuba dive with them. Well, I could not reject their offer. So, I said, "yes."
The next morning (9 July 2019), we had breakfast at 07.00. After that we made some preparations. Our dive instructor gave us a short breafing about the dive plan. At 15 minutes after eight, we left our dive resort for Mioskon islet by a small speedboat. There were three dive guides who accompanied us plus one boat driver. It took around fifteen minutes for us to reach the islet.

Marine Life in Mioskon

We started to wear fins, weights, BCDs, and then tanks. I applied some liquid soap to my mask and then rinsed it with water to clear it from dirts and salt deposits. After wearing it, I put the mouth-piece of my regulator into my mouth. When everything was ready, we jumped into the water.
The dive guides asked us to go down. I pressed the deflate button and there I decended into the reef. The sea was calm and the visibility was very good. Slowly we paddled to deeper water. I held my camera in my right hand. I turned it on and began to take pictures and videos. There were anemonefish,  sweetlips, batfish, grouper, fuselier, blenny, and a lot more. As the we went deeper, the pictures that I made became bluish and darker. However, the Nikon AW130 that I used was quite good for taking underwater pictures. I encountered schools of sweetlips several times. I saw one Panther Grouper hiding under a leaf coral. There were also other grouper in the reef. I also made some video clips which I plan to edit and upload in youtube. Overall, the dive in Mioskon was a good experience. The coral reef was rich of marine life.
After diving in Mioskon, we continued our exploration of Raja Ampat seascape to Kabui bay. Here, we enjoyed snorkeling, sightseeing and birdwatching among karst formations. Some of the birds that we saw were Spice Imperial Pigeon, Little-pied Cormmorant, Lesser-crested Tern, Sooty Tern, Lesser Frigatebird, Singing Starling, Dollarbird, Moustached Treeswift, Striated Heron, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Torresian Crow, Eastern Reef Egret, and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.
Raja Ampat is very beautiful especially for those who like swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving. It is also a nice destination for birding visitors. So, I highly recommend it to all nature lovers who like to see this marine and rainforest environment of Indonesia.
Someone has to be healthy in order to scuba dive. Because the temperature of sea water is different from the temperature of the air, a scuba diver needs to eat some carbohydrate to keep his or her body warm. Fruits that contain multi-vitamins will improve the metabolism and physical endurance of a scuba diver. I do not consume food supplements regularly so I eat food that can improve my physical health,. To keep the muscles in good shape, regular exercise is a must. - written by Charles Roring
Also read:

• How to take pictures in Coral Reef
• Lizardfish in Coral Reef of Raja Ampat
• Marine Life in Raja Ampat