The outrigger canoes of the western Pacific islands of Yap are famous for their speed, performance and seaworthiness. The combination of hull shape, symmetry, and outrigger allow the craft to be quickly reversed when winds change, without the need to turn the hull around.

Mantas by day and blackwater by night. As the sun sets over the bay, we embarked on nightly explorations of the seemingly bottomless Yap Trench, a chasm that plumbs over 9,000 meters. Here, we encountered exotic denizens of the deep, creatures seldom glimpsed, in their untouched habitat. This experience transformed our perception of the ocean, unveiling its enigmatic depths.

“Yeehaaa!” The resounding call for MantaFest marked the commencement of our 16th annual event in the idyllic surroundings of Yap, Micronesia. The first week was a harmonious blend of excitement, nostalgia, and eager anticipation for the adventures that awaited. Under the radiant sun and on tranquil waters, our first group of guests embarked on what […]

I’m sure that for some, if not most of us, we pictured a different situation when asked this question 4 months ago. In August/September, everything looked so promising. More people got vaccinated and despite the Delta-variant being dominant, it looked like the Holiday season would be kind of “back to normal”. Some of you were ready to travel again, planned that long postponed visit to family or friends or thought a stroll over a Christmas market would be possible again. And then Omicron surfaced.

Initially my plan was to write a blog every three-to-four-weeks, but scrolling through the Facebook posts, I realized it has been eight weeks or so since the last time you heard from me. Is there nothing to share with you? On the contrary, lots of developments are in progress, but none of them give us the answer to the question: “When?”.

It is heartbreaking to see countries around the world struggling to get their citizens vaccinated. Long lines, people showing up for their shots but are sent home without one, people cutting in line, traveling to locations other than their home area, months-long waiting lists… the stories are many. Patricia and I turned in our vaccination […]

While writing down the title of this blog, I got curious where, how and when the phrase “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel” originated. After browsing for an hour or so I gave up as there are so many different versions that I decided that everyone has his/her own tunnel. Therefore, everyone […]

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining and boat trips with my grandkids is something I’ve been looking forward to for many years. Having the “luxury” to pick any day of the week instead of being on the boat with our divers for a few days every week, kind of “bothers” me though. At the […]

Among all the – almost depressing – news from around the world there’s also some good news that reaches our shores. We’re very proud to have been voted in the top 25 of resorts for the (South) Pacific region which included Australia and New Zealand. Knowing that there are more that 20,000 resorts/hotels in this […]

I told my staff back in February when customers were asking about Summer travel plans in view of COVID-19, “If we’re still in a lockdown this Summer, the world has a serious problem”. Everyone likes it when their words became reality, but man I wish I were wrong when I said those words! I am […]

  As many of you know, deep sea fishing is, after diving, my favorite hobby and last Saturday together with my son-in-law Francis, our former maintenance manager Teolu and William, one of our boat captains, we tried our luck. Where basically every dive you do on Yap guarantees you to see beautiful marine life, fishing […]

While sitting here on my porch with a nice cup of coffee, watching the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean and trying to decide what to write to all of you very special people, it dawned on me just how lucky we are here in Yap to have such good Internet connections to the world.  Without […]