Looks like we’ve survived the summer. It is September now and we’ve had a couple of months of hot, hot, hot, sticky hot weather and humidity, but we survived. Temperatures haven’t really dropped yet, it’s still 36-38 degrees during the day, although less humid so it feels less suffocating but at the same time it feels like the sun is burning stronger. Water temperatures are up to 28-30 degrees although there can be a sneaky…
I have been living abroad off and on for the past three years now. I have been back in The Netherlands, but never more than a few months in a row and those months were more like a holiday / being-between-jobs (in the best possible sense of the word) than living there, if you know what I mean. You’d think I would have gotten the hang of it by now, but I struggle more than ever.…
Finally the question that all of you have been asking….How is the diving in Musandam? To be totally honest, I didn’t come here only for the diving. The primary reasons I made my way to this little corner of the world were wanderlust, wanting to be somewhere different than Southeast Asia and because the deal with my current employer sounded (and turned out to be!) pretty sweet. The dive industry is, after all, not really known for…
1. Arrival in the Dubai (United Arab Emirates). This city is insane. It consists for approximately 80% of highways in a big, entangled mess. An 8-lane highway in the middle of the city. Seriously? 2. There are a lot of really expensive cars that drive in really dangerous ways. Eek. 3. The border crossing into Oman (Musandam) is the easiest border ever. They don’t even stamp your passport! Which is probably a good thing, since mine is…
You would think that after 2 years of travelling & living abroad I know how to deal with something simple as packing. Turns out you’re wrong. The arrival of my brand new 5mm wetsuit the other day almost send me into a panick attack: How will I EVER fit that and ALL my other stuff in bags?! Wait…packing? 5mm wetsuit? What’s going on? I’m moving again! The new destination will be Oman. This…
Rule no. 1 for bloggers is that you should never ever apologize for it being so quiet here and not posting for a while. So I won’t. (But I’m sorry, really). Rule no. 2 for bloggers seems to be that, at the end of the year, you write a post to review one thing or another. So let’s join and review the past year. The Good… Does it make me sound like…
Did I write a few months ago that my life was actually really boring? Well, look at me now. I am back home to catch up with friends and family. It’s been over a month now, and slowly I’m starting to ask myself why on earth I planned to go home for at least three months. Couldn’t I just have done a three week holiday? Like, you know, the majority of the working population?…
Hurray! I have been an instructor for exactly one year now. Let’s celebrate and look back at the life-lessons I have learned from my scuba students in the past year (and hope they learned at least as much from me). People will always come up with ways to surprise you. Even when you think you’ve seen it all and are prepared for every possible scenario, one of your students will come up…
Today I felt like doing a little exercise. The options here are limited: the choice is between running up and down hills while dodging monkeys, motorbikes and burning piles of rubbish or going for a swim. Needless to say, I chose the latter. (I ran for a while but since I’m from a lovely flat country called The Netherlands running uphill is NOT for me and my knees started to complain…) I usually…
[Please hum Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ in your head whilst reading] Today, this friday, marks the start of our last two (TWO!) weeks on Pulau Weh. The lovely, beautiful island that has been my home for the past year. And god, I’ll miss this place. Time is going so fast now. The dive center is surprisingly busy for a post-high season September so there is not so much time for reflection, but…