Only one more day until we set sail for day Komodo Islands. One step closer to finally meeting the manta rays!

This week we’ve had many workshops with Andy and Elitza on identifying mantas using ID photos, how to take a good manta photo, and preparing for the manta safari from September 20 — 24 with Dive Komodo. Mantas can be identified by their ventral marking, dorsal markings, and sex. We can also see their behavior, scars, and maybe a pregnancy bulge.

Learning how to identify mantas

The other interns, Riza, Satria, and Vidlia and I are so excited and cannot wait for tomorrow. We got many materials from diving evaluation about how we can maximize our manta encounter and take good manta ID photos by listening to the instructions from our guide, watching the manta but never touching, and by not chasing the manta because it will run away from us! We must also stay close to the sea floor, exhale only when mantas are not overhead, exercise good buoyancy control to protect the environment, and not forget all these steps even if we are trying to get a good photo or video.

We learned about how to back up our ID photos and make a folder name in our computer from our camera, so we can use it easily. We’ve also made a video diary as a documentary of our activity in this internship program. Come back tomorrow to see our first video.

Satria and Riza preparing our video diary