Diving Lau Lau in Raja Ampat, Indonesia

This was the location of our dive; the islands are typical of Raja Ampat as they are unpopulated, forested and lacking beaches

Many-spotted sweetlips; this species of grunt can grow to 28 in long; underwater visibility where we dove was exceptional with 100 ft being the norm

Clark's anemonefish; guests included a group of 5 in their late 30's from Seattle/Thailand who had grown up together, a Russian couple (49 and 51 and very experienced divers) celebrating their 30th anniversary

My dive group included a 31 year old guy from Malaysia and a fun 33 year old couple from Amsterdam on their honeymoon; the four of us got along extremely well and even played Cards Against Humanity together

La Galigo; our boat had 11 guests and 16 crew members; my cabin is just above the water line in the red section towards the front

Royal sea cucumber; one of the largest varieties of sea cucumbers; people eat these but I can't imagine them tasting good

I can see where Salvador Dali got some of his inspiration; virtually all crew members smoked which is typical in Indonesia; they spend 11 months together at sea in a normal year with 1 month off each year

Golden-lined snapper; this common species is much sought-after by commercial fisheries with males growing to 14 inches

Clown triggerfish; because of its attractive coloration, this fish is one of the most highly prized aquarium fish but owners need to be careful since it has very sharp teeth

The chef made a very nice birthday cake as we celebrated Dominique's 33rd birthday; she was my favorite person on the cruise with a great sense of humor

School of circular batfish; males can grow up to 20 in long in the wild with smaller varieties popular in the saltwater aquarium trade