Did you think summer had returned these past few days . . . ???
WEIRD WEATHER - Not only was it quite hot here in L.A. - it hit 100º in the Valley last week - but the weird weather continues in many places around the world. It's also made for a very active hurricane season this year. As you may know, hurricane names are chosen ahead of time and then assigned as tropical storms develop. Not all tropical storms become hurricanes. But the name progression continues through the alphabet. Today (Sunday) in the Pacific - there's a separate list for Atlantic and Pacific storms - hurricane Norma came ashore just west of Cabo San Lucas and caused some major damage. Norma is now heading across the Gulf of California and will hit mainland Mexico sometime on Monday. Tropical Storm Otis, next up in the alphabet, is churning further south and will cruise into the middle of mainland Mexico in a few days. In the Atlantic, hurricane Tammy just passed NE of Puerto Rico and will drift further NE, although it might loop back and head for Bermuda. If that wasn't enough, there's a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico near Nicaragua which could develop into a hurricane later in the week. Hurricane season officially ends October 31 but this year, who knows?
LET'S TALK TRAVEL - One of the things we try to do when we plan travel is take into account the likelihood of things like hurricanes and other weather disturbances that could affect the trip. But, as Dr. George Fishbeck was fond of saying, "No man can predict the future" and by that he specifically meant that it's not easy to predict the weather. (Our summer trip to Yap this year during the dry season that turned wet is a good example of that.) So with all that in mind, for the coming year . . .
WHALES IN MARCH AND INDONESIA IN JULY - We've talked about these previously. We've already got nine people confirmed for our March trip to San Ignacio Lagoon and they just released three more spots to us so we can expand the group. July 8-19 will find us back at Murex in Indonesia and we've already got 11 people signed up for that one. If you need more info on these two, just send me a note and I'll get you the details and specifics. Our trips lately have been filling fast so we want to give you a heads-up about two more.
ROATAN IN MAY - I had previously pitched the idea of going to Grand Cayman at this time but, for a variety of reasons, that's not going to work. But we haven't been to Roatan since 2018 so we called Anthony's Key and they'd love to have us back. Trip dates will be May 17-25, leaving LAX that Friday evening on a redye and we'll be at the resort by mid-afternoon Saturday. The standard package has improved since we were there last and not only includes room (double-occupancy - you can get single occupancy for an extra $250 which is phenomenally reasonable), all meals, and three dives daily, but now also includes two night dives during the week we're there. Yahoo!!! We'll visit Mary's Place, one of the signature dives on Roatan, as well as hit many other spots along the northwestern part of the island including a couple of wrecks. Roatan offers generally good diving without having to worry about excessive depths or currents and is especially well-suited for those who either haven't been diving in a while or who don't have many dives under their belt. We really enjoyed our previous stays at Anthony's - great food too - and we're looking forward to another wonderful week with them. Cost of this trip - including everything mentioned before as well as the crew tip (but not airfare) - is $2,950 in a Superior Key room. If you want to upgrade to a Deluxe Key room - slightly bigger and a private instead of shared outdoor deck - add $200. Roatan's a wonderful place to dive and is relatively easy to get to - two plane flights - and if you'd like to join us e-mail me here or call 310/652-4990.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT PALAU IN NOVEMBER - We will do one of the two Aggressors there - much better in our opinion than doing land-based - and while we'd like to take the entire boat (18 people total), we can actually make this happen with a smaller group. Trip diving dates are either November 3-10 or 10-17. Prices have risen somewhat since we were last there in 2016 (not really surprising) but it's still a destination that gives you plenty of bang for your buck. We'll fly through Guam and then down to Palau (similar to our Yap trips), arriving Saturday evening and that gives us all day Sunday to rest and reset before boarding the boat. We'll start diving Monday morning on the itinerary known as "Best of Palau" which will hopefully include such fabulous spots as Blue Corner, German Channel, Big Dropoff, Saies Tunnel, Ulong Channel, and more. We can hopefully also get over to Peleliu, site of a major World War 2 battle. The trip cost will come in at $4,450 which covers the boat (all diving and all meals), airport xfers, hotel overnight on the way in, and the crew tip. As wth Roatan, if you're interested, let us know. Sooner is always better, even if you can't yet commit and still need time to think it over.
SEA STAR SEX - And finally, having nothing to do with travel, some good news coming out of Birch Aquarium in La Jolla where there were recently able to induce some Sunflower stars to spawn, This is a big deal because these stars, once quite abundant, have very recently seen a population crash to the point that there's real fear that they could go extinct. So this may provide a key to helping save the species. You can read more about it here:
SEA STARS SPAWN.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week - think about what vacation you want to do with us in 2024 - and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
