Friday, May 16, 2008

Diving in the Celebes Sea

Diving ... holidaying... is all about good experiences and living in different conditions, meeting people, having a good time.

One thing I love about this trip was staying at the Bunaken Cha Cha resort on the Island of Bunaken. Its similar to Sipadan. Swim out 30m from the shore and you're at the drop off point, overlooking a blue sea abysse. Great for snokellers and free divers. They say its what Sipadan was like 20 years ago.

The weather and sea conditions were a bit choppy at times. Overcast conditions mostly. We had to forfeit one day diving due to a storm; no charge. On two of the wall dives - there were swarms of thousands of baby trigger and yellow angel fishes. It looked like a Windows Computer Screen Saver.

Had trouble breathing for some reason. I just couldn't relax. Turns out that there was a setting for my breathing regulator- it may have been turned down to low.

The Bunaken Cha Cha resort has a lot of rustic charm going for it. The chalets are built into the side of a tropical jungle forest. The buildings are well made- and use plenty of concrete for their foundation and flooring. Teak is used for the bedroom and verandas. It feels so idyll lying on the hammock by the veranda and looking into the sea. Surprisingly very few mosquitoes. I don't have any bite marks at all.

Its also very exclusive- the resort only had about 10 guests when we were there; it could fit 20 guests in total. We had 2 - 3 senior dive guides on all the dives.

The resort also has broadband internet connection and mobile phone reception.

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