New group trip set for next April – don’t miss it! Travelling with a Swiss group is about the most laid back thing to happen to a diver. The good news: Tour Operator Hang Loose and its owner Urs Maring, who has put together hand-selected travel packages for many years, will soon set up his second group trip to Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers for next April. For inquiries, please contact Urs: tauchen@hangloose.ch. OK, now the long version… The diving world obviously is a small one, and seeing fellow divers spotting Manta Ray Bay shirts and shorts from our boutique on other trips, is always a treat, of course. Still I was really caught off guard when I saw six(!) of my Swiss dive buddies on a Manta Ray Bay dress code mission for dinner. On a liveaboard trip to Isla de Coco, Costa Rica… wow! Definitely a good reason to ask how they liked staying with us on that certain last night of a dive cruise… Get your wings at Manta Ray Bay Resort! Isidor: „Impressive to say the least was the encounter with the mantas in Mi’l Channel. While it was expected, it still was unexpected somehow. One second the water coloumn was empty, a blink of an eye later they were already there, hovering closer and closer on their wings.“ Rolf: „Yes, that is when I felt so awe-struck I almost had tears in my eyes. My girlfriend Christine, who is ‘only’ snorkelling was looked after in a very loving way. She was able to witness the mantas from the surface while we did the same diving. The guides… well, we felt real trust there and that is special. When we arrived, Jan and Detlef were immediately there for us. We did combine Palau and Yap back then in late 2011, but the next time we will surely spend much more time in Yap. Apart from the great diving, there is just a very natural way of ‘just being’.“ Oliver: „I really, really also liked the personal atmosphere, the feeling when you’ve arrived, the own microbrewery, Bill himself – it really is a world of its own.“ Tom: „If I think of Yap I automatically think of Vertigo. Many grey sharks and diving in a visibility… like diving in gin. Not to forget the mantas!“ Vanessa: „Yap… (laughing)… isn’t that the place where people call mantas by name? And where you will find the best wahoo sashimi in the world. In all honesty: You just don’t stay just in Palau and miss out on Yap – that’s simply a no-go!“ Dieter: „I just say: Stammtisch and Vertigo – two sensational spots. To be repeated over and over again. Outstanding visibility meets mantas meets sharks meets diversity. These are some of the best dive sites I have ever seen in the world!” Wow, such kind words in the end of a liveaboard trip to Cocos Island – and now that is great company when it comes to the very pinnacle of dive spots – that really made my day!