If you are on Feces Book, there should be nothing new here, other than links to all my photos and videos.
Here is a link to all my Photos and Videos, on SmugMug. There are multiple albums for you to enjoy.
Here is the post I promised, basically a copy of my faceplant posts. For those of you who were not on my e-mail list or my facebook, here is a summary of what's been going on.
Sorry I've not been keeping everybody up to date. I haven't been doing any big story type writing lately, just small posts on Facebook. If you have a facebook account, you can friend me.
The first week of December I flew to Florida to escape the coming winter. Visited some family, some friends that I haven't seen in a long time, and I did some scuba diving in Key Largo. New Year's Eve, I flew to Qatar, the world's best airport, according to them, and then to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, a 26 hour trip gate to gate, about 36 hours door to door.
I was in the Maldives until January 31st, SCUBA diving most days. The trip home was about 48 hours, door to door, but some of that time was sitting at a poolside bar having beers which was good. A bunch of it was sleeping in an airport, which was not good.
I will be "home" for 14 nights before heading out to Peru on Feb 13th for a Motorcycle trip. Back "home" for 4 nights, then to Bonaire for SCUBA for 7 nights. I return "home" for 5 or 6 nights then to the Philippines until May 1st.
After that? I am thinking of resting for a while before my next trip. A week at least.
I still have the bike in Madrid, Spain. I will probably head there in spring. But that depends on a bunch of factors that could change.
Happy New Year everyone.
Bob L
So that you don't feel left out if you're not on Facebook, here are the posts that kind of say what I'm doing, And where I'm going. If you've been following me on Feces book, nothing below here will be new.
Winter is coming. I have an escape plan... Dec 6, leaving for Florida (by plane), hoping for a short cold snap so I can try some Chicken of the Tree (iguana).
Then head to the Maldives for January to scuba. February is still up in the air. Then March/April looks like Peru, the plan of the moment is to buy a honda 300cc and spend a bunch of time wandering around. I should look kinda funny on a fully loaded 300cc bike.
Of course, all plans are subject to change. Covid rules and all that.
Hoping for a real palm tree Christmas Season soon.
Not sad to be leaving this wonderful weather.
Venice, Florida, USA
Now THESE are Christmas Trees
Ohhhh, this is baaaad. 🤣
Some posts are better left un-posted. Couldn't help my self with this one.
Orlando Area, Florida, USA
A friend of mine from Australia had bought an old Cadillac in the USA and and was touring for multiple trips. He left the car in Florida, then covid hit. I told him I could check on the car if he wanted. He ask me if it was possible to take the battery off the charger, and install it, and see if the vehicle would start. Here is what I found where the battery should go. Seemed like more of a cleanup than I had time for. And yes, she's alive. She's just playing possum. I slammed the hood, did a few things, then opened the hood. She was still there. I gave up.
Saint Augustine, Florida, USA
The warm weather suits me.
Key Largo, Florida, USA
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday Sunny and Very Warm. Today cold and rainy. Next few days will have highs just over 70, and lows in the lower 60's. I may have to put long pants on to eat dinner outside. Horrors.
My Sexy Pose.
Merry Christmas to everyone..
Not a lot of christmasy kinds of things under the water, so I give you the Jesus statue. There were plenty of Christmas tree worms, but my camera can't focus in that close.
And it is officially Christmas. Hans Gruber has left the building.
14 hours in a tin can, God there's got to be a another way. (Apologies to Pete Townshend)
Ya know.... I think I'll just drink water. I don't know who or what Pacari is, but I'll pass.
Doha, Qatar .. World's best airport. Just ask them. Some sort of a teddy bear with button eyes, with a desk lamp molded through its head. I'm really not sure about the lamp.
It really is a very good airport. Very clean, lots of high-end shops, good place to walk around. Easy to get from place to place, a few good restaurants and cafes, quiet rooms with lounge chairs to sleep in, family rooms, etc. Plus, there is a hotel on the airport side of security. You can check in for an hour, or 24 hours. But only if you have an onward ticket. So even if you have a 8 or 10 hour layover, it's easy to get some sleep and still get to your flight.
I will be SCUBA diving from a Live-a-Board, basically a scuba cruise.
A good schedule. Missing are pre.breakfast before 1st dive ..... Snacks before and after breakfast .... Elevensies ... Snacks after Lunch .. snacks before 3rd dive .. after 3rd dive meal .. happy hour .. snacks after dinner .. sometimes a night dive.
My first whale shark. A small one, 15 feet or so. . And a friend color corrected the photo. That's the second photo.
Description of video:
Video of Whale Shark on Smugmug
Great scuba trip so far. Lots to see, great diving, Half of the divers and a quarter of the crew, have come down with a 24-hour stomach bug. Nasty but short. I expect I will get it, but maybe I'll get lucky. It appears to be something that's running around the Maldives, not just our boat. The adventures of travel.
So far so good. We just passed the point where half the people on the boat got sick, still half of us to go. People on other boats are getting sick too, it's not just us. Just a quick 24-hour systems cleanse.
EDIT: I never did get it.
The boat and it's tender. I have a few more days left in this boat, and then another 7 days on a slightly smaller boat. Then if all goes well, another 7 days I got another boat mostly diving with sharks.
Some nurse sharks. Completely harmless, but big and beautiful.
This was just about the point where the shark realized it couldn't maneuver around me, and it was going to crash into me. I think I enjoyed it more than the shark did.
Link to this video in Smugmug:
Punching Octo Video
That would be cold even if it were Celsius.
Went from a very nice big room in a very nice big boat, to very nice,,,,, compact room, on a very nice not quite so big boat. The accommodations are excellent, the food is excellent, there is plenty of room, just not quite as roomy as the last place. Let's compare bathrooms. One picture is of the shower in the big boat. The other is a picture of the shower, toilet and sink in the smaller boat. I'll let you figure out which is which.
Edit.. I added some pics of the room itself. It's actually quite spacious for a boat. It's just the toilet that's a little oddly positioned.
Manta Rays... My favorite ocean flyer. What do you call a flock of Mantas?
Thanks Denise ... So a group of Mantas is a "Fever". Good to know.
These were actually Mobula - or Devil Rays. Similar to Mantas, but a little smaller.
