SCUBA DIVING
75 percent of the earth is covered with water.
So, if you wanna to explore the planet, you gotta get wet!
Bougainville is a small group of islands north of the Solomon Islands that form an autonomous region within the country of Papua New Guinea. The region has a massively intriguing wildlife, people and history. It is a unique location comparable to very little else on our planet. Tourism has only recently slowly started to develop here, but thanks to a chance encounter in the Philippines, I got the opportunity to visit Bougainville earlier this year.
So we were off to the Maldives for the second time in a little more than a year. This time we chose februari, and went deeper south hoping to catch a glimpse of our oceans gentle giants…Yes, close encounters with Manta’s and Whale Sharks. That’s on our menu. Can we have a variation of smaller rays and sharks for dessert please? Thank you. This trip turned out to be everything we hoped for and more. The weather was terrific, the water was a swimsuit friendly 29°C, and the crew and dive guides were amazing! 37 dives later all the boxes were ticked, and the marine life deep down in the Indian Ocean made a deep and ever lasting impression on all of us.
The term safari originates originally from the Arabic word سفرية (safarīyah) meaning “a journey”.
In Swahili Safari means “a long journey”. So, as you can imagine, I’m all for safari’s! They come in all shapes and sizes, and I love them all. This particular long journey took place on – and in – the Red Sea. We got on a boat in the Travco Marina in Sharm El Sheick Egypt, kicked of our shoes and our feet would touch shoes nor shore for the coming 8 days. In early november we were spoiled with + 30°C temperatures and even the water was 27°C!
Which way to paradise? The Maldives are an isolated group of Islands deep in the Indian Ocean. The closest countries are Sri Lanka and India who are about 700 and 400 km away. Now, that’s a long swim. With no less than 1,192 islands to discover, of which less than 200 are inhabited, I’m sure you can find a patch of paradise that’s just right for you. All of them have picture perfect white beaches, perfectly shaped palm trees and the most amazing colored water I have ever seen. Sailing trough the Atolls, watching the sun go down over those Islands, you wonder if it can get any better than this?
It’s a cold and misty morning. I feel like the Michelin Man geared up for a dive in the Silfra pass in Iceland. Thermic underwear, an artic undersuit that is thicker than my skisuit, A thick neoprene drysuit and about 20 kg of lead…If it wasn’t clear before it’s clear now; this is not going to be a tropic dive. The water temperature is two degrees celcius. And believe you me, you can’t imagine how cold that is untill you stick your head in it!
