Santika Premiere Seaside Resort Manado

... course, rice paddies. We trecked up the Love Hills where Buddhist, Christian (Catholic and Protestant), Muslim and Hindu religions were represented by buildings and statues spread over an impressive volcanic mountainside with sulphur clouds oozing from the hot rocks. The Minahasa people of the region still believe in the spirit stories, and 2 large faces are carved in the rocks - sort of his and hers guardian angels. The local delicacy is corn on the cob cooked in the ...

... klovnikalan. Naimme myos ilmeisesti korallikaarmeen, joka tuli pohjasta pintaan (hengittamaan?) ja luikerteli sitten takaisin alas korallien sekaan. Ankerias ei kai olisi moista tehnyt, vai? Taudesta kuusta johtuen vuorovesivaihtelut olivat Bunakenilla nyt tavallistakin suuremmat ja naapurissa sukelluspaikkaa pitava aussimies kavi erikseen varoittelemasta vaarallisen voimakkaista virtauksista, kun vesi alkaisi laskea. Niinpa snorklasimme kiltisti vain silloin, kun ...

20 Dollars less in our pocket, a lot closer to the equator. After an amazing final night in Bunaken we took the ferry back to Manado. From there, the bus to Gorontalo. A nine hour jeep ride through tiny villages, by an abundance of rice fields, passing election posters, rivers and not so solid bridges. When we reached the mountain range the drive became less pleasent as the many curves that our driver had to enter with a speed of 80 km/h kept ...

... the way though the towns, we also saw many, many houses with tropical plant nurseries in their yards. This is the starting point for many of the exotic house and yard plants we buy in the US. We may very well have driven by your next plant purchase at Lowe's, Home Depot or Lynn's Gift & Garden! And they were absolutely beautiful. We also drove by several bird houses. We ...

... what we think were Jacks swimming right below. Sweet! The current was a bit stronger on this wall than it was on the first dive, so it was a little harder to stop when taking pictures or checking out a critter. Soon all of us got the hang of it though. After just a few minutes, we found a beautiful nudibranch and I think a large pregnant puffer fish or parrot fish that measured ...

... of deja vu hit me yesterday during the morning ablutions, when suddenly my cottage on the beach (yep, I'll upload the piccies sometime) on Pulau Bunaken started shaking. Just like in May in China, just a case of another earthquake hitting, fairly minor here, but probably somewhat heavier elsewhere in Indonesia. So, just letting you all know again that I'm okay. Have a beer on that. Cheers!

After settling in our hotel, we decided to leave to Bunaken at 6:30am the next day. Bunaken is a part of the Bunaken National Marine Park and it boasts one of the most diverse marine biodiversity in the world. Many tourists come to this beach area to scuba dive or snorkel to see the corals. My father, I have no clue how, managed to rent a boat just for me and his colleagues. The ride from Manado's marina to the Bunaken area took about 45 minutes ...

... in reception. we were treated as celebrities and after about 100 picyures with various members of the family, followed by eating and karaoke and dance. They were so nice! Our next day we took another trip through the forest, saw a few more new birds, including another kingfisher. We also discovered reefs within the park, which were quite nice, and we saw a bunch of unusual creatures, including the strangest fish I have ever seen, with a rounded back tail, what loked to be 4 ...

... Francozinja in francoski Svicar, in smo se bili precej veseli, tako da smo kar nekaj casa potovali skupaj. Ampana je obmorsko mestece s prijetnim vzdusjem in sluzi kot izhodisce za Togeansko otocje, kamor smo sli naslednji dan tudi mi. A se prej je bilo ponoci, ob 3h treba pogledat tekmo med Nemcijo in Italijo. Si predstavljate razsuto mesto, kjer pa je sredi noci organiziran ogled nogometa, vseh tekem. 2 bigscreena, kakih 300 ljudi, spremljevalni program z zrebanjem ...

Salut tout le monde ! Ben je sais ca fait un bail que je n'ai plus rien ecrit.....la fin du voyage approche et avec elle la fatigue des derniers 4 mois s'accumule :-) Je suis donc reparti pour Bunaken et Manado, au nord de Sulawesi, pour faire de la plongee. J'y suis deja alle en 2004 (si vous voulez voir un peu plus de photos, switchez sur mon ancien blog). Arrivee au paradis, une barriere de corail quasi intacte a quelques metres de mon ...