Top 10 Dream Dive Destination

I love scuba diving and I love traveling the world. The world is an awesome place and I want to see it all, both above and beneath the water. I have dove lots different places from wrecks in Lake Superior to the warm waters of Aruba, and all kinds of places in between. To some people this is an expansive area, and to others… it’s just scratching the surface. I tend to lean towards the latter. I feel fortunate that I have been able to visit and dive the areas that I have, but I am eager to explore new areas.

Below is my top 10 dream dives! It’s basically a “bucket list” dive travel destinations that I personally want to visit.

1. Sipadan Island, Malaysia – Sipadan in consistently ranked among the top dive destinations in the world. I want to see why for myself!

2. Fiji – Ever since I’ve started diving I’ve thought that Fiji would be a great destination to do a live-aboard. There’s tons of great dive sites spread out among the thousands of islands which make up Fiji. What better way to see them then a live-aboard!

3. Great Barrier Reef, Australia – It’s the largest reef in the world! It has to be on my list for that fact alone.

4. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador – Did you know that the iguana’s in the Galapagos dive underwater to feed on the reef? How about that there’s a species of penguin that’s endemic to the islands? There are two major ocean currents that meet in the Galapagos creating this magical place that’s teaming with marine life. The Galapagos are truly unique!

5. Maldives – Drift diving at it’s best on the Indian Monsoon Current. There’s tons of colorful reefs surrounding the thousands of islands, which are teaming with marine life from ranging from eagle rays to whale sharks.

6. Antarctica – Yeah, it’s REALLY dang cold! And honestly… I’m REALLY not a fan of cold! However, after seeing some absolutely amazing images and video from under the ice… it’s on my list. There is no other place like this in anywhere! And, you get to witness the underwater side of “Happy Feet” first hand!

7. Truk Lagoon – This is another scuba diving destination that’s know for it’s wreck diving, and is home to the “Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon”.  There are over sixty WWII wrecks here, plenty to keep a person entertained for a long, long time!

8. Bikini Atoll – Wrecks! Once a nuclear bomb testing ground for the US, now the grave yard for all of the wrecks they blew up. There are wrecks ranging from aircraft carriers to submarines. I haven’t found a better place in the world for wreck diving.

9. The Red Sea, Egypt – Visibility of to 230 feet, tons of fish, wrecks, beautiful coral, sheltered reefs, towers, pinnacles, walls, and coral gardens make the Red Sea a the fabulous dive destination that it’s made out to be!

10. Gansbaai, South Africa – Sharks! South Africa is a shark diving Mecca! The whales, sea lions, and penguins are just a bonus!

Lazy Man’s Scuba Diving in Cozumel, Mexico

 Cozumel is a little island that lays just east of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in the Caribbean Sea. The reef that surrounds the island is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), which is the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. The Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park surrounds almost the entire southern half of the island and helps sustain the reefs and marine life. Because of this, the reefs and marine life around Cozumel are flourishing, which makes for some excellent scuba diving.

There’s another thing that Cozumel offers scuba divers that you don’t find just anywhere though. There’s a gentle current running from from one end of the island to the other. If scuba diver’s plan their dives to take advantage of this current, their dives can be near effortless. The dive boat can drop you off at one part of the reef, and pick you up a mile or so down the way. You just drift along with the current. Being you aren’t swimming away from the boat and then working your way back halfway through the dive, you don’t have to double back over the same area that you just dived. And because you aren’t exerting yourself as much when you dive, you aren’t using as much air and your dives last longer. I’ve been to Cozumel a couple times now, and would welcome the opportunity to go back again for the excellent drift diving, and the reasonable accommodations.

Below is a quick slide show that features some of the underwater pictures that I took during my time in Cozumel.

Island Camping in Florida

Have you ever dreamt of having your own private island? For most people, this will never happen. You can, however, experience the solitude and tranquility of having your own little island paradise. The Florida Keys alone consist of over 1,700 islands. Most of which are small and uninhabited. The state of Florida actually claims to have over 4,500 islands that are over ten acres in size, as well. That’s a lot of opportunity for finding your own little piece of paradise for a weekend adventure.

Some people might not be able to see everything that an undeveloped island has to offer, but for me they are endless fountains of adventure. An untouched island can be fun to hike and explore, provide the most secluded beaches you will find anywhere, offer a base for all of your watersport activities, become a free backcountry camp site, and so on. For others, they might be a serene place to find there inner zen.

Most of the uninhabited islands in Florida don’t have any roads to access them, which adds to their elusiveness and gives it a greater sense of sequestration. Getting to these hidden gems in the ocean is part of the adventure, and how you do it helps to define your experience. A sea kayaker can grab their tent and spend a weekend camping on the beach of a deserted island oasis. Somebody with a sail boat or cabin cruiser can anchor off the shore of and island to enjoy it by day, and bunk up in their boat at night.

I guess it comes down to how adventurous you are, and if you are comfortable with nature and the outdoors. If you are an indoor person that can’t live without modern luxuries, you might not enjoy island camping – unless you bring your own yacht along. But if you are at one with nature and love a good adventure, these islands can provide you with your very own piece of paradise.

The Good and the Bad of Cruise Travel

Like anything, cruises have their ups and downs... and I'm not just talking about the motion in the ocean. Personally, I love cruises for the many positives they offer but I recognize the negatives as well.  The good news is that cruises offer many options for all types of people.  I will highlight the pros and cons so those of you who are new to cruising can decide if cruise travel is right for you.