Tauchgänge in Tulamben / Amed

After almost two weeks in Nusa Lembongan, we took the speedboat back to Sanur and then a van up to Amed in the northeast of Bali. Amed is known for diving and seems to be especially popular with the French - there are French dive shops and centers everywhere up here.

Once again, we followed a recommendation we received from German diver Mike along the way and spent a day diving with Abyss Dive Center.

On the first dive, we visited the USS Liberty shipwreck located just off the coast. Although the 120-meter-long ship is no longer recognizable as such, its remains are now home to a variety of marine creatures. The falling light creates an almost mystical atmosphere as you dive through the former cargo compartments.

We saw some interesting smaller sea creatures, as well as numerous colorful fish and a passing ray.

After a short break on land, we enjoyed the second dive at the so-called Drop Off. The beach gradually slopes down and then suddenly drops steeply underwater. It was beautiful to swim along this wall and admire the corals on one side while gazing into the blue on the other. We encountered some small things we had never seen before, such as a Pygmy Seahorse or Robust Ghostpipe Fish. However, most of them were too small for a good photo/video with the GoPro.

The highlight was a huge school of fusiliers, which were stirred up by a giant trevally. You can find these images at the end of the video:

By the way, besides diving, we also briefly visited the nearby Pura Lempuyang Luhur temple in Amed. It is actually a complex with seven temples, one of which has become famous thanks to Instagram: the Gateway to Heaven. The problem is that now literally every tourist - whether European or Asian - wants to take a photo there. So, on a sunny afternoon, you have to wait for about 2 hours in line in front of this beautiful stone gate just to be quickly photographed by temple staff in various poses with your own device and then rushed away. We did NOT wait in line, but we managed to take a photo of the gate (without strangers) at a favorable moment and documented the happenings from a higher perspective - see photos :)

Other than that, we enjoyed the sunset. You can still do that on the east coast. The sun "goes to sleep" behind Mount Agung, creating a beautiful display of colors, just like over the sea on the horizon.