Fortunately Super Typhoon Paolo, packing 240 km/hr and gusts reaching 296 km/hr veered away from the Philippines towards Japan and we were able to board the overnight Ferry to return from Romblon to Batangas. As the storm was approaching we got heavy rain that flooded some streets and wind that destroyed bridges in islands south from us. Luckily on the day of our departure from "The Three P" Dive Resort in Romblon, Philippines the storm started to turn away and we had a fairly smooth 8 hr overnight ride. Just in the middle of the crossing it got a little bumpy but and I heard a few people waking up but later I heard that the bumps mid way are quite normal. The ferry gets cancelled only in extreme weather conditions so hearing that it was ... read more

Once I finished my culinary training in Ashburton school I wanted to try some of the best food in London and of course enjoy at least one of the many Michelin star restaurants in London. One of my yacht chef friends suggested to go to "Chez Bruce" Restaurant http://www.chezbruce.co.uk/ one of the restaurants that has held a Michelin star the longest...20 years I read somewhere. The food was excellent, well prepared traditional English food. Nothing crazy modern or over the top techniques it was great food and well presented and the price was right. Then I met another private chef, my dear friend Fiona and we went for my last walk in London city, watched a very controversial american play about religion and culture, then she took me to "Nopi" one of Ottolengui's restaurants and we ... read more

I finished working the Med Season and I looked at my location (Imperia Porto Maurizio) in the map of Italy to find an interesting place to go while I wait for my training classes to start. Cinque Terre was just 3 hours away by train. I headed straight there. On my way I was texting a friend of mine that was in France and she decided to meet me there and spend a few days exploring and doing gastronomy excursion accompanied by sightseeing and wine tasting. We rented a cute little apartment in La Spezia up in a hill by a church with amazing views of the city and the marina. The buses were limited but quickly we got used to go up and down the hundreds of steps that would take us straight down to ... read more

We decided to take a break from the diving and once a week we are trying to get to know the Balinese culture a little bit better. Today it was a Balinese Dance Day. We missed the Barong Dance because it is from 9:30 to 10:30 am in Sanur which is 3 hrs from our hotel and in the same place they do the fire dance at night so we went for that one. We didn't think the show was amazing as we have seen really out of this work fire dance spectacles. But it was fun to have a day going through the island. Here are a few shots that we could rescue from very low light conditions. Later I will update this blog with info about the location of the show and more details. ... read more

I thought it would be a good idea to break from the diving routine once a week and go for a landscape photographic adventure and choose a different location each time. Bali has a lot of temples, some facing the mountains, some facing the sunset, some facing the sunrise, some facing the water. All sorts of people from all over the world to visit them for different reasons: to admire the Arquitecture or the gardens, tradition, spirituality...I find them energizing and peaceful, with a lot of healing powers from crossing vibes from generations and generations of visitors. We chose to go visit the water temple in Beratan Lake: Pura Ulun Danu in Danau Beratan, Tabanan Bali as its one of the most dramatic visually because of its location up in the mountains besides a lake. Beratan ... read more