Crossing the deep blue waters of the Banda Sea, we’re riding above a world we know almost nothing about. Abyssal trenches cut deep into the thin skin of our fragile home while sea mounts erupt from midnight depths clambering for the life-giving light above. Humans may have never seen what lies at the bottom of the Banda Sea, but it’s evident that something stirs deep below the surface. Amidst the wind-whipped waves, towering above the measly white caps shot the largest exhale you’ll ever see. Holding stubbornly straight against the prevailing sea breeze, the behemoth’s life breath stood tall for the length of a sigh before vanishing into the hot tropical sky. The ship’s course was altered so that all could take in the sight of the world’s largest animal. Some may have been longer, but no creature can match the mass of a blue whale. These particular animals may not break any records for size, but their presence in warm tropical waters may seem like a surprise. Although the Banda Sea sweats with a hot midday sun, beneath the waves swirl strong currents and upwellings of deep, cool, nutrient-rich water for the whales to ply.
The Lucipara Group lies isolated in the midst of an azure sea. Steep walls of a volcanic atoll arise thousands of feet from the dark depths. Corals both hard and soft flourish on vertical walls, their tentacles held aloft feeding in the swift tidal surge. For hundreds of miles, no other land strikes the gas-liquid interface, so competition is fierce and real estate in the sunlit surface waters is at a premium. Snorkelers, divers, and above-water sightseers were struck by the vibrant nature of life in the shallows of the Banda Sea. Drifting along the sheer walls of this small island, endless deep blue below and electric neon colors in front, it’s easy to get lost in the frenetic world of a coral reef. Yet, amidst the clouds of brilliantly colored flashers and giant barrel sponges, something lurks over your shoulder or beneath flittering flippers. Set against a perfect blue gradient a distant shape, or memory, lurks. The deep is calling. And the piper has fins.
