Bucket list?

[Cali_diver]

The Arctic doesn't have leopard seals, true...it has polar bears! And that can be an issue. From DAN's Alert Diver Magazine, online version, In the Company of Polar Bears, by Amos Nachoum. Here's an excerpt:

"Instead, I entered the water to find the bear was already making its way toward me. Looking behind me for my safety diver, I discovered he was not there. Smart of him! When I turned back, the bear was only 10 feet away from me. At that point, my best move seemed to be to descend, but every time I looked up, the bear paws above my head loomed nearer. Cold fear entered my mind, but with each breath I took comfort in knowing I still lived.

We dived together, the bear and me, in a deadly race to the depths."

Granted, he was looking for and studying polar bears, so it was not a random attack on a civilian.

Richard.

Wow... is it weird that I want to be that guy when I grow up!!???

 

[Diving Dubai]

Galapagos Liveaboard
Turks & Cocos Island
Back to Misool
Truk
Socorro
The 19 day expedition from Komodo to Raja Ampat
French Polynesia
PNG
Bikini Atoll

 

[Mia Toose]

Off the top of my head bucketlist:
1) Galapagos Liveaboard (did a few day dives, but that only made me want to do more)
2) Cocos Island (love Sharks)
3) Raja Ampat N+S liveaboard (1 week resort based whet my appetite)
4) South Africa, Sardine Run
5) Fiji
6) French Polynesia
7) PNG
8) Maldives

Any idea when you would like to head to the Galapagos? Explorer Ventures has some 1000USD off sales already listed for 2017!
Come join us!

 

[Mia Toose]

Galapagos Liveaboard
Turks & Cocos Island
Back to Misool
Truk
Socorro
The 19 day expedition from Komodo to Raja Ampat
French Polynesia
PNG
Bikini Atoll

When do you want to go?? Come join us!! We've got some awesome itineraries in Turks & Caicos and Galapagos (also Saba/St.Kitts/St.Maarten & the Maldives). I used to work on the Turks boat, so send me a message anytime if you have any questions about it
www.ExplorerVentures.com

 

[Diving Dubai]

When do you want to go?? Come join us!! We've got some awesome itineraries in Turks & Caicos and Galapagos (also Saba/St.Kitts/St.Maarten & the Maldives). I used to work on the Turks boat, so send me a message anytime if you have any questions about it
www.ExplorerVentures.com

Would love too, it's a bit of a trek though form Dubai - 17 hrs to Orlando direct isn't being done in the cheap seats that's for sure

 

[Mia Toose]

Would love too, it's a bit of a trek though form Dubai - 17 hrs to Orlando direct isn't being done in the cheap seats that's for sure

So true! Maldives is pretty decent though. I lived in Oman for a year and had the chance to get over to the Maldives much easier than we do from North America.
One day!!!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I was able to put some checks on my bucket list this year ... snorkeling with the whale sharks in Cebu (Philippines) in June. Stepping off the boat in Brothers (Red Sea) and almost landing on an oceanic white tip ... there were three of them just hanging off the back of the boat. Snorkeling with spinner dolphins at Fury Shoal ... but the highlight of that trip was sitting at 145 feet at Daedalus Reef completely surrounded by hammerheads. That was surreal.

High on my bucket list is Galapagos and Socorros. Maybe 2017 or 2018.

I did the Maldives in 2012, and while it was nice I don't think it had quite the appeal of some of the other places I've been ... like Raja Ampat, Komodo, or the above-mentioned trips to the Philippines and Red Sea. Fiji was pretty amazing, but due to bad weather pretty much the whole time we were there we never made it to the outer reefs. I really want to go back during a better time of year.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I did the Maldives in 2012, and while it was nice I don't think it had quite the appeal of some of the other places I've been ... like Raja Ampat, Komodo, or the above-mentioned trips to the Philippines and Red Sea. Fiji was pretty amazing, but due to bad weather pretty much the whole time we were there we never made it to the outer reefs. I really want to go back during a better time of year.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob, there is not a single place for which I have heard more mixed reviews than Maldives. Did you do Maldives as a liveaboard or as land based? My observation ... people who do land-based give it the same review that you gave while liveaboard crowd ranks it in the same level as Fiji.

Would anyone else also care to comment?

 

[mdb]

I was able to put some checks on my bucket list this year ... snorkeling with the whale sharks in Cebu (Philippines) in June. Stepping off the boat in Brothers (Red Sea) and almost landing on an oceanic white tip ... there were three of them just hanging off the back of the boat. Snorkeling with spinner dolphins at Fury Shoal ... but the highlight of that trip was sitting at 145 feet at Daedalus Reef completely surrounded by hammerheads. That was surreal.

High on my bucket list is Galapagos and Socorros. Maybe 2017 or 2018.

I did the Maldives in 2012, and while it was nice I don't think it had quite the appeal of some of the other places I've been ... like Raja Ampat, Komodo, or the above-mentioned trips to the Philippines and Red Sea. Fiji was pretty amazing, but due to bad weather pretty much the whole time we were there we never made it to the outer reefs. I really want to go back during a better time of year.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Good on you Bob you are checking off your bucket list dives.

I've got quite a few still on the list.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob, there is not a single place for which I have heard more mixed reviews than Maldives. Did you do Maldives as a liveaboard or as land based? My observation ... people who do land-based give it the same review that you gave while liveaboard crowd ranks it in the same level as Fiji.

Would anyone else also care to comment?

I was on a 10-day liveaboard, south route. In my case part of the issue was that the majority of the people on board were with a group that primarily wanted to do channel diving. After about three of those, I'm ready to move on to other kinds of diving. Frankly, the best dive on our whole trip (to my concern) was a house reef at a resort. It was basically a big wreck that was completely covered in life ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)