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Oh no @krigg! I fixed mine with a torx screwdriver of the right size... the points of the star dug in enough for me to get the screw out! Infiltrated a bit of WD-40 using a tiny paintbrush, let it soak in overnight, then went at it with the little pointy screwdriver. I very much did not want to...

I'm re-booked for October 2022... hopefully will be open and we'll get to see some schools of hammerheads... My heart breaks thinking about the people in all the little villages that I've visited in Indonesia... everyone talks about Bali, but I can't imagine what it's like in Sorong or Banda...

Hi! I'm the proud owner of the above mentioned $450 thingy and the same camera/housing that you have and would like to add advice that screws in the Nauticam housing are sometimes in there *very* tightly and can get stripped pretty easily. (Please see next post about ideas for how to remove...

(Sorry, I mis-spoke on the depth, it's 30m or not quite 100 feet.) I was just looking it up a few days ago to make sure. Re: diving locations, IMO Maldives is the one of the safest destinations right now, and for someone who has a full month to dive, offers a good ratio of price to diving...

I'm surprised to see dives deeper than 90m there, as there is law that you can't do that. I worry about your dive company getting in trouble with the law.

This is awesome! I'm going to be doing a similar trip in a month, so very excited to hear your experiences and get excited about diving again! Did you spend a night in Gan on the way in? How often do you have wireless signal?

I've been through Sorong in 2018 and 2019... I really don't trust Indonesian airlines other than Garuda. (Also, Garuda is Sky Team which means check in in Sorong, baggage ends up 4-5 flights later at home without me having to touch it again since I fly Delta!) I might be biased, but Garuda seems...

My trip in April is officially cancelled, looking like no Raja yet. :(

Any updates about when the Philippines will be open to international tourists? I'm vaccinated and have a month to travel starting mid April!

I chose diving and travel adventures over having kids... it's a wonderful life!

Excellent article! Still trying to get a feel for trip out of Sorong's chances at the end of April. I read things about Bali opening, without a date... how far behind Bali is everything else going to be?

Re: getting there, I've been there twice and it is worth it. My favorite route is regional airport to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to South Korea (22 hour layover there, got hotel, slept) then to Jakarta, then to Sorong (flight leaves 0030). Doing the cross-pacific followed by the flight to Jakarta...

Dove 35 dives near Dhangethi in July 2019, 2 sites were amazing (both deep/strong currents), everything else was looking very sad.

The 16 day one. There's only one in the spring! :) April 20-May7? Mermaid 1. Eeee!

I'm going to put in my vote for Mermaid. They have longer trips and it's a great boat to be on. I was on a cheaper Phinsi ship (now it has sunk, not while I was on board) and had definite concerns about its ability to handle in rough weather, and nowhere near as fast as the Mermaid.

Following this! I have a booking on the Mermaid I for Ring of Fire/Biodiversity Special (from cancellation last year.) I love the company, love the boat, and hope it will be going. It seems like it is possible to pay for a "business visa" to get into the country. I am half-vaccinated now and...

I was on this trip in April of 2018 and there was one dive where there were a number of hammerheads (I only saw one, but it got close!!!) I'm a last minute kind of person, so the Fall trips don't work out for me. Going again this year because it was such an amazing trip/boat. Spending a week...

I have stayed at the FaveHotel Sorong, less fancy than the Swiss-Bel but I didn't mind. Not as close to "downtown". Not much to do. Usually walk over to the mall and get some tasty pastries at the bakery, and some supplies from the grocery store.

I recently got the Sigma 14mm 1.8 ART lens... haven't taken it underwater yet... very interested to see photos it takes underwater too! Need to see if I can use my current dome port with it on next trip. Not bringing two domes with me!!

I just got back from 2 weeks diving with South Ari Dive Center based in Dhangethi and it was good! We were 45 minutes from whale sharks and several manta cleaning stations, and there were some nice dive sites (7th heaven, 5 rocks) and a lot of sites that showed the impact of recent coral...