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Published: January 1st 2017
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BLACK-EYED HERMIT CRAB
These photos were all taken during my last night dive in the Northwest, just before leaving for Costa Rica. LAUNCHING THE 2016 TRIP
I missed my summer trip this year, due to family business. When my friend, Sarina, mentioned at the dive club meeting that she was going to Costa Rica in early December and I was welcome to tag along I decided to do just that. I thought, “Diving Costa Rica will give me a jump start on another extended dive vacation.”
Because I hadn’t been able to travel this past summer I kicked up my cold water diving activities. I decided to dive with my local dive shop on Thursday evenings. I also did a dive or two with the crew who maintains the Bruce Higgins Underwater Park in Edmonds. And our dive club’s Photo Safari contest kept me busy trying to find and take photos of three underwater critters that we were assigned to photograph each month. I even did three or four night dives searching for the elusive creatures.
Well…my strobes quit working, one after another within a couple of weeks. I couldn’t imagine not taking photos while I am diving, so they had to be replaced. I went to the camera shop, Oceans Optical on Westlake in Seattle and after ordering the
A FRIEND IN THE DARK
This big guy was laying on my fins while I took photos. I thought I felt something behind me??? new Sea and Sea strobes, I bought a new Canon camera with a FantaSea housing. My old camera, an Olympus, is five years old and cannot be upgraded without buying a new housing. The new camera has a wider focus range and a larger viewing screen and lots of other great stuff. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to practice with it before leaving for warmer waters. Hopefully I will understand it better and get flawless photos before I return home.
Last year, after my first week in Cayman Islands, I decided not to dive in South America or the Carribean anymore because it is so much more expensive than S.E. Asia, and, it’s colder, too. Well, not as cold as standing on a windy, rainy beach in the dark after fighting a heavy current in only six feet of water. Wetsuit diving vs. dry suit diving…warm weather vs. cold weather. Not a difficult decision, really. I was set to dive in sunny Costa Rica.
Getting ready for a lengthy dive trip is never easy. I had a lot of loose ends to tie up at home. I’ll be gone during the holidays. I’ll be interrupting the school year
ALABASTER NUDIBRANCH
Divers love slugs, sea slugs that is. (I work part time as a substitute teacher). And I’ll miss the Emerald Sea Dive Club Christmas party! I haven’t missed that in ten years.
In the final hours before leaving for Costa Rica, with lots of help from my Guy, I decided on an itinerary and bought tickets for the rest of the trip. First I picked the return date, February 9
th because I also love to ski. I want to be back in Washington before the snow is gone so I can ski with my grandkids, and my son. Then I planned the countries I wanted to see and the route, starting with my return flight/country, Chile. I settled on fifteen days in Costa Rica, ten days in Panama for diving and sightseeing, and New Years in Curacao for more diving. I’ll fly to Peru to see the Nasca Lines (on my bucket list) and Machu Pichu; then Chile, with a connecting flight to Easter Island for some sightseeing and diving (some of those heads have fallen into the sea). Before catching the plane to Seattle I may go overland to Argentina for a week of tango, visit my good friends at Casona la Boheme in Buenos
SURPRISE!!
I was busy taking photos of this small fish and never saw the octopus hiding under the log. Aires, and see some of the sights up north, time permitting.
My daughter, Lauren and I set up the Christmas tree really early this year. We always leave it up until February, so it will welcome me home. I did a little Christmas shopping, failed to get my Christmas cards addressed and sent, and spent an afternoon visiting my sons and daughters.
I packed my bags and met Sarina for our early flight on December 6
th
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