It has been for 3,5 years I’m putting my spare time in a little damn project. With my dive buddies Ferdy and Agus, and latter madam Tiwi, we tried to write a kind book of underwater. Yes it’s a reef fish book of Baluran National Park! And I still don’t believe that I’m working on it now! Damn!

Water, sea, depth are things that I didn’t want to deal with. Though I’ve tried to join with a dive club in my university, and of course I was not eligible. I couldn’t swimming for 200 m or even floating for 20 minutes then I realize there is no sea to dive for. No smoker will dive any sea in this planet, I guess. And I keep smoking hahaha…

My first snorkeling was in Bilik-Sijile, Baluran National Park. It’s a great dive spot but unfortunately I got a bad sea weather, big wave and current. Second one was in Bama. Bama has a good reef which are compact with about 300-400 m lengthwise. But if you want to see it, you must swim to the edge of the reef where you will face a very deep blue sea after. And here I realize that I have a lovely bathophobia (fear of depth). Just a short I feel that I must came back to the boat. I was too scare to see this dark, deep, and blue water. Damn! And after these day I’ve never snorkeling again until the next year.

Three a half years later, we have 300’s species of 47 families of reef fish which are mentioned in 230 paged book of Ikan Karang Taman Nasional Baluran. Not much enough remembering how much Indonesia has 2000’s of reef fish species, but still, I proud of this. A man with bathophobia and wasn’t even worthy to join the diving club now write a book of reef fish! Did I cheat? Maybe yes? 😀

I’ve never expected to be either a writer or even a photographer. I’ve never planned to work as a government employee as I didn’t know anything about Baluran National Park. And of course I must been crazy when I was sure that I can dive!  Life is just about God’s will but life is however full of choices if we can learn what God did in your life. There’s still a chance to make everything possible, if you want to.