#SNORKELLING

[travel-kat]

Triggerfisch vor Koh Haa gesehen © Copyright Black Turtle Dive

[b1997coogs]

[oceaniatropics]

cave diving at Hell's Hole, Mount Gambier, South Australia 

[pareidoliaonthemove]

A Little Revenge

It had been intended as an escape from whatever doom was poised over his head.

Snorkelling or diving, even doing an inspection of Tracy Island’s underwater environs in Thunderbird Four was Gordon’s favourite way to avoid irate brothers, or, god forbid, grandmother or sister. Once Scott and Dad had gotten over their reflexive panic of ‘Gordon’s in the ocean; sharks are in the ocean. Oh-mi-god, Gordon’s gonna be eaten by a shark’, Gordon had more or less been left to roam their marine backyard at will, provided he took a variety of safety equipment and checked in at regular intervals with John on Thunderbird Five.

So when Gordon had announced he was going to spend the morning snorkelling on the northern reef, he hadn’t expected anyone to join him.

That his companion was Virgil was of particular concern.

His immediate older brother was a competent diver (Gordon had made sure everyone was safe in the water), and he did take an interest in the marine environment – although it usually took the form of raiding whatever footage Gordon had taken on his explorations and inspections for inspiration for new paintings or music. So it wasn’t totally unprecedented.

What worried Gordon was the fact that a week earlier, he had … miscalculated a prank designed to loosen up Virgil’s nerves (which the man could have used as musical instrument – probably a cello, given his size). Instead of a cute little brightly coloured foam volcano fizzing cheerfully from a tiny paint tin, it had somehow fermented into a seemingly never-ending explosive geyser hurling massive globs of foam throughout the lounge. And given Virgil’s preferred perch on the mezzanine, the fountain had an extra height advantage. It managed to coat liberal portions of the photovoltaic glass ceiling, only to then rain down onto everything below.

Of course, Alan had quickly dobbed Gordon in, playing Judas to save his own scrawny neck, and Eos had happily provided the film evidence. John evidently busy reviewing footage to ensure his own possessions were prank free.

An alarmingly magenta hued Scott had informed Gordon that Gordon would personally clean up all traces of the mess, with his toothbrush and tongue if he made one – just one, Gordon! – sound of protest.

Virgil had contented himself with collecting up his ruined canvas and disappearing to parts unknown, leaving his ruined boots at the edge of the contamination. His clothes had appeared in the laundry with everyone else’s, but the man himself didn’t put in an appearance until breakfast the next morning.

And Gordon had been walking on eggshells ever since. It had taken three days, working around rescues, to restore the lounge to its original colour scheme, and hoping Scott’s inspection wouldn't include free climbing the rock walls to ensure that the portions of the rough-hewn mountain not visible from the ground levels were cleaned.

And Virgil hadn’t said a word.

Well, not about the incident.

Scott raged, Grandma lectured, John threatened, Alan ‘duded’, Kayo’s mere presence threatened Gordon to even think about putting a foot out of line and Brains was, inevitably, oblivious to the whole affair. While Virgil … carried on as if nothing had happened.

Gordon wasn’t fooled, as calm and easy-going as Virgil was, there was no way he was going to let what had happened go without extracting revenge.

And Virgil was of the school of thought that held that revenge should be swift and proportional to the crime. So for it to have been a week since the ‘incident’ with no payback … it was uncharacteristic. And worrying.

So to say Gordon was nervous was an understatement.

So if Gordon spent rather longer than usual checking over Virgil’s gear before they got in the small boat to head around to the north of the Island, it was understandable. After all, he was going to be on the exact opposite side of the island from the rest of his family, with the one person who was currently out for his blood.

Other than the Hood.

And the Mechanic – man, did he have a thing about wrecking Gordon’s pride and joy!

And not to forget Parker.

And Sherbet.

But Virgil didn’t have anything sinister – like, for instance a length of chain, a large anchor and gallons of fish guts and blood for tying up aquanauts and enticing sharks to eat them. Just his regulation snorkelling gear, and his large semi-robotic underwater camera.

Gordon relaxed slightly. Virgil had been fiddling with upgrades to the camera rig recently, and obviously wanted to test out his current pet project.

So it was a somewhat more relaxed Gordon that steered the little electric motorboat out of the boat-house cavern and around the island, mooring the aptly named ‘Squids Getaway’ to the buoy fifty metres out from the edge of the reef.

One last check over of their gear, a quick reminder of the plan for the dive, and a mandatory status report to John, and they were over the side and into the water.

Gordon immediately headed shorewards to the reef, while Virgil spent a minute fussing over his camera, but he soon overtook Gordon, hitching a ride on the rig as it zizzed along to commence the path Virgil had programmed into it.

Gordon quickly caught up, pride refusing to let a brother beat him in the water, especially when said brother cheated, but quickly lost himself in his inspection of the reef, and the census he had planned on conducting.

It all quickly settled comfortably, Virgil cruised idly among the corals, popping up to the surface to breathe more frequently that Gordon needed to. All that muscle mass his brother sported might be a godsend on a rescue, but it was a liability underwater. But he quickly descended again and resumed his consideration of the reef, carefully not touching anything.

Gordon kept an eye out for Virgil, as he knew Virgil was keeping an eye out for him. The only problem that seemed to be occurring was Virgil’s dratted camera seemed to be following him, bursting into his peripheral vision from behind him with an annoying frequency. As Virgil meandered closer to him, Gordon reached out to tap his shoulder and flourished his divers slate at him. “Keep camera clear. Nearly bumps into me,” scrawled on it.

Virgil peered at the slate, flushed and signed ‘Sorry’, before pulling up his control unit and tapping at buttons. The camera immediately altered course, heading out into deeper water, before circling back around to Virgil’s side.

Gordon signed back ‘Thanks’, and ‘Carry on’, before returning to his census of the reef’s inhabitants. At first, it seemed to be going well, but gradually Gordon noticed that the various reef fishes seemed less shy than normal. Gordon thought it was curious, but decided that the inhabitants of this section of reef had become accustomed to his presence – after all, he had been focusing on this particular sector lately.

But then the fishes seemed to be crowding him, swarming around his head, darting in at him and then back again. In and out, in and out, the waters around his face and head seemed to have become a marine merry-go-round, fish darted in at his head, backed off away, and then joined a cue to come back to what appeared to be designated points to dart back at his head.

Gordon frowned. This was feeding behaviour. But what were they eating?

Gordon twisted in the water, looking for something behind him, but there was nothing there, just the ever increasing school of various fish.

He didn’t see the hāpuku coming.

The meter-long fish lunged into the school, mouth agape, and engulfed a largish fish in the crowd. As the hāpuku continued on its way, it slid past Gordon’s nose, as he turned his head to identify the large block of movement in his peripheral vision. It’s powerful tail slapped the snorkel out of his mouth, sending it spiralling down towards the seafloor.

Gordon grabbed at it, missed, and kicked immediately up for the surface.

Virgil surfaced a couple of dozen feet from him, his camera rig bobbing up beside him. Gordon immediately struck out towards him, quickly covering the distance.

“Did you get that?! Tell me you got that!” Gordon’s excitement was palpable.

“The groper slapping you upside the head? Yeah, I got that.”

Gordon frowned. “New Zealand waters, Virg. It’s hāpuku, not groper. Or wreckfish.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Cultural sensitivity.”

Virgil blinked. “Oh. Right.” He frowned. “Has that happened before?”

“Lost my snorkel? Hundreds of times. You know I buy them by the crate.”

“No, all the fish …” Virgil gestured a circle around his head.

Gordon frowned. “No,” he admitted. “That was weird. That was feeding behaviour, but what were they eating?” He ran a hand through his hair in confusion.

And brought his hand back in front of his face, staring at the greasy yellow goo that liberally coated his fingers. “What?”

He brought his hand to his face and sniffed, then incredulously stuck his tongue out and licked at the substance.

“Is this … spray cheese?” Gordon stared at Virgil in perplexity. His other hand reached back, and encountered more of the same.

Virgil grinned, his camera rose higher in the water, and tilted upwards. A second later a jet of spray cheese shot at Gordon’s face, hitting him square between the eyes.

Gordon’s jaw dropped, and he was in danger of taking on a lungful of seawater.

Virgil smirked. “Yup.”

“You …”

“Yup.”

“The camera …”

“Yup.”

Gordon stared, treading water as gobs of spray cheese dripped off his face.

Virgil edged closer to him, and put extra energy into his treading water, lifting him higher out of the water to loom over Gordon, his eyebrows creased into an ominous frown.

“A little taste of what will happen to you if you ever – repeat ever – mess with my paints again, Gordon. Understand me?”

Gordon gulped. “Yes, Virgil. I understand perfectly.”

“Good.” Virgil smirked. “I think it’s time we went home, don’t you?”

Gordon nodded, his eyes wide as he stared at his immediate older brother. Damn, Virgil could be scary when he wanted to.

Gordon more than agreed he had to get home.

He had some booby traps to defuse.

Before Virgil went back into his studio.

Notes:

I saw a throwaway line somewhere about feeding reef fish with ‘cheez whiz’. A couple of days later I thought, I bet Gordon would stick that on someone’s hair. And then I thought again ...

The standard disclaimers, I do not own Thunderbirds, either the TOS or CGI Series. (Although I do own copies on DVD.)

I do not do this for money, but for my own (in)sanity and entertainment.

[nicistrying]

This has been just the most unbelievable, beautiful week and I'll cherish it forever ❤️ Home to our puppy tomorrow 🥹

[beachesandsandandstuff-blog]

Some guys buried completely in sand

Don't try at home.

[gkathleenk]

GUAM

DAY ONE

My flight from Minneapolis to A.B. Won Pat International Airport (located in Tamuning) in Guam was a long journey. My flight took off at 11:25AM, and it took 13 hours to get to my layover in Seoul. We got to Seoul at 3:20PM (their time), and I was in Seoul for 18 hours. My flight to Guam finally took off at 9:45AM the next day, and we arrived at 3:15PM. My ticket cost $1,675.

After landing at A.B. Won Pat Intl, I wanted to check in at my Airbnb located in Dededo, a city located outside Tamuning. I am staying in the Vibrant Mini House. The Airbnb has a 3 night minimum and the total overall for the 3 nights is $274. Guam is a US Territory, so they use the US Dollar as their currency.

The drive from the airport to my Airbnb was 14 minutes. The most common form of transportation is bus, even with locals, but I decided to drive because it was faster and easier. While in Dededo, I decided to stop and get some food. I chose to get Dish-N-That, which is an American-centered restaurant. Their main focus is Smash Burgers. I apparently didn't wear my glasses, so I could barely see the menu. I decided to get an appetizer of onion rings which were $4.30 and for my meal I got the Bacon Double Cheese Burger which was $11.30. I didn't have to tip for my meal, because gratuity is included in the overall bill.

After getting food, I drove 12 minutes away to Ague Cove, located on the cost. Because Ague Cove is technically private property, I had to get permission to hike here first from Operations Officer Jesus Pangelinan. The hike down to the cove is pretty moderate and can only be challenging if it had just rain a day or two prior. Ague Cove can be very dangerous once you get to the bottom, due to the waves and super sharp coral. The hike back up can cause you cardiac arrest, so I had to be safe and bring extra water. The hike lasted about 3 hours to complete.

By the time I was finished with the hike, it was around 8PM, and I decided to head back to my Airbnb and get some sleep.

DAY TWO

I woke up and decided that today I would spend the day in Tamuning. I woke up around 11 and drove 17 minutes to Sakura Noodle House. I ordered the Chopseuey Noodles (fried) which was $10.50.

After eating, I drove down to Guam Ocean Park. You can get a free pass to spend the day there, and you can go jet skiing, snorkeling, kayaking, play volleyball, and swim all for free if you have the pass. The pass costs $200 for and an adult and $30 for a child. I chose the snorkeling tour. It lasts around 3 hours. After snorkeling, I went jet skiing.

I spent around 5 hours at the Ocean Park, I drove to Three Squares Restaurant to get some dinner. For starters, I got the Local Sampler, which consists of tinala katne, coconut dinanche, chicken kelaguen, fried corn titiyas, and empanada dippers, costing $19.95. Tinala Katne originates from Guam, while Coconut Dinanche and Chicken Kelaguen originate from the Philippines. The reasoning behind the Filipino influence is because a third of the population of Guam is Filipino, with the other thirds being Chamorro and mixed. For my main meal, I got the Asian Chicken Salad (salad with teriyaki chicken, cucumbers, edamame, mandarin oranges, and fried wontons), which cost $15.95. My overall bill was $39.40 which included my tip.

After dinner, I went back to my Airbnb to go to bed.

DAY THREE

Since today is my last full day in Guam, I thought I would do some research into the history and culture of Guam. The population is currently 171,774 people, the largest ethnic group being Chamorro. Chamorro is an Indigenous group of the Mariana Islands, and their ancestors come from Southeast Asia (mainly Indonesia and the Philippines) during 1600 BCE. In the 17 and 1800s, Spain got a hold of the Mariana Islands and spread diseases and violence, causing the Chamorro population to drop from 70,000 to 1,000 in 1820. Now in the 20th century, there are around 50,600 Chamorro descendants in Guam alone. They developed the Chamorro Language, which is most similar to Tagalog, and it is the 2nd most used language in Guam, after English. The main religion of the Chamorro people is Roman Catholic. 94.2% of Guam is Roman Catholic. The reasoning behind this is because of the centuries when Spain had control over the island. Guam became fully colonized by Spain in 1668, and they left in 1899.

After my research this morning, I wanted to get something to eat. The food that Guam is most known for is Chicken Kelaguen. Chicken Kelaguen is inspired by Philippine cuisine, but it has Latin American influences as well. The dish is chicken marinated in a lemony and spicy sauce with coconut added as well. You usually eat it with titiyas. To get this meal in Guam, I went to Chef's Inasal BBQ House located 7 minutes away from my Airbnb. The price for the Chicken Kelaguen was $21.30.

After lunch, I thought it would be best to visit the Micronesia Mall, located 4 minutes away. Micronesia Mall is one of the best things to do when visiting Guam. Opened on August 8, 1988, Micronesia Mall is the biggest mall in Guam. The owners chose that date because the number 8 is a lucky number in a lot of Asian cultures. The 4 anchor stores are Ross Dress for Less, two Macy's, and a 24-hour Payless Supermarket. The mall has a 24-hour food court, a 12-screen movie theater, and Funtastic Park, an amusement park with 7 different rides. Because all the stores and restaurants are the same ones found in America, I decided to not buy anything.

After the mall, I decided to check out the UnderWater World Aquarium. General Admission costs $23 for an adult and $15 for children. The aquarium is open from 10AM to 6PM, and since it was 4PM, I had plenty of time. You are 14 feet below water in the tunnel. Not only can you walk through the tunnel, which takes around 45 minutes to complete, but you can actually do a SeaTREK, which is when you get into the tank and swim with the animals. I obviously chose to do SeaTREK because that sounds amazing, it cost me $99, but it was an experience of a lifetime. Because the SeaTREK takes around an hour and 30 minutes, I decided to just do that and not walk through the tunnel.

DAY FOUR

Today is my last day in Guam! To start my day off, I went to the Guam Museum, located in Hagåtña. The Guam Museum was made to help people better understand the culture and history behind the Chamorro people by mediums such as sculpture, paintings, and short films. They started collecting art in 1887. The museum officially opened in 2014. The most recent artifact added to the museum was a photograph taken in 1916 of three Chamorro men preparing higai to repair the roof on their house.

After the museum, I went across the street to Plaza De España, which was the Governor's Palace in 1734 until The Battle of Guam in 1941, but it was refurbished in 1885. Most of the Palace was destroyed during the battle, except for the three arch gate to Almacen, the back porch, and the Chocolate House.

After leaving Plaza De España, I decided it was time to head to New Zealand and continue my Oceania adventure there. I really liked visiting Guam. Despite being a US Territory, Guam is its own country with its own unique culture. They offer so many fun activities for locals and tourists to participate in.

[tropicalelysium]

Allways Dive Expeditions

great barrier reef, Queensland, Australia

[birnbaumsdownunder]

schnorcheln im Little blue lake

[gabrijela1972]

(via https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rn2C-S4X1Po&si=alXGLuILijYfhf9o)

[tremaghi]

Felicità è vedere sempre il bicchiere mezzo pieno

Fine marzo, il periodo in cui si inizia a programmare le vacanze, cercare la destinazione dove rilassarsi e rigenerarsi. Da tredici anni a questa parte, non andiamo in vacanza, nemmeno un weekend fuori porta. La nostra vita, 365 all’anno la trascorriamo a casa e questo non mi pesa, tutt’altro. Bisogna saper accettare quanto la vita ti offre e ti toglie, non serve a nulla rammaricarsene, se non a…

[sohannabarberaesque]

Meanwhile, at some summer camp where Hokey Wolf is serving as a diving trainer as much as counsellor

HOKEY WOLF, getting down to basics: If I may explain, fellow campers, it's preferable to start with snorkelling before going to SCUBA; after all, you don't want to rush too headlong into things! A CAMPER, somewhat stunned: So that means we have to start with holding our breaths while diving! HOKEY WOLF, continuing: Right, and using a snorkel to that end--not to be confused with a certain Snorky from The Banana Splits there! [Cut to Snorky doing some of his more obvious honking exercises, then back to--] HOKEY WOLF: What did I just say? [The audience laughs]

[beachesandsandandstuff-blog]

While on vacation four daredevils bury themselves in sand with only a snorkel to breathe Obviously, do not attempt....

[captainmartinisblog]

Sharks in the Water!

Monday 24th February 2025 – Bora Bora (Day 3).

There was a ‘Rock the Boat’ deck party and barbecue yesterday evening but the smell of burgers and bratwurst on a sultry evening was not high on my list of favourite things to do, so we were among the ‘dining room die-hards’ who had dinner in the main restaurant.

I had the Escargots again and a rather nicely cooked Lobster Tail, this time with mushrooms and Lyonnaise potatoes and herb-cream sauce. No dessert – unless you count one scoop of Mint Choc Chip ice cream!

Meanwhile, the barbecue on deck was still in full swing, with some nice music provided by Laura and Luis (Duo Essenza) who usually perform in the Voyager Lounge. Then at 9pm, it was ‘compulsory happy time’ music (ie loud!) and time for us to seek shelter!

Oceania’s ‘Nautica’ must have left late last night because ‘Seven Seas Voyager’ had the place to ourselves this morning. Many passengers were up early and there were loads of excursions but this was one time I was really glad of another lazy morning and to have booked a later departure time!

Our excursion yesterday having been land-based, today’s excursion was entirely water-based. Entitled, ‘Shark & Stingray Snorkel Safari’, our 3-hour trip set out to one of the sandbanks within the outer reef to first encounter sharks and stingrays.

While there were quite a few sharks circling us like passengers sizing-up the lunchtime buffet, I don’t think anyone on our boat saw any stingrays, unfortunately. There was quite a strong breeze kicking up a swell and I did have some initial difficulties getting my balance.

We had been led to believe that we would be able to interact with the rays and observe the sharks while standing but once in the water, I couldn’t really see much until I donned my snorkel and mask – as indeed most other passengers did.

The lack of stingray sightings was unfortunate and I couldn’t help wondering if there were just too many people in the water and they were scared-off? Anyway, after about 30 minutes in that spot, the boat moved on further towards the outer reef, where snorkelling over the coral reef had been promised. So back into the water I went!

Here the water was a bit deeper (too deep to stand) but once again, while quite warm, it was quite exposed.

I did though, see many clumps of coral with fish feeding but the variety of coral was limited and the number of fish (at least in this area) didn’t seem as good as I’ve seen in Bermuda – so those of you who have been to Bermuda, you have experienced the best in my opinion!

On the way back to the pier, we passed the Conrad Bora Bora Nui Resort on Motu Tu’Upia, one of the most expensive in Bora Bora, where one night in one of those over-water villas will cost you around $10,000! A bit boring, if you ask me but….

All in all, it was a good excursion and one of the many complimentary ones offered by the ship. But while there was some live music on the boat, there were no refreshments or water offered and no real interaction between the crew and passengers in the water – we were all just left to fend for ourselves. But hey, at last we got to swim in the South Pacific!

[jontycrane]

Beloi to Adara

For the detailed route and logistical information please select this hike below (click top left for the list of hikes). A tough but popular route crossing Atauro Island between Beloi and Adara, home to the lovely Mario’s Place, possibly the best located accommodation on the island. A boat trip between the two costs $80, hiking will take you at least 4 hours and a decent amount of sweat as you…