February 10, 2026
While snorkeling in Matafonua Resort I was seeking out two creatures unique to this area. Both eluded me despite several attempts!
The property owner Darren is an accomplish underwater film maker, diver, surfer, drone & photography wizard that has a vast knowledge of the Oceans / Seas and everthing in them. He told us where to find the above but only Memo says he saw the emperor angelfish. The rest of us, including the dive masters have yet to find these two beauties. Below is video I took while in search of the spanish dancer and the rusty colored algae patties are as close as I got trying to find.
Darren took these amazing drone photos for us while we were there, he made it look effortless. Truly a talented individual and a great chef too - most of the dinners he cooked and developed the recipes too!
Today was just pure relaxation! We arranged with Tourism lady from yesterday, to have Penyali Resort send a boat to Tarempa port to pick 10 of us up and take us to the Resort, for the day. The speed boat ride took about an hour. Some of us just floated about with cocktails, others snorkled but all had a great time. They prepared a yummy lunch for us, with a fresh grouper fish, we literally picked up, on our way there.
Today we arranged to see Siantan Island by hiring a local Captain & boat owner to take us, along with 2 lovely young ladies, we met at the Tourism office, who spoke great English. The ladies found the Captain and we negotiated a price of 1,200,000 IDR or $67 USD to take four of us out and about, for 2 hours. Since the forestry on the island and the soil is gigantic hard boulders, almost all the villages are on the water on stilts or the edge of the coast. Excavation cost would be a huge premium and best done with equipment, they don't possess.
The ANAMBAS ISLANDS REGENCY, is a remote Indonesian archipelago in the South China Sea, part of the Riau Islands Province known for its stunning clear waters, pristine reefs and rich biodiversity. It is located between Singapore and Borneo and consist of over 200 islands of which only 26 are inhabited. Tarempa is the administrative center of the Islands and is located on Siantan Island. We are anchored, about a 15 minute tender ride, from the Tarempa Wharf . Our first day here, was all about celebrating our friend Terri's Birthday!