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The plan was to dive the Tulamben area of North East Bali, a macro-heavy hot spot where I spent almost two weeks last June. That plan took a slight nose dive when, in between packing one of my four bags of gear the day of my flight, I checked Facebook to find a one word update from one of the dive guides I knew: “evacuate”

It turns out Mt. Agung had other plans. Mt. Agung is the scenic backdrop of the Tulamben area, a previously quiet volcano that last erupted in the 1963, killing over a thousand people. With a huge increase in seismic activity, the government had raised threat levels higher and higher, and eventually issued a evacuation for the entire area.

Long story short, I got on the plane from LAX wondering where we would end up and whether I would be diving, but when I landed in Teipei, got the update we were going to the north west corner of the island instead.

34 dives, 2993 minutes underwater and a few awesome blackwater (and bonfire) dives later, I headed back home. Overall, Northwest Bali has some great diving and absolutely, a bunch of subjects and encounters I wouldn’t have had in the Tulamben area. From the shaggy frogfish of Secret Bay, to the deer of Menjangan Island, and to the friends (new and old).

Special thanks to Mimpi Resort and Mike and Evan for organizing a great workshop. Till next year??!

Here are the highlights.