Underwater News
On my Big Animals trips, it's the locals who make the difference in our journey. Observing Cubanos' colorful, robust and up beat tempo overshadows the limitations I've observed imposed on their lives. They live in a city and countryside that is basically "frozen in time". There is a fifty-year "time warp".
San Crist?bal de la Habana or Havana, Cuba's capital city is only a short ninety miles from Florida. Having visited the island country four times, I have fallen in love with its beauty, culture, and now its scuba diving. Yes, I would rate Havana as a city comparable to Paris, Rome, Oslo, London and even Shanghai.
Travel to Cuba is now permissible for US citizens through cultural exchange programs sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, which in the first phase of my journey gave me the freedom to interact in the daily activities of the Cuban community, experiencing their architecture, history, art, culture, and the music of daily life in and around Havana.
In the second phase of the trip, I visited the Gardens of the Queen to witness first hand the efforts being taken to preserve and protect a marine ecosystem that is unique to the southern coast of Cuba. "Jardines de la Reina" was declared a Marine Park in 1996. By limiting t...
Killer Times with Killer Whales
Join us on one of the most exciting of our Big Animal Expeditions in one of the world's most beautiful locations.
During Norway's frigid winter, its majestic Arctic coastline and stunning fjords attract voluminous schools of herring, which in turn attract pods of Orcas. After determining the direction baitfish are being chased by resident Orcas, we will pursue these magnificent mammals until we can slip silently into the water for close up views and photographs of these magnificent mammals satiating their huge appetites.
The trip is greater enhanced by the pod's social behavior. Not unlike the humpback whales unique "bubbling" feeding technique, Orcas display an activity called "carouseling". Swimming under schools of herring, they exhale volumes of air bubbles to separate herring schools. Separated and carried helplessly towards the surface, smaller bait balls make easy pickings for hungry pods.
An activity witnessed by only a handful of snorkelers allows you the privilege to view the whale during its unique feeding behavior. Quietly, two of us at a time will slip into the water to observe the pod feeding. While we are snorkeling and free-diving, Orcas, curious by nature, will amaze us with very cl...
We can't say HONDURAS is unknown to scuba divers. Roatan is known and so is Utila, both of them dive locations that do attract scuba divers, mostly from the US, and do provide plenty of dive centers and all the dive logistics, keen divers do expect.
And then there are the CAYOS COCHINOS, a group of small islands just between the mainland of Honduras and Roatan. Cochinos Cays are a group of two small islands (15°58'18.99"N86°28'31.34"W) (Cayo Menor and Cayo Grande) and 13 more small coral cays situated 30 kilometres (19mi) northeast of La Ceiba on the northern shores of Honduras.
The Cayos are part of the Bay Islands (Islas de la Bahía ), some people still like to call them Hog Islands, referring to the famous pirate Henry Morgan who ( this it what the legends tells ) "planted" hogs on these cays so he and his pirate fellows would have meat on their return trips.
Around 100 people (Garifuna people) are living on those islands, and yes, scuba-diving is possible! "The Cayos Cochinos reefs are the least disturbed ecosystem in the Bay Islands. The waters around this collection of coral cays are a marine biologist's dream: protected by the government, off-limits to commercial divers and fishermen, and busy with creatures that ...
Usually the word we all love, diving, always gives us the idea of sea, sun, tropical temperatures and nobody would think to go in the middle of winter to Norway to enter the water with killer whales and humpback whales.
The journey is very difficult because, once you reach Oslo, it takes another two flights, with few frequencies, to get to Andenes, a small town on the tip of a fjord in the middle of the North Sea.
In January, the sunlight is very little, about 5 hours, and the sun rises just a few degrees above the horizon.
Nevertheless, I assure you that, except for the very cold and the dark that still creates a very special atmosphere, the emotions that you can experience in a trip of this kind are endless, both in the water and in the fantastic landscapes culminating with the opportunity of watching the amazing spectacle of the Northern Lights.
The trip needs to be very well organized and nothing should be left to chance.
The apartments where to stay are very few and hotels and practically non-existent. You land at an airport having a small room where collecting your luggage and just one employee.
From there, you calmly exit to the square serving also as a small parking lot.
I traveled with
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