Scuba Diving
Banda Sea - October 2009: So, where is the Banda Sea you ask? It's in eastern Indonesia, located north of Australia, south of the Philippines and west of Papua New Guinea. You may have heard of the Spice Islands - they're in the middle of the Banda Sea. Here are some underwater shots from our 12 days on the liveaboard and also some land pictures of Bali and the dive trip.
Little Cayman - August 2009: Considered one of the best dive sites in the Caribbean, this small (10 miles long), sparsely populated (150 people) island lived up to its reputation. Noted for its wall diving, healthy coral and small creatures, I've posted some underwater photos.
Galapagos - July 2009: I've been wanting to dive the Galapagos for a long time and the time finally came this July. A week-long trip on the Galapagos Agressor II provided my first sighting of a whale shark.The visibility wasn't the greatest for photography, but I've still posted some underwater pictures and also some pictures taken in Quito and on land tours in the Galapagos.
Costa Rica - March-April 2009: Another memorable trip on the Sea Hunter. This time a 14 day voyage to the islands of Malpelo and Cocos. The diving conditions weren't so great at Malpelo, so we cut things short there by a day and headed up to Cocos early. Highlight of the trip was two days of diving and snorkeling baitballs at Cocos. Kind of exciting to be doing your safety stop while surounded by dozens and dozens of silky sharks checking you out.
Indonesia - November 2008: Spent 17 days on the island of Sulawesi, diving at two different resorts. The first week was spent at Two Fish Divers on the island of Bunaken. More traditonal diving with spectacular walls, rich coral and large schools of reef fish. I did see my first mola mola, though! Here are some underwater photos of Bunaken and also some photos above water.
I transferred over to Kungkungan Bay Resort, located on Lembeh Strait. Known for its "muck diving", here you'll find a myriad of strange undersea creatures. Take a look at some of them in this underwater photo gallery. There are also some photos taken of the resort and from the dive boats in this topside photo gallery.
Bonaire - August 2008: A week at the Divi Flaming resort, getting in 23 dives for the week. I'll have to give Bonaire the advantage over Curaçao as far as the diving goes: more to see, shorter boat rides and closer restaurants. This was a chance to try out the macro lens on my camera as there aren't too many large creatures here. So check out the photos.
Costa Rica - January 2008: Twelve nights aboard the Sea Hunter diving Cocos Island about 330 miles off the Pacific coast. One of the largest uninhabited islands in the world and also one of the wettest spots on earth, Cocos is one of the finest diving spots around. Hammerhead and white-tipped reef sharks are in abundance, along with Galapagos and Silky sharks, countless marbled rays and some mantas, huge schools of jacks and the usual morays, lobsters, sea urchins and barnacles aplenty. View a map of Cocos.
Indonesia - June 2007: Spent a week diving at Wakatobi Dive Resort on the island of Onemobaa, located on the southeast tip of Sulawesi. Twenty-three hours of flying from Denver to Bali followed by a 2 1/2 hour flight to the resort. There are plenty of pictures posted here. They are in a slide show, but be sure and click on the thumbnail button at the top of the page to jump to a specific picture. Here's a map showing the location in Indonesia and also a satellite photo (stolen from Google Earth).
Cozumel - January 2007: My mid-winter scuba fix. Good to escape the snowy Rockies and enjoy the 80° waters of the Caribbean for a week with some divers from the local shop in Boulder. Lots of splendid toadfish and some great night dives.
Belize - October-November 2006: Went on the annual Colorado Scuba Bash where a half dozen or so dive shops from Colorado converge on one dive resort. This year it was on Ambergris Caye at the Sunbreeze Hotel. Though I wouldn't call it the most spectacular diving around, it easily handled the 80+ divers that came. Plenty of nurse sharks, big grouper, sting rays and my best night dive yet make for a memorable week.
Curaçao - September 2006: Taking advantage of the off peak season, I traveled down to Curaçao, Netherland Antilles, an island about 35 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Stayed at the Habitat Curacao resort, diving with Easy Divers. The thing I really like about their operation is they pretty much let you do your own thing, even on the boat dives. If you want to go off diving by yourself, that's fine - just be back in an hour. Or you can follow the divemaster around, your choice. They have a healthy house reef just off shore and with unlimited shore diving, you can get your fill. I did 19 dives for the week. Check out the pictures! Here are some more photos taken by Dave , whom I met on the trip along with his friend, Robbie. They were very enthusiastic photographers and they promise to send me a DVD when it's finished. You may want to check out their website: Wet Digital.
Cozumel - March 2006: Rendezvoused with John and Mattson for a week of diving. The island is still recovering from hurricanes Emily and Wilma. Many of the reefs are covered in sand and some of them were ground up. But the marine life is abundant and even easier to spot against all the white sand. Got in 14 dives, including one at night and enjoyed trying out the new housing for the camera. Even took some movies.
