Posts filed under 'Travel'
In the past I’ve written about the great diving on the Caribbean side of Mexico, the Mayan Riviera, Cenotes and Cozumel. Though the Pacific side of Mexico is generally thought to be much worse in terms of visibility and marine life, I found diving out of Cabo to be better than I expected. If you can get past the fact that you’re asked to buy a time share 4 times an hour in this town, you’ll likely also find some great fun to be had in CSL, including some pretty good boat diving. With steep walls that seem to go on forever, sand falls dropping perilously into underwater canyons and waters filled with hundreds of species of tropical reef fish and invertebrates - Cabo offers more than tequila and beaches.
Continue Reading May 26th, 2007
Last night on American Idol, the nation’s most watched show on television, a contestant was brought on stage and apologized to by Simon Cowell. During his audition, the contestant was likened to an animal called a ‘bush baby’ (a nickname for a Tarsier Monkey). It was later found out that he was extremely offended by the comparison and has a mild form of autism. In what turned out to be somewhat of a PR nightmare for Cowell, and a media circus about his typical treatment of contestants, American Idol had to do some damage control so they brought the contestant back and donated $1500 toward the care of a bush baby at the Milwaukee County Zoo in his honor. Why the heck am I writing about this?
Continue Reading May 24th, 2007
Based on feedback from my last Cozumel update, I figured it was about time to post an update about one of my favorite dive destinations. Around the same time, my friends down at Deep Blue sent me an email giving me the local scoop on the current state of recovery after Hurricane Wilma, as well as a heads up about their new Cozumel Dive Guide. I’ve also borrowed from a few divers from my local dive club who have recently traveled to Cozumel and offered their accounts of the diving down there. Cozumel still has plenty to offer, even if the effects of Wilma aren’t completely gone yet.
Continue Reading March 6th, 2007
Picking a travel guidebook is like putting yourself into the hands of a complete stranger. It can make the difference between being on an idyllic getaway on the white shores of turquoise waters, or landing yourself in harm’s way. In this sense, the travel guide you choose is one of the most important choices you can make, even though you make this decision long before you head off the airport runway.
For divers, the options are quite slim for all but the most popular (and overrun tourist) destinations. Up until now, I’ve been able to find regional dive travel guidebooks with good coverage. But, drawing conclusions on a comparative basis between the available books is a shot in the dark, at best. When either trying to put together an itenerary that stretches across different seas, most divers have to turn to a travel agent or someone who has been to those places. Beth and Shaun Tierney recently provided a third option, their new book - Diving the World.
Continue Reading August 7th, 2006
I’ve been seriously slacking lately on the photo gallery, but my recent post on Cozumel prompted me to get off my duff and upload my photos from Mexico. This album is made up of photos mostly from Cozumel, but a few from diving the cenotes on the Yucatan peninsula. Cozumel is a small island off the Eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. It is located opposite Playa Del Carmen on the mainland, a vibrant town full of party life and home to white sand beaches. Cozumel has long held the reputation of a diver’s paradise. Nearly every street in the small town of San Miguel has at least one dive shop on it. There are many dive operators there, ranging from those who run cattle boats to those specializing in taking experienced divers out for some challenging dives. The best thing about diving off of Cozumel are the strong currents.
Continue Reading December 26th, 2005
Cozumel is probably the top place in my mind for tropical diving anywhere close to home. This year the island got slammed by a coupla hurricanes. I was glad that I’d been there several times before the storm came through and got to see the stunning reefs and swim-throughs there. I’ve been slacking big time on writing up my Cozumel trip reports and uploading my galleries from there, due to my present commitments to Newsvine. I was finally prompted to write this short post on Cozumel by an email I received from my friends down at Deep Blue, the dive operator I did my PADI Rescue Diver with.
Continue Reading December 20th, 2005
My buddy Tom, who I met while diving the Philippines, recently emailed me and told me he moved from the beautiful island of Bohol to Donsol, in the Bicol region of the Philippines. Tom is a jovial German guy who I had the pleasure of having as my guide while diving off of Alona Beach, to the islands of Balicasag and Panglao. He describes Donsol as “one of the world’s foremost locations to view whale sharks“, and the fact that he’s a PADI IDC Staff Instructor, I tend to take his word for it. He sent me some great photos, that I’ve included along with his contact info. I really had a great time diving with him off of Alona Beach, so I know he’ll take good care of anyone I send his way.
Continue Reading November 3rd, 2005
A handful of fat, seven foot white-tip sharks lay dormant at the foot of the rock pinnacle, digesting their last meal. An unfortunate adolescent hawksbill turtle was probably the latest fare for these menacing beasts. As I quietly approached the biggest one I thought of all the things I’d miss being able to do without my right arm, as I extended it out toward the shark’s nose and prepared to shoot it. The turned its gaze upon me, as if daring me to pull the trigger.
Continue Reading October 9th, 2005
I’ve just added a new underwater gallery of the Philippines. These photos, late in coming, compliment my earlier articles about diving the Visayas and acquiring a Night Diver specialty certification from PADI. The PI ranks top on my list of dive destinations offering great value for your money. To put things in perspective: a 2-tank boat dive off of the Hawaiian island of Maui can run you upwards of $120, whereas unlimited diving costs $50 per day from Moalboal, Cebu. Did I mention that this includes Nitrox and your own personal divemaster? That’s right, 4 divers on the boat = 4 divemasters to guide you to your laundry-list of photo subjects. This is key when your stay is over the period of a week and your guide knows exactly what you’ve seen and haven’t seen yet.
Continue Reading September 21st, 2005
This season’s Survivor takes place in Guatemala. It was great seeing contestants slog through the jungle and mud in an area I actually spent some time. I do have to admit though that it made all the previous episodes a lot less credible in terms of the harshness of the environment. What I mean is, they must have spent weeks on end finding animals, including crocodiles (that apparently live in every body of water, even puddles), monkeys, tarantulas, etc. With the camera angles and music they make the Guatemalan forest seem to be a terribly dangerous place with “deadly snakes around every corner”. In actuality it is quite a pleasant place to be, and you have to tip-toe around in order to see most animals because they usually run from humans (not to mention full film crews). Nonetheless, this season of Survivor looks to be a good one. Right off the bat they were puking, getting cramps and feeling a great deal of pain in general. I had started to lose my taste for the show over the past few seasons when they would get a gourmet meal after each challenge. Lets get back to what this show is all about: pain and suffering for average people with challenges that skirt the limits of will, all for the love of money.
Continue Reading September 16th, 2005
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