diving tagged posts

In Asia, Thailand 2004 On  07/12/2004  No comments

We decided to continue the car journey to see some places on the island we haven’t have time to see. The first stop was the Bo Phut pier. Interesting because the small wooden quay gave us an enormous peaceful feeling. We drove to the Big Buddha, a huge statue of a golden Buddha. The statue of almost 20 meters height was built in 1972. There was also Buddhas with monkeys, I had read about them but until then I haven’t seen. I liked the place because it looked like Thailand a lot. It was not anymore a tourist island with resorts; here it was a place full of faith and beliefs. The rest of the day we spend relaxing on the sun beds of the hotel: sun, sea and coconut tree shade. Walking on the beach I saw a glass bottle with many seashells stuck to it. That reminded me the sandal from the other beach. Once more the nature was showing its strength.

Our last day on the island we had reserved for a dive trip. We went to Koh Tao for diving...

In America, Diving & Snorkeling, Nordeste 2003, Hiking/Trekking On  05/11/2003  2 comments

This was the second time I visited the island. In order to remember everything, I did a buggy tour with Cinara, Carlos Alberto and José Carlos, who I met in the flight from Recife. Our guide, Bruno, showed us the most important tourist attractions of the island. We started on a tip called AirFrance, which, according to Bruno, was the place where an aircraft from that company landed. Nearby we visited “Buraco da Raquel”and “Enseada da Caieira”. Then we went to Baia do Sueste, where we did snorkeling. The place is known for having sea turtles, besides, of course, many small fishes. We saw three turtles. When we were already swimming back to the shore, the guide pinched me to show a small shark beside us. When I turn to look, he was swimming away from us.

After the snorkeling, we walked on the trails of Baia dos Golfinhos, Baia do Sancho and Baia dos Porcos. From up there we can have a great view from the Dois Irmãos islands, a postcard picture from Fernando de Noronha...

In Spain, Traveled places, Cycling & Diving in Catalonia 2003 On  13/07/2003  2 comments

Liked the experience of a weekend by the beach that I decided to repeat, this time I went to Palamós . I left Barcelona early in the morning and as soon as I got in Palamos I went straight to the dive center. We arranged the equipment and went by boat to “Cuevas del Eden Rock”, a dive site with caves. We went into 3 different caves. For me it was good that in the caves we could see the way out. Since I am claustrophobic that it is very important. It gives me the ideas I am not tied up. As I know myself I didn’t stay too long inside the caves, I went into and out to the other site pretty fast, small places really bother me.

After the dive I had lunch, went to the hotel to leave my stuff and went to
the beach to take a nap. Great! I slept with the sounds of the sea. By the end of the afternoon I walked by the beach. I stopped to see a huge group of men and women dancing “Sardana”, the typical dance from Catalonia.

It impressed me a lot here is the huge number of seniors...

In Traveled places, Cycling & Diving in Catalonia 2003 On  09/06/2003  One comment

Lately I have been missing the ocean so much. I’ve watched on TV a documentary about whales and I got a incredible desire for diving. In a bookstore, getting some books for the university, I bought a book by Garcia  Marquez called “The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor”. I got home, sat down the sofa and just left when I had finished the book. It was really good, I could feel the sea.

In order to satiate this will of being in the water I decide to spend some  weekends diving in Costa Brava. The first place was Lloret de Mar. I got a bus early in the morning to get there with time to do two immersions the same day.

From the bus station I went straight to the dive center. There I met 3 Portuguese guys from   Porto. We went on a boat to a dive site called Bolets. The sea was calm and the water cold. The visibility was “sort of” good. We saw many small fishes and a lobster...

In America, Bonito and Pantanal 2002 On  15/12/2002  No comments

The Recanto Ecológico do Rio da Prata is in Jardins, a town 54km far from Bonito. The trip was too far to be done with a moto-taxi. I end up getting a hide from a “carioca” couple and his son João. There, we got the equipment (wetsuit, boots, mask and snorkel). Then we hiked by the river for an hour and a half. Almost every tour in this region has this kind of hikes. I consider them important because it is when the guide explain about the environment and he give a class on ecological awareness. It is worth it, the places are so beautiful and it is necessary to preserve.

We went in the water at the spring of Rio Olho D´água and there started snorkeling. We came back to our starting point by the river, following the stream. We didn’t have to swim, neither move the legs, it was just lay down on the water and let the river take you. Good! The river was very clear and we could see a great amount of fishes.

Back to the farm house we had a lunch with typical food...

In America, Bonito and Pantanal 2002, Hiking/Trekking On  13/12/2002  2 comments

After a 24h trip I got in Bonito really tired. I spent the afternoon in the pool sunbathing, something that becomes precious when you live in Europe.

On my second day I went to visit the “Gruta do Lago Azul”, 18km from town. I got Edson’s moto-taxi to get there. These taxi by motorcycle are very popular in Bonito. In the cave I met a group of students from Dourados, a city in Mato Grosso do Sul. I thought it was funny their curiosity towards me. I think all of them asked me where I came from. Some would get impressed.

The cave is beautiful. After going down about 400 meters we arrived at the “Blue Lake”. The clear water made possible to see the stones on the bottom. I liked to observe everybody wispering: “How beautiful!” or “It is really blue!”, “The water is so clear!”

The afternoon tour was Bonito Aventura, about 4 km from town. There I met the manager, Janaina, who explained me the tour. We tried on the wet suit and sandals...

In Europe, Traveled places, Turquia 2002 On  22/09/2002  One comment

One of the reasons to come to Turkey was to relax on the beach on sunny days. I chose Bodrum to do that. When I got there I was homesick. I missed the white sand beaches from Brazil. There wasn’t a sand beach but a pebble one, not comfortable to lay down.

I spend a day diving. I haven’t been diving for more than a year and I really need to. The dives were great, not for what I saw but for the fact of being underwater again. This make me happy. I decided I have to dive more often. I liked to see that in the boat there were many Turkish couples diving. It wasn’t like in some Asian countries that I had been diving and in the boat there was only foreigners. When I see local people also diving I have the feeling that they are also enjoying their country, not leaving only to the foreigners.

Next day I visited the castle in Bodrum. It houses the museum of marine archeology. I imagined the archeologist’s work diving and finding objects lost 2000 year ago. It must be incredible...

In America, Adventure, Cycling tour, Ecuador 2001, Diving & Snorkeling On  11/05/2001  No comments

A week in Santa Cruz Island was enough to everybody knows me there. Beyond the fact that Puerto Ayora city is so small, there was also not many tourists around, it was low season and the airport was closed. The island has good attraction; one that I liked was bird watching sitting by the dock, especially watching pelicans and herons feeding themselves. Another activity was to see the enormous turtles in Charles Darwin Station.

The Tortuga Bay, about 3 km walking distance from the city center, is one of the most beautiful places in the region. It is a white sand beach, waves in the sea and some natural pools. I also rented a bike to visit the countryside of the island, to see small towns like Bela Vista.

I was there because i wanted to go diving. I stayed inland and got a boat every day to the dive site. As there was not so many tourists on the island,  there was not many options of diving tours. I end up doing 6 great dives. The first two dives were in a place called Gordon Rocks...

In America, Ecuador 2001 On  03/05/2001  One comment