Nad Resort Manado

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 ...

... eel that lies in the sand poking only its head out, and attempts to resemble the poisonous sea snake. It gave us a bit of a shock when the guide was able to coax it out of its hole and it started swimming around. More creepy!! And finally, we also saw our first seahorse! Very cool, and not easy to come across. With the dive day complete, we're headed back to ...

... parts of the market were spectacular and were filled with all kinds of fresh foods. The tables were incredible mosaics of colors and textures and made for some fun photography. While at the market, we also got to experience a sudden tropical rain storm. There's a reason stalls are covered with tarps, and they were certainly put to good use! Our next stop was at the sulphur ...

... do mean everything. The walls are absolutely covered with life, and we couldn't believe there could be that many species of corals, fish and invertebrates in any one location. You could litterally spend the whole hour's dive looking at a 5 square foot area and be completely content. It's a photographer's dream!! The boat ride out was magical. We were immediately rewarded with a pod of pilot whales ...

... on the road first hand, if not his own. Other than the numerous taxi's (some illuminated with tacky neon lights), most Manadoians got around by scooter or dirt bike. And there are no traffic laws like speed limits or right of ways. If there was an opportunity to make a turn or pass another, they went for it! We've never heard so much ...

... including a huge one known as Grandpa), a Sea Snake, Scorpion Fish, Lion Fish. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. I only wish I had an underwater camera so I could show you! I am feeling a lot more comfortable diving now which means that I can take more notice of my surroundings now rather than concentrating on just staying alive. I can't wait to get to the Philippines and do some more!

... we were there, and on our arrival, Raf expressed his relief at being able to shoot the **** in English for a while. We were shown to our room at the top of the hill. It was quite nice, with a queen bed and a single bed for Nate, mosquito nets, bathroom with hot shower, etc. The grounds were immaculate and filled with nice plants and trees and an assortment of animals: 3 dogs, a few puppies and Fred - an ancient rooster. Fred was an old ...

... huge round eyes. Our photos showed loads of the little fellas clustered at the top of the tree and even one of the little fellas posing for pictures about halfway up, gripping onto a root inside the tree with its unnaturally long fingers. Seeing these rarest of creatures (they only live in Sulawesi) really made our day and we headed back to Manado having made plans to kidnap one asap to be our mascot for the trip. More photos to follow soon, so please check back...

... were told. My curiosity ended when I met with rows of blow-torched bats, each of them had a terrible facial expression and bared fangs. It looked like they died a horrible and excruciating death. Next to them were dogs with half their stomach cut out and their guts spilling onto the table. They even have blow-torched rats for sale. My eyes must have popped right out of my sockets as I went from ...

... we still ended up staying for 2 days. Selective memory paves the way for blind optimism. Well, gotta go, we're gonna try to get our movie fix in. We have a choice between Wings of the Dove (never heard of it, sounds weepy), Turbulence 2 - Garbage In The Sky, and some other **** that in North America would be classified as "straight to video". But a movie's a movie, and they have popcorn here that is just as unhealthy and addictive as the stuff at home. Buh-bye, all.