Travis on a diving safari in Raja Ampat

Hello there!

So, I haven't been in touch with you for quite a while. But right now, I'm traveling with my two older kids in a region - I absolutely have to tell you about this!

The journey was a bit tedious: From home by car to Amsterdam, then flying from there via Istanbul to Jakarta, and finally onward to Sorong. 

Sorong is in West Papua, which is part of Indonesia and is located far east in the country.

Upon arriving in Sorong, we headed straight to our boat - the Solitude Adventurer - for the next 10 days.

Since my kids wanted to dive, I first inspected everything to ensure they would be safe and comfortable.

I found everything to be good and told them that we could stay there.

So, we set off and already in the afternoon, there was the first dive. It is called a Check Dive. It's where you check if the equipment works and if you have the right amount of weight with you and such. One has to ensure that one actually goes underwater when they want to. Not just float on the surface like a rubber duck.

My kids were pretty impressed when they came back. And it got so much better.

Of course, there were also tons of animals to see underwater. Some of them cannot be found anywhere else. Or at least only rarely.

And clownfish in all shapes and colors...

Of course, the mantas at the dive site 'Four Kings' were a special highlight:

And there were so many fish! Woooaaah!

My kids also really like octopuses and turtles. Look:

The tour went up into the waters around the island of Misool. It was particularly beautiful there. And with three to four dives a day, my kids could see quite a lot underwater.

And it was impressive above water as well. My older kid didn't always sleep well and looked at the beautiful starry sky at night. Unfortunately, I can't show you a picture of that here. But they said there were so many stars to see.

And of course, on the tour, we had wonderful views:

My older kid also climbed up to lookout points.

So, I can tell you that they both - and therefore I as well - have been doing quite well here so far.

There were lots of nice people with us on board. And I have photos with almost all of them - guests and crew - together. However, I'm not sure if they want me to share the pictures here. So, I'll just keep them for my memory.

Now we are in Sorong for two nights. For dinner, we will meet again with four nice people from the ship: Jim and Mike from America as well as Shanna and Ash from Canada. The latter two were always underwater together with my older kids in a group. Apparently it was a great match.

The day after tomorrow, we continue to Kaimana and from there to Triton Bay for two weeks.

It will surely be totally cool and I will report back. Maybe I'll also join for another dive. I'm still thinking about it. It was exciting last time. But I'm also a bit scared. Who knows, maybe curiosity will prevail in the end.

Until then, I send you greetings, also from my two older children, and say goodbye!

Travis, the buddy bear