We have been very remiss with not posting details of trips over the last two years. There have been several great trips. Most memorable was two weeks in the Maldives on the live aboard , Carpe Vita in December 2014. It is a luxury live aboard. As usual we booked the trip through Donna Lattin at South Pacific Island travel. The group met in Dubai and had two fun filled days there. We went on a city tour, to the desert and enjoyed the city which is totally over the top. From there we flew on Emirates air to Male. This has to be the only airport in the world where you walk out the from door and jump onto a boat. The airport is on it’s own island. We then had an amazing trip. The weather was great and we headed around various atolls find gin great spots to dive. The currents were  manageable. We saw small creatures as well as some pelagic and two whale sharks. It was truly memorable. We were pampered on the boat.

Another fabulous trip was onboard the Komodo Dancer September 2015. We met in Denpasar Bali and spent several days enjoying the Bali country side and the beach side hotel. Then we boarded the boat for almost two weeks. We had a land trip to Komodo Island to see the dragons. Every dive site was incredible. We saw many nudibranchs and millions of fish. We also shared some memorable times with giant mantas. I think Indonesia is about the best diving I (Barb) have experienced. The trip however made us realize that elements , especially the giant mantas, are jeopardized by the local fishing industry and the money that locals can make from gills of these majestic creatures. I can’t speak for everyone but when we got back I tried to find a petition against such activities and also supported the Project Aware Manta effort. It is all part of being a socially responsible diver.

Barb