Found!

Engaged!

2010-08-31T22:51:00.002+11:00

Just thought I would let you all know if you did not already, that Emma and I are engaged, sorry if I was not able to tell you personally first, as there are so many people, and so hard to get in contact with people overseas, so thought this would be easier! The rest of this is written by Emma, as I reckoned she would give a better account. We are both extremely happy, and now busy with plans, but nothing is very concrete yet but we are just planning a small ceremony sometime in the near future.

Luke

As you may already know, Luke proposed to me last night in Cardiff Bay (I still have a big smile on my face)! I had the day off work as someone did a swap with me, so when Luke found this out he said 'Lets dress up nice tonight and go for dinner down the Bay seeing as you have worked so much recently'. I love getting dressed up so did not hesitate at all,I had no idea about what was going to happen!

We had a lovely dinner in a posh restaurant looking over the water on a little table that was tucked away, the sky was bright blue outside and the evening was starting to set in. At the end of the meal I was talking about John's (Luke's brother) wedding to Laura...then Luke said 'Talking of weddings'...He got up from his chair and got down on one knee and pulled a very sparkly diamond ring from his pocket (and his hands were shaking), I said 'oh my gosh' and then he asked 'Emma, will you marry me?' I said 'Of course I will, YES!'. Then he asked me 'which one is your left hand?' and even I could not figure my left from my right in that moment!! I was not expecting it at all! The ring is just beautiful, stunning infact. Ever since I have just been holding my hand up and looking at it, making it sparkle in the light and showing Luke how much it sparkles! I am so incredibly happy, I am on top of the world. I never thought I could experience this much happiness and excitement. Oh yes I forgot, a waiter had seen Luke propose, so shortly after they bought us 2 complimentary glasses of pink champagne!

We walked around outside afterwards, we both had huge smiles on our faces, we bought a celebratory drink, then went home and opened a bottle of champagne. It was such a nice day as it was my parents 25th wedding anniversary too, and a year (minus one day) since we first met in the Gizo Hotel for dinner.

Today we went to Cardiff castle, and took more photos of us together, we have attached one - on top of the castle with a good view over Cardiff. The first photo is just after Luke has proposed....And the ring, is the engagement ring and the wedding band....but now Luke has taken the wedding band back (for now) so I am wearing the half with the big diamond in at the moment. Luke bought the ring in America in June and had hidden it very well all this time! I love that the ring has come from America it is very unique!

Hope that all makes sense, I am still so very excited.

See you soon, take care!

Emma xx

A Visit to London

2010-08-27T02:01:00.001+11:00

Well after almost two months here, I finally had a visit to London. Emma and I were going to a friends party in London, so I took a bus down a day early to do some sightseeing, and learned just how big London is! I have never been to a city so large, but that was part of the fun, wandering around and getting lost. Luckily though my bus dropped me off at Victoria Station, in the middle of downtown, which made starting my day easy! I walked just a few blocks and saw Buckingham Palace, but the changing of the guards ceremony was cancelled; there were hundreds of people waiting around for it still. Note: The guards that have the big bear fur hats, and can't move, are very far away behind a big fence so you can't annoy them, and even had police officers with automatic rifles beside them! I was a bit disappointed at that, and did not even get to see the Queen! But I don't envy her, as millions of people are always trying to peer into her house.

Next I looked on my map to head down to the Parliament House, and see the clock. Now as England is big with Pub Quiz's I will pose a question here, I did not see "Big Ben", why? (I'll Put a hint at the end). Again Parliament house was surrounded with lots of guards, barriers you could not drive a tank through, and rather mean looking people, so I did not stick around long, as I was a bit intimidated by all the people. By now I was only two hours into my trip but quickly realized my budget was not big enough! I would reckon for a day in London you need at least £70 about $100 USD to do a bit of sight seeing, getting around, shopping, and eating your meals and enjoying a few pints! Most of the attractions (Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Private Museums etc) are about £15-20 for tickets! Lunch was £10 and I could not even find a fast food place :( So if you visit set a big budget so you can enjoy yourself and see what you really want to. I did really enjoy my day and got a good feel for the city.

After lunch it was low tide, and I walked down the bank of the Thames River, and noticed lots of things in the Mud. I had heard from a diver in Gizo that the banks were full of old artifacts, clay bowls etc. I think it was a bit exaggerated as all I found were bones, animal bones I hoped. It seemed to be lots of pork ribs, and chicken bones! I then followed a walk along the river, that is the Queens Millennium walk, or something like along those lines, which took me past the rebuilt Globe Theatre, and up towards the Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge. I was going to go into the Tower of London, but it was full. I then started making my way to Waterloo station on the Underground, to take the tube to a friends house where I was saying. The Tube, was like I expected, busy and crowded, lots or track failures, but in the end I got where I needed too. I defiantly enjoyed myself, and will go back with a bigger budget and see more! It is a huge place you could defiantly spend days and days getting around.

People were very helpful giving directions, and always asked if I was Canadian! That is something I have noticed overseas, as I think Canadians are touchy about being called American, so people always ask if you are Canadian first. I always say with pride I am American! And Canada, sorry you just have some sort of misplaced chip on your shoulder :) I look forward to going back to London for a few days with Emma, and hopefully seeing a show there too!

Luke

Pub Quiz Hint: I did not see "Big Ben" but I did hear it......

Castles and More

2010-08-20T02:13:00.002+11:00

Chepstow Castle

Tintern Abbey

Roman Baths

Bath Abbey

Caerphilly Castle

Hello Everyone!

After a long wait we are now in the modern age with Internet in our flat! This is so exciting so I figured I would take some of the infinite time that I seem to have and update my blog a few times, and share with you what Emma and I have been up to! We have done quite a bit of sightseeing as there is just so much to see and do here. We have been to a number of castles and small towns. Many of the Castles here were built in the 10th to 12th centuries and used for centuries after that. That is about all I know of the history, but each has a unique story that makes them interesting. Most are in ruins, but offer splendid views, and are tucked away in quaint country towns that are built around the castles. Each castle is always in a strategic position for defence, but nowadays that generally means it has great views of the surrounding countryside and rivers!

We have been to two different ones, Castle Coh and Caerphilly, now that were renovated at the end of the nineteenth century by a very wealthy man (suspected to be the richest in the world at the time) from Cardiff, the 3rd Marquess of Bute. This gives you an exciting view into how the castles would have looked shortly after construction as they spent lots of time and money researching how the castles were decorated and furnished, which gives you a great view into the lives during medieval times.

So far we have visited:
Castle Coch
Chepstow Castle
Caerphilly Castle
Tintern Abbey

We also took a day and visited the Roman Bath's, which are ironically located in a an English town named Bath, after ????. Here you can take a step back in time to visit the Roman Baths that were built around 45 AD (Wikipedia). They are amazing as you can walk on the same stones the Romans did. They have been excavated, as the city has been built up around them, so much of it is underground. It has been the most interesting thing we have done so far, as there is so much original stone work. The Romans did live a life with quite a few luxuries. The city itself is gorgeous as most buildings are still built from stone and it gives a great feeling to the place. There is also Bath Abbey, a large cathedral in town, that is still in amazing condition, It has beautiful tapestries, and paintings on all of its plaster walls and great detail in the architecture. It was thrilling just to sit outside at a cafe staring at such a beautiful place!

I will update more later about what we have been up to and try to put in more photos.

Luke

2010-07-11T02:17:00.001+11:00

2010-07-11T02:16:00.001+11:00

2010-07-11T02:12:00.001+11:00

Welcome to Wales!

2010-07-11T02:10:00.002+11:00

Well I have been flaky while updating the blog lately, but as you can imagine moving from the S. Pacific to Wales, is quite the task with lots of flights, family visits, and border crossings involved. Well I have finally finished it all and am in the UK, settling nicely for a VISIT, not working!

On June 27th Emma and I set off for London on separate flights from Atlanta, hers was routed through Toronto which had some bad weather delaying her by an hour. Mine was routed through Pittsburgh, Boston, Iceland, and finally London. I arrived anxious to enter the UK and see Emma on the other side of customs, but there was a hitch. As an American you may visit the UK for up to 6 months, so that is what I was intending to do, but as they made it perfectly clear they did not want me there that long.

I was detained while entering the country, as they did not believe that I would not be working, and was put into detainment for five hours. I expected odd emigrants from around the world to be in there with me, but was surprised to find it was only another young American guy, about 20, and a 30 year old Australian. All of us were visiting our girlfriends, the other two for only short periods of time.    I guess the English have become quite protective of their women!

After being interviewed twice, while they also conducted phone interviews with Emma and her parents, going over my finances, and plans, they decided I could come into their lovely country.   They were very clear that I cannot work, and even pointed out that I could not perform music in any forms, they even asked me in my interviews if I was a musician, I sang for them, and they suddenly believed that I would never be able to make it as a musician. Luckily they did not need Simon Cowell to tell me that, the customs agent was a bit nicer.

After leaving the airport we drove back to Wales, about 2.5 hours from London, and started packing Emma's stuff to move. Our new apartment is a new build, and very nice and comfortable inside. Everything is a bit different here, the roads are tiny, the cars are tiny, and the houses and buildings are tiny. In contrast I actually feel quite tall now, as everything else is, as we said Tiny. We also found out some great news that Emma passed her exams and is now a Doctor.

After the move we went back to Emma's home to meet her family for the weekend, and to celebrate her finishing Medical School. It has been a trial over the past six years for her and her parents, as they listened to her vents about school, and supported her. Both of her parents were great, and we met her brother and sister and their lovely partners, and attended her cousins wedding. After the weekend we made our way back from Portsmouth to Wales, about 2.5 hours drive, and stopped by Stone Henge on the way. It was incredibly interesting, as the stones have been in place for thousands of years. They had a great audio tour explaining the history, and how they have changed over time. There were also a few fanatics in robes around the stones too supporting Druid religion.

We then enjoyed the rest of the drive by staying off of the motor way and touring through the country side a bit. It is so beautiful; everything is old and laid out very well between rows of hedgerows, fields, and small towns. We stopped in a small pub for a pint and some lunch, it is true they do drink the beer at room
temperature, but that is quite chilly here compared to home! I have been wearing a fleece jacket most days, as lots of days are rainy and overcast, with highs in the 60's F. We also got a bit lost on the way back and came across a town that is entirely preserved as a country Manor, which is where part of Harry Potter has been filmed and Pride and Prejudice.

This week we have been exploring Cardiff more, and went to the beach about an hour away which was very different to ours, it was like the beach from the movie the Goonies, with caves, and hollows in large rock out croppings. I kept looking for a pirate ship full of gold but never found it.

I have put in some photos, and will hopefully be better at this soon, but we still do not have internet. I also do not like the keyboards, as the spacing is different and I mistype more, guess I will have to get used to now. Due to the immigration restrictions my plans are to visit here until November or December and then come back to the US and get a seasonal Job for the Christmas season in Florida at a dive shop while we sort out a better visa which would allow me to work here.
Luke

Found in the UK

2010-07-03T20:05:00.001+11:00

Well I have made it safely to the UK with Emma. We got in at noon, and were out of the airport by 5am, as there borders is very secure, the US border could learn a thing or two about this! Then drove the two and a half hours to Cardiff. The next day we got up and started moving Emma to our new flat, which took most of the day, but was nice to get settled. The new flat Emma got is very nice, and is brand new. It has two large bedrooms, a modern stainless steel kitchen, and lovely furnshings. It is on the second floor over looking a busy street, so it is a bit noisy but it is nice to see all of the happenings down below.

This weekend, we are home at her parents house in Portsmouth, and the weather is great, but the weather forcast today was "Across England today there will be sunshine and rain showers". We are attending a wedding this afternoon, and are just cleaning up this morning from a congratulations party Emma's folks had for yesterday evening where her family and neighbors came around to drink champagne and seek medical advice. I will get the blog updated more next week with photos, but we have been flat out moving and finding things. Miss you all already, but thanks for a great visit home last month!

Luke

Home Sweet Home

2010-06-15T13:42:00.001+11:00

Sorry I have been bad about updating on here. I am home now for another two weeks, and have been enjoying all of it. The family, friends, air con, fast food, steaks, new beers, all of it. I miss the Solomons and my friends there but am also excited about what is coming up in my life.

Look for new updates from the UK!

Luke

Heading Home

2010-05-23T10:16:00.001+11:00

Hello,

Well I am finally headed home after 24 months of bouncing around the Pacific. If you have not heard my plans I figured I would lay them out on here and put down the flight details. So I am leaving Gizo a bit early, because I met a Girl! A beautiful English Girl named Emma White. So I am heading home (to Georgia) May 25, and will be there visiting, and on June 17th Emma will come so you all can meet her, then June 27th we are both headed back to the UK, and will live in Cardiff Wales. Emma is a student doctor that finishes her Exams June 16th. Then will celebrate her end of exams in the US.

My flights are as follows:
Monday May 24 - Gizo to Honiara - 11:25 - 13:05
Tuesday May 25 - Honiara to Nadi, Fiji - Air Pacific FJ260 - Time 13:10 - 18:30
Tuesday May 25 - Nadi, Fiji to LAX, Air Pacific FJ810 - Time 22:00 - 13:20
Tuesday May 25 - LAX to ATL, Delta DL1454 - Time 16:44 - 23:59

So basically I leave the Solomons on May 25th, and arrive in Atlanta at Midnight that day.

One other thing that I decided to do before I left was one last injury. Yesterday I slipped getting off the boat, and sliced open the heal on my right foot. It bleed quite a bit and keeps on bleeding through the bandages, so it should be an interesting trip home. Very tired of all of these injuries, so it will be nice to be home. Well I will see you all soon.

I don't have a cell phone, but will get a prepaid one at some point, but just email me, or see me on facebook, as I would love to see everyone while I am home.

Luke

A Trip to Remember

2010-05-07T13:34:00.001+11:00

Last week we were really busy, having 14-20 divers everyday for a
week. Things around the shop were busy, and my boss had his birthday
and went away for a few days. When they got back I had planned a
holiday for myself to the island of Ranogga, and stayed in the village
of Kougu. I have a friend from their named John F Kennedy. His
father, Erin was one of the two local scouts that rescued JFK during
World War II. They invited me to their home, to relax and spend some
time with Erin. This was an opportunity I could not pass up before I
leave.

So Tuesday morning I got in a large dug out canoe with a 15 HP
outboard, and started a slow trip across the sea to their village. I
just had a few clothes, my laptop, and some gifts of rice and flour
for the family. The trip took about two hours, the seas were very
calm, but there was a large swell, it is a bit intimidating being in a
large tree in a 10 foot high swell! But I was able to lay down and
sleep most of the way. The kids in the village all knew I was coming
and were waiting by the sea when we arrived (they all skipped school
apparently).

Erin is now 94 years old, or so they guess, and is very hard of
hearing. This was most entertaining as he always wanted to hear me
speak, and I do speak Pidgin the national language, but he does not,
he just speaks the language of Ranogga. So I had to shout in his ear
the Pidgin then someone else would shout the translation to him. He
is always laughing and full of life, playing jokes on the kids, and
still quite active out gardening, and watching over his land and
family. He has 9 kids, aged from there 60's to 30's. Kennedy my
friend is the youngest.

Kerrie, my boss, suggested bringing some local tobacco for him, when I
gave it to him, he laughed, and said it must be Kerrie who sent that.
He is good friends with my bosses and a very respected man. He has
built a memorial to JFK, and took me the 30 Min walk through the bush
there, then used a bush knife (machete) to clear the up growth around
it. It was pretty impressive to see the strength he still had. He
loves the US, and loves JFK. Not for political reasons as he would
not really know them. But I started to ponder why he had this
obsession, and it becomes clear. The Japanese here were very ruthless
to locals, torturing them, shooting children out of coconut trees, etc
etc. The Americans however were liberators to the local people. When
they found JFK he befriended them, and this was one of his first
encounters with white men, he gave them gifts as a thank you, and
invited them expenses paid to his inauguration (for other reasons Erin
could not attend). I guess Erin never expected the young man he
rescued to become leader of one of the most powerful nations on earth.
While are you are here the US seems so distant, almost impossible,
and JFK is the one that fused them together. Erin has a US flag that
he host and lowers every morning by his house, overlooking the Pacific
Ocean.

I arrived on Tuesday, and went swimming with the kids, but immediately
felt the language barrier, as Kennedy told me, most kids have never
been to Gizo where I live, which is a huge town to them. They don't
see many white people, I was constantly touched, and hair from my
head, arms and legs taken. They are very touchy people here, and the
young kids, would always sit touching my knees and arms, to see how I
felt. They found my tan lines from my watch very funny. The older
ones have started to learn pidgin from others, and would talk more
once they got to know me. There was one boy Mathew who was just
adorable, and silently followed me the first day, but opened up the
second day, picking up Pidgin and English quite fast. That evening
everyone wanted to watch a video, I used my iPod to let Erin listen to
music, quite amazing to see him using it, dancing, laughing, singing.
After a dinner of kasava, tuna, and noodles, we put on a film for the
kids, and the house was very quickly full.

Wednesday morning, I awoke with the sun, sleeping on a small mattress
in an open leaf house does not allow you to sleep in. But was well
rested and had a nice tea and breakfast of rolls with the family as
the kids prepared for school. Kennedy's youngest son, Nusa Babi, is 7
years old, and is always the first at school. He told his dad he
wanted to be a pilot, so his dad told him, all pilots need to be good
at Math and English, so since then Nusa Babi is the first to school,
Kennedy said he likes the Pilot idea after he saw how it made his son
so dedicated.

At ten I was supposed to go to the school to talk about the US, and
show some pictures on the computer to the kids. As I left the house
to walk to the school Mathew started following me, and repeating my
Pidgin, he came and sat outside of each class as I talked. I did all
four classes and was always asked the same question by the girls, "Do
I have a picture of my wife?" Wife here just means girlfriend or
partner, so I pulled up some pictures of Emma, and all the girls
always came close to see and say how pretty she was. When I finished
there Mathew and I walked back to the house, were Kennedy was waiting
and we headed to his fathers land where his memorial was to JFK. We
found some fruit and bettle nut along the way, then took some photos
with his father at the memorial. It is a large concrete memorial, the
photo has been ruined by the sun and salt, but it is quite an
achievement to build such a memorial so high up, in such a remote
place.

Next we headed to the sea where Kennedy was moving some timber, and
the school kids had come down to gather stones for the school garden.
The village is about a 10 min walk up a narrow path, and sits about
200 feet above the sea on a cliffs. So each kid had to come down and
get a large stone for borders to flower beds, but they all just went
swimming first. After that we had some lunch of Kasava pudding with
coconut cream, then the kids all took me to a river to spearfish for
Hulia, or Crawfish. As we were leaving Mathew wanted to follow but
the others said he was too small, so he was crying when I picked him
up to carry him, he was so happy when he figured out he was going. We
spent the next three hours walking up a river with small goggles and
homemade spears guns fishing for Hulia, and getting about 60(I got 2,
1 was a dead one the kids through in front of me though). When we
finished we all climbed up a rock face to an old logging road to
follow back to the village. We had not taken any water, but people
here are so used to living off the jungle, that the kids then went and
climbed coconut trees to get some coconuts and used rocks, and their
teeth so we could all get a drink. Even little Mathew found Nallie
Nuts for everyone, a nut like an almond but he got a few kilos in
about 30 mins, so we could all eat. It is amazing how resourceful
they are, and know what to eat as they are walking. And bettle nut is
always found for a good break.

When we got back I needed a break, and read for a bit and took a nap.
Mathew was watching me read when I said "Ui like Sleep", and he said
"Mi Les", he did not want a nap, he just wanted to play. He was wound
up all day, and kept up with all the big kids, and went strong until
about nine that night when he finally crashed. While we rested all
the men went spear fishing for a BBQ that night, and they shot about
20 fish in two hours.

That night we all had a big dinner with the fish and craw fish, then
watched a movie before heading to bed. The next morning we got up
early then I followed the same dug out canoe back to Gizo. It was one
of the best experiences I have had here, everyone was so friendly and
helpful. They are so respectful of Erin, and I as his guests, I just
felt so at home. It is a place I will defiantly return to and wish
that all of you could experience it, as it truly is what the people
here are about, and you see there true face.

Luke

Finding Nemo

2010-04-15T15:19:00.001+11:00

We just had one diver today, but started to head out, and the dogs insisted on following the boat. I am sure that you have heard the dogs absolutely love the boat, and love diving. They will follow us to the boats each morning in hopes of getting on the boat. Today they got to follow, and enjoyed visiting two different islands as we went diving. When we get close to an island, the dogs actually leap off the boat in excitement, and will swim to the island instead of waiting on the boat to take them there.

Today after the second dive, we were going to stop by fatboys, but they have some dogs ours don't get along with. They were happily playing and hunting on Kennedy Islands (where JFK was marooned), so we left them and headed to fatboys. About 45 minutes later we headed back to pick up the dogs, they were no where to be found! I called and whistled for them, just waiting to see them running down the beach to me, but they never came. I was distraught so got in the boat and drove to the next closest island, and jumped off in search, while I sent our boat on to check the smaller islands. It returned with no dogs. I got on the radio to fatboys to have them organize our other boats to come out, and we headed there to drop me off to coordinate other boats to find our puppies!

As we pulled into fatboys we saw two shadows dashing down the beach of the island (Mbanga Island) it was my Nemo! I was so excited i dove in the water and they swam out to meet me! So happy to have a happy ending but scared for 30 min that I lost the dogs, and they had drowned swimming. They swam over 1.5 KM's today to that other island, quite a feet for a dog I reckon. We have been spoiling them since with bananas and biscuits to fill them back up! I can't believe they still have the energy to run around!

Luke

Hash in Gizo

2010-04-13T10:53:00.001+11:00

Hash Club Harriers, is a running club, started somewhere by some British ex-pats, or soldiers, that used to run in Malaysia once a week to a pub, and then get some cold drinks. It is now one of the biggest clubs in the world, and is in almost every country. Ours in Gizo meets each Thursday evening at PT 109, and goes for a 30-45 min run, then has a fish BBQ, and cold beer at the end. In Solomon tradition we generally go through villages and BBQ on the beach. Most ex-pats in town participate, giving everyone some exercise and some time away from work to have some good fellowship.

This last weekend, we had a special, Saturday run, where we all went to fatboys for the day. Instead of running, all fifteen people got into one of their boats, pulled up the motor, and paddled about 1.5 KM to another island Olassana. It was a fun group activity everyone working together, and we could rotate the paddlers and people drinking beer from the esky on the boat. It took about thirty minutes to reach Olassana, where we all walked the beach around the island, a nice 40 minute walk along sand, rock, and through the water, where everyone had a swim. We then cheated and used the motor on the boat to go back to fatboys, where there chef had prepared a great bbq of burgers and sausages, I always look forward to a meal with out fish! I need to get some photos, the day was the perfect mix of exercise and fun!

PS My camera is not working too well at the moment, so I have scrounge photos off of others.

More about Hash: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers

Luke

Hike Up Simbo

2010-04-13T10:50:00.001+11:00

Last week, I had the chance to hike up a dormant volcano on Simbo Island, about 2 hours by boat from Gizo. I don't really know what the type of volcano it would be, but it is not active, but not dead. There are hot springs in the ocean around it, and lots of sulfur smelling stuff at the top.

I went up with some medical students that were in town, and we all met nice and early to follow a boat over for the day. In true Solomon fashion, the boat driver came on Solomon time, which apparently is one hour later then the real time! But we were all thankful to have nice weather, as we had a long sea crossing in a little boat. The boat was just a 6 M long banana boat, with a 40 HP motor on the back. But the seas were fair, and the driver good (I kind of feel like I'm writing for Gilligan's island here!)

We got to Simbo, and had not arranged anything the day before, as it was all last minute. But we quickly had two guides volunteer to lead us around for the day, and it just happened that both of them were named Eddie! So that made the names easy to remember. We wanted to see a custom or taboo site, where they have skulls and trophies from head hunting times. So they lead us first to a small island named Nusa Simbo, about 18 M from Simbo Island. The tsunami three years ago washed out the bridge, so we got paddled across the lagoon in canoes. We then walked to a village at the far end, about an hour away, only to find out it would be too hard to go to the taboo site there. So the guides took us back to where we started, and visited a great taboo site about 100 M from where our boat landed. So if your keeping track, it took us 2 hours of walking to see the taboo site that was only 100 M away. You do the math, we were all a little frustrated. But it was a lovely walk, and the kids in the village made everyone laugh. They would follow just behind us and if we stopped they would all stop, and sit down in a group copying us! Adrian, the group photographer always had a small cluster following closely behind him.

After visiting the taboo site, and finding some bettle nut for the guides, we all got in the boat and went around to the base of the cone, about a 10 min ride, where the guides had us all stop and wash our faces in the hot springs before continuing on, as is there custom. The volcano here is home to a bird called the Megapod, which the villagers depend on there eggs for food. The birds are a bit bigger then a chicken and lay similar eggs. But they bury the eggs 1 M deep in the hot sand around the volcano to incubate them, and the villagers come behind and dig them up.

At the base of the volcano we stopped and had a basic lunch of tinned tuna, crackers, bread, and some biscuits. The day was hot, but clear and gorgeous. We started up by first walking around the edge of a salt water lake, which was separated from the ocean by only a 10 M wide rim of jungle and large rocks, we all struggled walking on. Then we cut through the bush for a bit, where you could hear the megapods calling each other, and see there scratches everywhere in the trail.

We then came to the very base of the cone, and started a steep climb up sharp rocks, I actually wore shoes that day for the first time since my December trip to Australia. The climb to the top was only about thirty minutes, where we were all stunned by amazing views over the island and the sea. We had a moment for some photos, and we all felt a bit like the cast from "Lost". As we came down no one got hurt, and made our way back to the boat. Our guides asked to be dropped off at another village on the way back, this sounded easier then it turned out to be. We headed through the lagoon by Nusa Simbo where we had walked earlier, and saw some gorgeous villages (defiantly the coolest ones I have seen here) where the kids were out surfing and body boarding on pieces of timber.

We dropped off our guides, but had to exit through the surf and the reef, and ended up banging it on the way out, breaking a pin in the propeller. Our guides saw us stranded, and got in some dug out canoes to come out and help. One helped our driver, who was sitting his dug out canoe to remove the propeller, while the other one paddled our boat to stay out of the breaking waves.

I volunteered to watch his dug out canoe, so got in, then quickly fell out, they are quite hard to balance! But got the hang of it and was going in circles around the boat, while some local kids came out to see what was happening, I challenged them to races, and did my best to flip them out of their canoes, so that I could win. We got the boat fixed and were on our way in an hour or so, making it back to Gizo as the sun set. We all had a great day and thanks to Adrian, Gigs, James, Aoife, Cerys, Roshine, an Jaan for a great day!

Pictures soon, I need to get them from Adrian

Luke

Bike Rides and Nemo

2010-02-17T15:34:00.001+11:00

It has been a long time since an update. Things here have been quite
slow, not many divers, so just a few dives on the weekends. In the
week we have been doing some maintenance, and started building a boat
shed to work on fiberglass. It will have a leaf roof, which is much
cheaper then steel for the materials, but much more in labor. It will
be about 14 days labor for 6 people to build the roof panels to put
up. They come out about even in cost, but the leaf roof is cooler,
and has about the same life, and easier to maintain.

Today I ordered some lunch to go in town, and got a friend Nathan that
also has a dirt bike and rode around the island. It had some gorgeous
views, but was quite tiring as the roads are very bad, and you must go
slow just to avoid large rocks, average speed was about 15km an hour.

I came back from the ride, and Nemo was going crazy. He had not been
out for a long walk all day, so I had an idea. He will almost always
follow me, unless there is a nice sheila around. So got on the bike
called him, and rode 3km to a village, then turned around and had him
follow me back. He can get up to about 35km an hour, but on the way
back he got very tired, and just jumped in the mud and laid down. So
I walked to a house and bought a coconut. I found an old husk to use
as a drinking bowl for him and we rested and shared the water, before
continuing on at a slower pace. We made it back and he is happily
sleeping at my feet, no longer hyper. I think I have found a good way
to walk a dog that has too much energy!

Luke

WanToks Visit

2010-01-22T08:26:00.001+11:00

We have had some awful weather the last 4 days, from some Cyclones that have formed and are heading towards Australia. Luckily where the Solomons are we don't get Cyclones we make them! After the number of earthquakes in the past few weeks there have been a number of geologist gathering data, even two from GA Tech! So for the first time we had some people from Atlanta here (except for when john visited J ).

Andrew and Zack, from GA Tech, chartered one of our boats to go retrieve some equipment about 70 Km from Gizo, I figured I would tag along as they were going to some interesting islands, and with such a long drive we needed a back up driver on the boat. We were going to visit the islands of Rendova and Tetapare. Rendova has some famous head hunters that used to be from there, and Tetapare is the largest uninhabited island in the Pacific! It is an Eco-Reserve, that the ancestors established a long time ago, to protect the nature there. So it is full of crocodiles, dense rain forest, turtle nesting grounds, and some beautiful reefs.

So we set off early Tuesday morning from Gizo, the plan was to pick up the geologist at Lola Island, then head down to Tetapare and stay at a lodge there, and retrieve four instruments along the way, returning on Wednesday back to Gizo. We left Gizo with lots of rain and it just got worse, after picking up the guys at Lola, we lost visibility, we could barely see the front of our 7 M boat! Since all navigation is by site, we just stopped in the lagoon and waited till we drifted to an island, and waited the rain out for a few hours then returned to Lola. We stayed there in the night, and had a very hospitable host Joe, that had to put up lots of people stuck in the weather as all flights were cancelled, so his resort went from empty to full.

The next morning we got up a bit before dawn and loaded the boat waiting to see the weather. It was over cast but not much rain, so we set off, we had to run on the outside of the islands so that we could get the instruments, the wind was not strong, but a large swell. It is intimidating being in 8 ft seas in a 20 ft boat, but John our driver was very good, and we bounced along for 6 hours collecting the instruments. Some had quite hairy landings where I would jump in and hold the boat off the reef in the swell while the guys jumped over my shoulders and ran up the reef. No worries though I wore a life jacket, and John and I were always in control, taking our time, and timing the waves.

On Rendova, the earthquakes had cause heaps of land slides, taking whole sides off the mountain of rain forest and dumping it in the sea, so there were large logs and debris everywhere. At Tetapare, we got the machines there, I jumped in for a short snorkel, but the seas were so rough, we didn't hang around long. We started back to Lola, and maybe Gizo if we had enough time. On the way back I drove most of the way to give John a break, since he had been driving for hours in the rough seas. We got on the back side of the island and were able to get back in 2 hours, as the boat was light, and we got it up to 60 Km an hour for parts (the nerdy science guys had a GPS) After getting to Lola, we got some more fuel and made a run back to Gizo. I hopped off at fatboys to stay there for a night and recover, and they just got hot water! It was so good, as I had been soaking wet from sea spray and rain for the past two days. I didn't have any dry clothes so just went to a huge 4 course dinner in board shorts with no shirt, just another reason why I love this country!

Still waiting for the sun,

Luke

Crazy Europeans!

2010-01-12T08:58:00.001+11:00

So this week since getting back has been busy. We have a fun group from all over Europe, that were lead by an extravagant Spanish man, that spoke some english, but has been the talk of the town. While his english did not always translate, his actions did. He made our first traffic jam, by pushing my staff down the road in a wheel barrow and holding up a queue of taxis! He was quite fun diving, as was the whole group. I had one openwater student, and an advanced open water student out of the group.

The had some cool photos of there trip, and I stole some to share, as they had a nice camera, and I don't often take photos at work. I hope you all enjoy them and see how stressful my job can be! I think i'm getting white hair, but it might just be from the sun bleaching it out? The one of the divers in the water was quite funny, as Juan, was coordinating the photo shoot from the boat, with a 2,000 dollar camera around his neck, and all of his other dive gear on. The weather has been so stunning lately, just perfect to be honest, No wind, No waves, Nice Sun, and rain at night! I hope all is well around the world, and you all are enjoying your winter, mine has been quite mild as you might have noticed (sorry rubbing in yalls faces!).

Luke

Earthquakes

2010-01-08T07:46:00.001+11:00

Just to let everyone know about our quake situation. There has been no damage in Gizo where I live, really no injuries either, we have had about 14 quakes since Monday morning, some of them in the low 7's. I have actually managed to sleep through everyone, or been out on the boat diving. There has been some damage in other parts. Rendova received some small waves from earthquakes which damaged buildings on the shore, and some minor injuries to people, but no deaths that we have heard about, and Titapari, has had some buildings damaged, as well as some boats sinking (some say one is in a tree still? But just rumors.) So we are all fine, from what i gather but lots of rumors going around.

We are busy at the dive shop, I am diving lots, and just tired to be honest, definatly went out of shape some on holiday and need to get back into it!

Luke

Rockin' Home

2010-01-04T16:30:00.001+11:00

I just got back home to Gizo this morning which has been getting quite a few earthquakes lately. 3 so far today, and more to come, but just thought I would let everyone know that I am home alright, and no injuries or problems in town from the quakes, and no Tsunami's. So Rockin' Home literally. But have no worries my house is high on a hill away from the water, and it is almost impossible for a wave to hit town as it is protected by lots of islands, it is the villages that are at risk of a wave coming.

Luke

Holiday in Australia

2009-12-26T08:51:00.001+11:00

It has been awhile since I have updated this, but I had been quite busy at work teaching classes. We were quite slow the beginning of December with dive guests, but had lots of students come through taking dive classes from me, which kept me quite busy. I finished it all up on December 17th, then left on the 18th for a holiday in Australia. I have been seeing a girl named Emma, that I met this past summer, and we decided to meet in Australia to spend Christmas and New Years together. It is a bit of a long story, but she is a medical student in England, and quite special to me, and am so happy to have spent the Holidays with her.

We met in Brisbane and spent a few days there so I could do some shopping and such for work, then flew to Sydney and spent 4 nights there. We went to the zoo, bondi beach, the opera house, the harbor bridge, and met my old house mate Erin from Gizo. We then hired a car to drive back to brisbane over the next week, and are currently in the middle of that trip, stopping in Hunter Valley for three days. There have been some interesting moments, mainly around hiring a car and trying to leave Sydney. We did finally succeed after 1 hour but only made it only about 10 blocks from where we started, and ran 3 tolls! So hopefully no tickets come, but we did make it out alive. It was quite entertaining, as I have not been in a fast moving car in awhile, and Emma has never drivin an automatic, so she got in and asked "What does the peddle on the left do?" Neither of us knew how to read the road signs, hence the difficulty leaving.

For Christmas we are in Hunter Valley, and had a great Christmas meal that Emma Cooked. She made a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos, and some vegtables (which I ate some of :) ). I made a chocolate peanut butter dessert that my sister used to make, thanks Theresa! Which was probally the highlight of the day, besides opening presents at 6:00 AM. We also called my family on skype, where they all met Emma for the first time, but most of the conversation was about farts, so I'm sure you all made a great impression. We also talked to Emma's family, but no fart jokes from them. I guess the English are a bit more sophisticated, and its not just the accent!

So in the next week we have 2 more days in Hunter Valley, which is the wine area of Australia, and quite rural and beautiful. I have enjoyed being back out of the city very much. Then heading up the coast North to Brisbane. We are stopping at a few beaches on the way then spending New Years Eve in Brisbane before flying back home. I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Oh the photos, the one with just Emma, is a sign at Bondi Beach where a man in a santa hat drinks, drowns, then gets arrested, quite a cute stick figure I thought, and some others of our trip.

Hard Work in Hot Places

2009-11-26T13:04:00.001+11:00

Well it seems for some reason that everyone in town is drinking, and lots of our staff are included in this and not showing up for work. At this same time my boss bought some commercial timber machines for planing, ripping, and joining timber. With this new timber business our staff is having to work, instead of just sit around a lot of the days. Well it always seems when you need people they never show up.

That being said I have been learning lots about timber, and struggling a bit as we don't have gloves or boots, and it is quite hot and dusty. Just moving the mulch from the planer is pretty touch as it keeps piling up and up and up. I spent a good 2 hours today just shoveling it into wheel barrels, and moving it into the yard to clear up work space. I don't know how I got here working at a dive shop, or studying Software in University. I guess we never know where life will take us, but we are always learning, just sometimes it hurts our backs a bit more.

Trying to Surf

2009-11-16T09:34:00.001+11:00

I had this past Saturday off, and headed out to a village named Titiana to try and learn how to surf. I have a friend Will and Dennis that are staying out there and building some houses for a school. So I bought some mince meat, and a few beers and rode the dirt bike out, and got there for an early lunch. While I think town can be boring life in the village can def be more mundane. Dennis had just finished widleing (no idea how to spell that, tried about 10 times?) a chest board, which defiantly took some spare time. We had the first game on it and I lost.

After the game we started to paddle out to the break, which took about 20 minutes, after which I was pretty exhausted. I defiantly will give surfers more credit in the future, as it takes a lot of work. The problem also with surfing here is that it is all shallow reef breaks, which means when you fall you hit hard sharp rocks. So the first run I just tried it laying down and caught a long wave all the way back to shore, which meant, having to paddle all the way back out!

The next one I got, Dennis told me to paddle really hard, as most people don't paddle enough, I then paddled as hard as I could, and looked back just in time to see the wave break on top of me, I had paddled to hard and passed the wave. So it broke on top of me, and I bounced across the reef a bit, but only got a few scratches, nothing serious. However, when trying to get out of the surf, was hit by a few more waves, which broke the leash off the board (which was borrowed), so I took off to get it. I finally got to it, and Dennis came surfing in to help me out of the waves.

I did catch one more wave in by using my head, literally. So I was told if you feel like your coming off the wave to put more weight forward on the board, so I paddling as hard as I could, but falling off the wave so I put my forehead down and pushed on the front of the board, it worked! I caught the wave and rode it back in.

After the surf I was pretty exhausted, 3 hours of paddling around in waves is defiantly tough. So we came in and I grilled some nice greasy burgers, then headed back home. It felt good that I finally tried it, but I have learned that surfing takes lots of dedication and time, which I don't think I have. I think I might try boogy boarding, as that you can wear fins to help you get out! It would still be pretty fun, as we have some large waves here.

Well I hope you all at home enjoy thanksgiving, its next week I think, and I would love some of that Turkey!

Luke

WWII Tour

2009-11-10T13:57:00.001+11:00

I have to start this and tell you about some poor guy in Australia that is now going to have a huge phone bill. It cost about $1 AUD a minute to call here, and he called the shop with a wrong number and spoke for twenty minutes. First our office manager answered the phone, and neither of them could understand each other, so I got the phone. He wanted a hotel in Honiara, and I told him the wrong number. I looked up the number he needed, and gave it to him. He then asked where I was from, as I did not sound like a Solomon Islander. I told him from Atlanta Ga, and he asked where that was in the Solomons. Then he asked about why I was here etc, nice guy, but expensive call for a wrong number.

Yesterday I had a bit of a day off from diving, I had been teaching a lot of open water students, and been out on the boats for the last five days training people. We have a film guy here making a promotional movie, and we needed to take him around the WWII stuff in the area, so you might see me in it! It was a nice day, but a long one as it involved driving around for about eight hours to see all of the things you would usually do over a few days. I got to see some stuff I had not seen before, and it was nice just having a few people in the boat, running fast as the weather was nice.

In the photos you will see some local guy with sails in there dug out canoes, there was a strong westerly wind so they must have decided to start going home, and made sails out of palm leaves propped up in their canoe, they were going quite fast and did not need to paddle, only steer. They were going from Rendova to Renoga, which is probably about 45 miles, a long trip, that would take 2-3 days. When people do things like that here, they don't take much with them, they fish for food, drink coconuts, and live off the small islands. And we think driving a car without cruise control for a few hours is hard, these people are defiantly tough.

Luke

Mt. Biking

2009-11-05T09:26:00.001+11:00

I had the day off Tuesday, so decided to do something different. We just got a new mountain bike here, so I planned to ride to a village about halfway across the island in the mountains and have lunch then ride back. I did not realize how hard or fun it would be. The road that goes there is a hilly one through the middle of the island called the inland road. I made it to the village in about an hour, but was walking and trying to ride up steep hills, at some points you had to peddle in the lowest gear, but the back wheel would slip because of the force it took, at that point you had to walk up the hill. Then coming down, I was passing trucks with both brakes on all the way. Was a cool rush flying back down the hills.

Lunch was nice, but ran out of water, and the village does not have a good water supply, as it is high up with no streams. And to have a tank to catch rain water cost lots of money. The village was just relocated into the hills after a tsunami two years ago, when the one by the sea was destroyed. I did have a nice local lunch of rice, cabbage, peppers, noodles, and some reef fish. So I did eat some vegetables, and even lived through it!

When I left I just decided to keep on going to the other end of the island, then do a loop by taking the other road back, the coastal road that runs flat along the coast. Now that road was also destroyed in the tsunami, but is getting redone now. Only about half was finished which made it quite interesting. At some points caring the bike over bridges that were simply a single coconut tree laying over a river or stream, and having to walk it down the beach when the road was impassable. It is amazing how quick the bush grew on the old road, where sometimes it was not even recognizable. It was nice though, going through all the small villages, I brought a bunch of lollies for the kids and would give them out, then get something to drink.

I ended up riding for about 4 hours before making it back to town. But can now say I have travelled every road on the island, even the ones that have disappeared in time. Some expats that work for unicef saw me and wondered what my fund raiser was, as no one would do it for no other reason. When I got back to the dive shop, I looked very dirty, and all my staff thought I was nuts, but I did get to see all their houses, and meet lots of their kids in the different villages, as everyone recognizes you here. I did enjoy it, and think mountain biking might be a new hobby.

Luke

Slow Times

2009-11-02T15:50:00.001+11:00

Things have slowed down now, November and December are some of our slowest months. Our staff from other places in the Solomons generally get four weeks annual leave to go back home. It is odd most of them have lived almost their entire lives in Gizo, but live in rental properties here, while they own a house in their village and go home and work on it. Odd they have a vacation house but not a house to live in most of the time.

I have had a few students coming in, and am keeping busy teaching open water classes, and able to make some pocket money. I do look forward to getting another big group of divers as they are always fun, and I get to do some deeper diving that I don't get to do with students. This last group of divers had a guy my size in it, and he was nice enough to leave me his "old clothes" which are much nicer then my clothes. So I got two nice pairs of boardies, and a few tshirts.

The picture here is one I just came upon. It is a bed Anne Marie (Chelsey from fatboys mom) made up for me when I stayed at her unit in Brisbane. She was so sweet to make me feel at home, she even put a teddy bear in it. Keiron, her grandson, is pretty jealous that i got to sleep with his teddy, so this is really to make him a bit jealous. And I loved staying with her as she spoiled me and dave with food and drinks, and was very hospitabal, the teddy is proof of that.

I hope everyone is enjoying the cold coming, and gearing up for the holiday season!

Luke

The Boys Are Back In Town

2009-10-26T09:01:00.001+11:00

Well I arrived back in Gizo on Wednesday. I came back a day early, as my boss had purchased a dirt bike while I was gone, and I really wanted to ride it. My domestic flight was late, of course, and encountered a few storms, but luckily I had my own crash helmet in my lap. I had bought a helmet for the bike, and brought it as carry on to save weight in my bag. We have been busy since I have come home, we have a group of 19 divers here, and a wedding party with about 20 people. Each day is a new feat to get everyone on boats, and all the gear sorted. It means I have to start the day at 6:30, so I am looking forward to a break already.

I was shocked when I got back, and found that my whole house has been remodeled, it looks gorgeous. They finished the bathroom renovation and it only took 3 months! But in the two weeks I was gone they completed that, painted the inside and outside, and replaced all the electrical fittings, and totally cleaned the kitchen and serviced and washed all the appliances. Could not ask for more, it is like being in a new house.

It has been nice having the bike, it is fun to cruise around on, and honk the horn at all the kids as you go past the villages. I had never ridden a dirt bike before, only a street bike, but they are much the same, except when comes to riding up the steep hills here. They are steep, large stones and pot holes, so you have to pick your path carefully, but I am going slow and being safe, so don't worry mom!

It is nice being in a small place where everyone says hello, and where have you been, we have missed you. I feel very welcome and loved here, even though I am so far away from everyone else. Miss Ya'll

Luke

Gold Coast

2009-10-19T19:03:00.001+11:00

Just spent the past five days on the Gold Coast. Dave rented an

apartment down there, so we had a nice comfortable place to stay. It
was gorgeous, nice leather couches, a big barbie, cable tv, air con,
and my own room! It was so nice staying someplace posh, and not
feeling like you are intruding on someone. I have really been
enjoying the hot water, taking about 4 showers a day, and actually
getting my whites clean in the laundry. Some of my clothes have
shrunk though as this was the first warm wash my clothes have had in
about a year. I also go through quite a few clothes, and have to buy
new ones here.

We went to the beach and relaxed during the days, watched movies,
cooked on the barbie, went to some clubs, and even went to Dream
World, a theme park here. The rides and such were fun, but not nearly
as good as the parks in the states. This was supposed to be
Australia's best, and only had 5 big rides; only 2 were coasters. Six
Flags over Georgia wins hands down over Dream World. However is was
fun to go and enjoy ourselves, my favorite was the Giant drop, it
takes you up 39 stories, then drops you, kind of self explanatory.
The cool part was sitting at the top for seemed like forever before
the drop, a bit scary actually.

They also had a small zoo there, so we got to see some kangaroos and
koalas. Always cute, really makes you feel like your down under!
Today we rented some movies and are just relaxing back in Brisbane.
At blockbuster they had a candy stand "American Candy" It had all my
favorites so I have been getting quite fat tonight!

Luke

Brisbane/Oktoberfest

2009-10-15T16:54:00.001+11:00

I am here in Australia on holiday, and enjoying it so much. Lots of hot showers, about 4 a day! They even have this great invention here called "Sliced Bread" maybe you have heard of it, but the Solomons has not. I got in one week ago and have done some shopping and gotten a hair cut. I forget I have an accent here, because no one really cares in Gizo. But I walked in to a hair salon while waiting for a bus and asked the girl "Excuse me mam, but do yall take walk ins?" She looked at me confused, and said she didn't understand a word I said. So I asked if I needed an appointment, and then got my hair cut. The whole time the girls in the empty shop giggled at me whenever I spoke, pretty funny being the foreigner, although I guess I have the foreigner a lot lately.

Last Saturday I went to Brisbane's Oktoberfest celebrations, it was great, drinking draught beer, giant pretzels, fried everything, and nice German Sausages, the girls there were not too bad either as you can see in the photos. There was also a massive fight there with a lot of pushing and shoving and a few big guys punching it out for about 15 min, they even got into a punch up with the police. But Aussie's are big so I scooted out of the way pretty quick.

The next few days I spent helping some friends Dave and Chelsea from fatboys in Gizo move some stuff away, and stayed with Chelsea's mom in Brisbane. They were very nice, and it was nice to do something neighborly and feel like a true friend. We don't get that domestic type of atmosphere in Gizo, so I really enjoyed it. Now I am with Dave down on the Gold Coast south of Brisbane at the beach in a nice condo, I have my own room, tv and bathroom. We have just been relaxing and enjoying a nice place.

Talk To Yall Soon

Luke

Egg Roll

2009-10-06T11:17:00.001+11:00

One of our dogs at the dive shop is Brownie. This morning someone dropped a hard boiled egg out side. So we peeled part of it to give it to the dog. She looked at it, smelled it, licked it, then stood back and dropped her shoulder on it to crush it. Then she rolled around in it, covering herself in egg. It was a megapod egg, not a chicken egg so a bit bigger, and a larger yoke. She was covered in yellow.

Well we do one things with dirty dogs here, and that is throw them in the sea. So I walked her to the jetty, put her on a boat and went out a bit, kicked her off and had her swim to shore. Well Brownie would not eat the egg, but the fish would. So she was covered in fish eating the egg out of her fur. She was perplexed, but not mad, then started barking at the fish for them to go away. All in all it was a great Solomon experience. Welcome to the Solomons!

Australia Again

2009-10-06T09:42:00.001+11:00

Well it has been a hectic morning/weekend, but I am finally packed and ready to go on Holiday! I am going to Australia for two weeks or relaxing with hot showers, hair cuts, fast internet, cable tv, sliced bread, red meat, and seeing some friends. I will try and post some pictures from the past few months since I should have better internet.

My Itinerary should anything happen:
6th October - Fly To Honiara
8th October - Fly Honiara to Brisbane via Pacific Blue DJ168
20th October - Fly Brisbane to Honiara via Pacific Blue DJ169
22nd October - Fly Honiara to Gizo

I was thinking what do you do on holiday, when a normal day you dive, go to the beach, and have a few beers. So I decided I would get an office job, wear a suit, wear shoes, and hate life! Ha Just kidding. I am actually going to do some shopping in Brisbane, go to OctoberFest, then go to Stratebrooke Island for a week of sun, surf, and beach.

Hope all is well at home, miss you all, but not too much :)

Luke

Birthday Stuff

2009-09-29T09:44:00.001+11:00

So we had an excellent weekend for my birthday. It started Friday night at the bamboo bar, with a "White Party" hosted by Jaffar, who came as an angel. Everyone wore white, but I was tempted just to go in short shorts, to show off my white legs to the locals. Jaffar of course won first prize being dressed in a full white robe, and angel wings.

Saturday was a busy day at work, but I had Sunday off. We got everyone together and went golfing on Nusatupe, the airport Island. However it did not start off well, I took my first shot and watched half the club go flying! It broke in half, and I still had the handle in my grip. The ball did go much further then the club so that was at least reassuring. I guess salty air even effects your golf clubs. You can see a photo of me swinging after the club had broken. We finished our beer, and our round of golf and loaded up on a boat to go to Fatboys for lunch. I had some delcious crayfish, and a few G and T's to bring out the british side.

Monday was another full day at work, teaching two different classes. I got a conference call from my parents and bro and sis, and was nice to talk with everyone. I finished my dives and I got home to a clean house where Jaffar and Erin my housemate were cooking a nice Island Curry for dinner. Erin popped open a bottle of champagne as I relaxed after a long day. Danny and kerrie and a few others came over for dinner, where we even had some chocolate cake. It is sad that I can count, that was the third piece of chocolate cake I have had this year. But thats what you get living in paradise.

Thank You to all that sent their wishes, I truly felt loved and cared about.

Luke

Global Economic Crisis

2009-09-23T12:36:00.001+11:00

It seems like everybody in the world is concerned with this "Global Economic Crisis" and "Global Warming" stuff. So I figured I would let you all know how I feel it has affected me. Well I have decided to stay another year here in Gizo. Even though it seems the news makes the world look horrible, there is still food on my plate, a beer or two in the fridge, and friendly people everywhere. Now I think we should all take a moment and think about how good we really have it. I have attached a few photos I took yesterday to show you what a year here has done to appearances, and just a funny shot of kids taking over one of our boats.

While I do live in a "developing nation" (third world is not politically correct), people everywhere are smiling, eating, and living life. A local friend told me this about Solomon Islanders "If you are hungry, you are lazy" because food is all around them, they have plenty of places for garden, and lots of ocean to fish in. So as people tell me not to come home, it is chaos, the job market sucks, blah blah blah, I am happy here. I do miss all of you all at home, and would love to be home for a week to see everyone, however that is quite costly, so it does look like that will have to wait until next year. I miss you all, but am happy, and enjoying myself, I hope the best for everyone at home, and that our leaders all make wise decisions in these harder times.

Luke

Crazy Days

2009-09-17T11:31:00.001+11:00

Bad weather has been the story the last few weeks. It is sunny parts of the day, and crap the rest. It may be the warm S. Pacific but when your soaking wet all day, you get very very cold, especially when you are not used to it. I have actually had to start wearing a wet suit. Yesterday bringing the boat through the pouring rain was miserable but a testament to the skills on the water the Solomon People have. John got us back safely and in time for tea. I have put up a photo I took Sunday on the boat, notice the driver getting soaked by spray, and our other staff hiding behind a fin to keep the spray out of his face.

On another crazy note with rats, I found some about an hour ago in the dive shop. I was putting away gear and heard the sound of baby rats. I went and got Nemo and Brownie, who were playing with a tennis ball.

On a side note: A guest Emma who was very sweet brought the ball for the dogs. They had never had one, and it took them a few days to figure it out, but now Brownie can even dribble it catching it in her mouth and dropping it again.

Now back to the rats, the dog were actually able to sniff out the rats! They were living in the back of the fridge, and had captivated at this point the attention of me, Nemo, and Brownie. As I started to move the fridge out one ran, it scared me and the dogs and we all ran out of the room tripping over each other. Quite a sight for the staff to see the dogs and me running scared of a rat! I think cats are much better rat catchers then us. Little Ghost the cat at my house gets an award for being the best rat catcher.

Cheers to all, and thanks to Emma for the ball.

Luke

Found My Glasses

2009-09-14T15:49:00.001+11:00

So I have had some concern about my Glasses, well it turns out the staff at Fatboys found them! So I now as the people say here "Have 4 Eyes" I am thankful to everything not being blurry again, and not having to worry about replacing them in a place with no eye doctor.

New Giant Rat

2009-09-08T09:18:00.002+11:00

This rat was found Papa New Guinea, the country and islands only about 50 KM from me. So this is why I have such vicious cats.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/07/giant.rat.papua/index.html

Full Moon Party

2009-09-07T13:34:00.001+11:00

The full moon party this weekend was a great success! I feel pretty proud at getting to help with it, only because it was fun, and successful. I would guess about 80 - 100 people attended, which is pretty good around here. Everyone from town local and expat made their way by and enjoyed the music and the djs, Alec and Tingo, that were great personalities behind the party.

The local/only phone company donated some phone cards for prizes, and we got some drink giveaways and made a treasure hunt. For this we hid empty wine bottles in the sea around the restaurant (which built over the sea). This got everyone in their bikinis and boardies swimming around. This was much appreciated since four good looking English medical students came by. I got to practice some first aide when one stepped on a sea urchin, I actually knew something a doctor did not! The party went till about six in the morning with few fights.

The only punch up ended with the manager and security chasing the guy out. The problem was the whole bar tried to follow to see the fight finish. The restaurant ends and has a 100M walkway to the island where bungalows are located. I ended up being the one on the jetty stopping 30 guys charging through. I was able to yell fast enough in pidgin to stop them all. I found it funny that one small white guy stopped 30 large locals in their tracks.

Around 6am everyone got loaded into boats to head back to Gizo. I have to give a hand to Dougy, one of my staff for what he did here. He was on a boat that was overloaded so I told him to move to an empty one then help put people on it from the full one. Dougy stood up in the small boat walked past everyone stepped gracefully to another boat about 1.5 M away, all in rocky seas, and sat down perfectly. Honestly it was incredible, he did not even spill his beer. Unfortunatly not everyone else fared so well and lots fell in!

Just so you know if your reading this, the party was fun, safe, and all the guests and locals had a good time. The only casualty of the evening was I lost my glasses, and don't have a spare, but I'll live with it for now. So thanks to Dave and Chelsey from Fatboys, and everyone that came, it was a lot of fun, and is still being talked about.

Cheers, Luke

Evil Cat

2009-09-07T13:20:00.001+11:00

Here is a good picture of the little devil that owns my house. Hope you all enjoy.

Party Weekend

2009-09-04T14:51:00.001+11:00

Well it is not too often that I get a whole weekend off. Today was a dreary and rainy day making the roads muddy, the air cold, and cabin fever worse! Tonight at the hotel is Island night, so yet again I get the lava lava out and make some head gear from bannana leafs, it seems I am getting rather good at that. Then tomorrow night is a full moon party at fatboys resort, with dancing and snorkeling raffle contest. I'll let you know how it goes, and hopefully have a few photos.

Diving Video

2009-08-26T09:03:00.002+11:00

Here is a short video one of our guests made of their trip here. It is just a quick one I asked for, and has a few inside jokes, but this is work. The weather was quite rainy on their trip hence the gray skys and seas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__66-cBYuwo

Niame Village Visit

2009-08-20T09:52:00.001+11:00

We slowed down so me, Dave, and Erin went to a village to relax on the
Island of Renoka. Now Renoka has an interesting story here, it is
very different from the other islands because it has lots of stones.
That might sound odd, but it is different, and has black sand, not the
white sandy beaches we see on the other islands. It is a lush rain
forest and is known for its rare butterflies. The other interesting
thing is that it lays on the fault line that caused the 10th largest
earthquake ever recorded that resulted in a tsunami hitting my island
2 years ago. When this quake happened it actually lifted the island
4M higher, so now the reef is out of the water! If you look at the
photos you can see the coral heads that used to be under water.

All of us have been busy, and spending too much time in town so it was
good to get away, and pretty cheap. about $10 US for food and a room.
The room was in a typical leaf hut, but had mosquito nets and clean
linens. The food was great, the village are SDA's (Seventh Day
Adventist) they supposedly don't drink, smoke, or have caffeine.
While there they did not stay true to this. But because of that their
vice is generally food, the make lots of sweet cakes and puddings with
kasava an island root.

We did lots of interesting things. We did not let them know ahead of
time that we were coming, but were trying to find a friend of a friend
there. Not knowing exactly where the village was, and the island is
probably 10 miles long, we pulled up to the first village asked a guy
and a dug out canoe which way and he said North, he also asked what
surf website I had? When I learn to surf I'll let him know. We then
ran into a guy fishing in a small boat and asked him, his name was
Gaga, the friend of the friend. He was very welcoming and happy to
see us. He ran his boat in first and organized people for us to come
in next. They have no jetty or landing. they have some round foam on
ropes they throw down and you time the swell to break through the surf
with a large wave, you then drive fast at the beach and pull up the
motor real quick, jump out, pick up the boat and run out of the surf
before the motor gets swamped. It was a lot going on but they have
become experts! They pulled our 7M fiberglass boat out, with a 40 HP
OBM in seconds.

The rest of the time we spent hiking to waterfalls, bathing in rivers,
visiting some other villages and talking with people. It turned out
Dave had ordered some timber last week, and it just turned out ordered
it from the village we were staying in. We talked with Gaga our host,
and found out they had not cut down the tree yet. So one afternoon
Dave and I followed 4 guys, with one HUGE chainsaw through the bush to
the rosewood tree. It was about 3M around and giant. It took about
30 min to cut it down, and it was quite a rush to see, feel, and hear
a tree that big fall. So for you tree huggers out there take note
that together Dave and I watched a giant tree fall and killed a croc!
Now to be fair this was not logging, it is sustainable because this is
not a mass operation. They replant their trees, and it is like saving
in a bank, when you need money you cut down 1 tree and sell the
timber. It is not a commercial logging operation.

Coming back we had some bad weather and the 1 hour boat ride turned
into 3, with Dave bailing, me getting hit by everywave, and Erin
hunkered in her rain jacket. Eddie Dave's driver did a great job and
got everyone home safely.

Aerial Picture

2009-08-20T09:25:00.001+11:00

Picture of the TV Aerial

TV!

2009-08-17T10:02:00.001+11:00

So Gizo just got its first TV station. Now it is not broadcast from
the Solomon Islands, but it is an Australian one, called
ABC(Australian Broadcasting Company). The kicker is thought that no
one has antennas, so you have to buy one, from the one shop in town
that ordered some. They are about $100 US, so very expensive. People
here have just made their own in very creative ways. They work great,
I think mainly there is only one TV station and one radio station, so
not a lot of interference.

The one I rigged up uses the cooling wires from an old fridge, some
wire ripped out of said bad fridge, which is wrapped around the grid
and reaching outwards. I will have to take a photo. If you can get
your hands on a metal fan cover, that seems to be the easiest and best
way to make them. Because of that all fan covers in town seem to be
missing.

This has however created some interesting things here, since it is the
first time people have seen lots of news etc, everyone watches it. So
I have been explaining what terrorism and things like that are new to
them, since most of what they have seen before was from movies, and we
all know how realistic Chuck Norris films are!

So enjoying the news!

Golf and Fatboys

2009-08-14T11:34:00.001+11:00

Work is finally slowing down so I am getting some days off. Last
Sunday Jerry, the owner of the building supply store here, organized a
golf game for some of the people here. We got some aussie cops and
some of the aide workers and met at the hotel at 11am to head to the
course. After loading into a VERY small boat, we left for Nusatupe
Golf Club. Oddly enough Nusatupe Golf Club is a bit unofficial, the
island is more known for the fact that the whole island is the landing
strip for the airport here. So just like playing in the street when
the planes landed everyone yelled PLANE PLANE PLANE and ran into the
trees.

I have never played gold and it defiantly was evident, I did however
improve significantly by the end and was one of the three winners!
Out of 8 people I am one of 3 that did not lose their ball. We then
finished a few beers, and got back in the boat and headed off to
Fatboys for lunch, we had a great lunch and had a surprise from Kieran
when he walked up to say hello, and he had his pockets full of baby
sea turtles. Only in the solomons can your kid walk home with five
endangered animals in his pockets.

Next week I am taking off to an Island Simbo which is a few hours away
by motor canoe. Literally it is a large dug out canoe with a 10-15 HP
outboard motor on the back, so I will take that through across the
open sea to the island. Don't worry Mom I'll bring a life jacket and
some water. The island still has an active volcano and some rare
birds similar to chickens, but they lay their eggs 2 M under ground to
incubate.

Whats New?

2009-08-03T16:25:00.001+11:00

Been the busier the last two weeks then we were the previous 2 months!
Because of that I have been diving diving diving and then some diving
sometimes 5 or 6 a day, if that puts my life into perspective you will
understand why I have not updated lately. I have not been in the
office hardly at all and have not had a day off in over 3 weeks.
Every time it looks like I'll get a break someone else comes in.

This week we had zero bookings, by 9am this morning, we had 10 divers
on our boat on a day non were scheduled, all of them were just people
passing through. You would think if you are showing up to a small
island in the S. Pacific in an undeveloped nation, that you would book
something ahead?

Anyways I will write more later when I become sane again

Luke

Enough Said

2009-07-16T09:06:00.001+11:00

In elementary school I would get in trouble for talking to much in
class. As I grew up I was always complemented or at least known for
telling stories, whether they be relevant or not you can be the judge
yourselves. I work now in a remote place where we have few tourist.
It is great because that makes my job easier, but on the other hand it
also means that our guest do not have a lot to do after diving. So as
a side part to the job I have to, or get to (depending on the persons)
hang out with them at dinner and so on to make sure they are enjoying
themselves.

During the times on the boat, in the shop, and after work, I get to
share stories and help to make sure that our guests are laughing even
in bad whether, bad visibility, or when everything else goes wrong.
Well we recently had two guests that were Kiwi's and were quite fun.
They were quieter guys, but had a lot of experience diving, and both
had spent lots of time on the water. I am very far from being any
type of experts about boats etc. Must guests think they are know it
alls and tell us how to do our job, where these guys showed quiet
patience, and were able to teach me a few interesting things, when I
took the chance to listen.

So it has encouraged me to keep my mouth shut longer, and listen to
others a bit more, even thought they may happen to be annoying tourist
:) Just a thought I had yesterday, that I felt like sharing.

Luke

Pub Crawl Pics

2009-07-10T13:44:00.001+11:00

Not too many pics from the day, but heres a few.

Munda - Naru - Pub Crawl

2009-07-05T12:28:00.001+11:00

Well It has been awhile since I have updated, it has been busy around here. It has also been a time with lots of parties, to celebrate various things. Last weekend I was in Munda teaching some classes out there, as the instructors there were in Australia, and now July looks like we will have 15-20 divers almost everyday (a typical day now is 20 a week).

Then came back to Gizo and working too much, when on Tuesday I left work early to stop by a birthday party for the hotel owners son. It was on an island he owns called Naru Island, and is the one I swam to when I was "misplaced at sea". I planned on stopping by for an hour or so, but when I saw the arrangments I ended up staying the night. For food they had half a cow, a pig, about 10 chickens, crocodile, and lots of fish. It was all cooked in ovens made in the ground and delicously tender, you just pulled hunks of meat off and ate and ate. Then there was the beverages, over 50 cases of beer and 3 huge eskies full of some potent punch. All this was for about 40 adults, and 20 kids. Well as you can imagine I slept quite well and full on the beach that night. It was embarrassing to call the boss the next morning on the radio, to say if he needed me at work to send a boat to get me off the beach!

Lastly on Saturday I organized a pub crawl from bars on various islands to celebrate the 4th of July. We had about 50 or so people following it (8 Brits who I reminded that we won), and it turned out great. We started at Fatboys at 11am the furthest away, and had a large sea food buffet as well as some swimming and kayaking. Around 4pm we moved down to Sanbis Resort and had a few happy hour drinks there, and celebrated a birthday, then at 6pm to PT 109 for a predinner cocktail, then lastly to the Gizo Hotel for a nice dinner and some intersting shots the owner provided, my favorite was Russian Cocaine. You take a lime slice, put sugar on one side, instant coffee on the other, then put that on your tongue coffee up and take a shot of vodka.

I have some photos I will post, but I need to get them from others, as I didn't want to risk my camera on the boating adventure.

Rescue Class or Hospital Taxi

2009-06-24T09:52:00.001+11:00

During the past weekend I was extremely busy actually working 12-14 hours a day, most of it in the water, and then teaching classroom portions at night. I managed to teach 3 different classes, Open Water, Rescue, and a CPR first aide class. The Open Water class and CPR class went fine, but the Rescue class was the most eventful.

The first thing that was interesting about this rescue class, was that my student is from Sandy Springs, about 10 miles from Marietta my home town in the States. He is also a professor at GA State, and his father works for IBM just like my Dad! Small world to be teaching a dive class in the remote S. Pacific and your student was your neighbor in the states!

Now my student was a great, a fast learner, and attentive. One of the local staff joined in and finished up his rescue also. The problems came on Monday when we set out to do scenario practice. Which is where we go out on the dive boat and I arrange for a bunch of "accidents" to happen, like missing divers, unconscious divers, panic divers etc...

The first unscheduled thing was when Craig the staff in the class, got a reverse block coming up, and thought he would not be able to dive for 1 year. It is actually a minor thing but he was convinced he would miss out on his favorite thing, diving. So my other student thought it was a planned accident and helped, and he did a good job, except for the language barrier. After a few minutes I was able to convince Craig he would be able to dive in a week.

Next at lunch, I was walking in the shallows and got stung by something, it was like a really bad bee-sting. Of course again my student starts to treat me, and I let them know to shut up and stop touching me. I got over it and my foot went numb an hour later, and was able to finish the class.

The last thing that happened, was another staff on the boat had a minor cut from walking in the bush the day before. Now for some reason it swelled to the size of a gulf ball after the second dive. Needless to say on the way in we just stopped the boat by the hospital jetty and got some advice and pain meds then went home. Nothing was serious just cuts and scraps, but added a bit of unscheduled excitement to the day.

Luke

Some Interesting Stories

2009-06-16T13:16:00.001+11:00

So I though I would write a few things that have happend the last few weeks that you all might find entertaining. The other day I went to go buy some chickens and eggs. First of all we get a lot of guests that won't eat chicken here because they are afraid of contamination. One thing to consider is there is a decent chance that chicken you were eating was running around an hour before that. So fresh chicken is probally healthier then the preserved/frozen ones at home. So I got my chickens and were waiting on the eggs, which they sell in boxes of 10 here. It ended up taking the better part of an hour to get my eggs. I asked why, and was told they only had nine left and had been waiting on a chicken to lay number ten. I left a short time after with my ten eggs, thanks to some hard work by mother hen :)

I was reading the newspaper here, and there is usually a good article or two in it, and one I will recap for you here. In a town in the eastern island of Malatia they just installed public phones. Now the town is calling for the phone company to provide training and awarness of phone use to help correct the problems they have been having.

For instance, when told to hang up, one man hung the phone receiver from its chord, which left the line open

Another caller tried to use the phone, and someone informed him you need a phone card, so they bought a phone card, and returned to the phone in which they became very agitaed and yelling at the phone, all they got was a beeping, no one would talk to them. A passerby informed them on dialing the phone.

Another person received a phone call on the phone, and just stood there silent (but nodding there head). The caller asked the person to pass the phone to the next person in the queue. That person informed the caller, that the person had been nodding yes/no to the questions being asked. They then informed the person they had to speak in the phone, that the caller could not see the head movements.

One man was found standing for hours outside of a shipping container, when someone asked what he was doing, he told them he was expecting a phone call and waiting for the office to open so he could use the phone. They happily then showed him to the phone that was next to the container.

While this kind of thing is not typical to most people here, it does point out what we take for granted and use so daily that is seems like common sense, when we really learn it even though it may be at an early age.

Luke

Whales and Sharks

2009-06-10T14:59:00.001+11:00

Sunday was one of the most incredible days, I had on the boat. After
two good dives, we were headed to fatboys for a beer before getting
back to town. On the way I spotted some dolphins, but Danny my boss,
said they might be whales. So we slow the boat and pull a few hundred
meters in front of them and kill the motors. I jumped in the water
with my mask and snorkel, and moments later about 12 pilot whales swam
underneath me, and started playing underwater and coming up to the
surface.

One of the coolest parts, was that following the whales were two
sharks. 1 a large reef shark, about 2 M, and the other an Oceanic
Silvertip Shark about 2.5 M. The silvertip was the exciting shark to
see, they are actually quite agressive and dangerous, but rare
thoughtout the world. They have white tips on their dorsal and
pectoral fins that seem to glow in a white triangle as they approach
you. I have not really had a fear of sharks, but I did just sit still
at the surface and tried to not move around to much as each shark
circled me to see what was going on then followed the whales again.

One customer did get a video at the surface, but we are trying to edit
it to the part with the whales but it is in some weird format and we
need a codec for it.

Luke

Earthquakes and Busy Business

2009-06-04T11:33:00.001+11:00

We are getting into our busy season now, and have been running two
boats most days, compared to one boat a day. It has been nice,
because it has wipped the staff into shape and established a bit of
routine. Which in appreciable terms means less mistakes and easier
work for me! So through August we will actually have quite a few
people come through, and it is always fun seeing new faces, as long as
they are not jerks.

Speaking of jerks, there is an American here the 5th one in 8 monthes,
and ya he is a jerk. I heard him at the hotel bar, but I was not even
actually in the bar, he is that loud. He has a northern accent, and
is "In Country For 6 Months" I think I learned half this guys life
story and was in a different building, if that starts to paint a
picture. He is grossly overweight, and has bad tattoos on both arms.
He wears dirty stained clothes, and dresses like a soldier, yet
admitted to never being in the military.

Luckily since there are only 3 Americans in Town, everyone was sure
that we met, and that is regretable since he just sits at a bar all
day drinking yelling, and saying how he hates the place. He picks on
everything, and is probally the most obnoxious person I have every
met! Luckily I have a bush knife, lots of lead weights, and an ocean
full of sharks :)

Oh Ya, and earthquakes. Well we get them quite often here, the
problem is I always sleep through them. We have gotten some bigger
ones, 6.3's and such, and I wake up to stuff being knocked over in my
house. It is definatly a pain, but funny how everything moves on its
own, always is a mystery where things will fall (toothbrush always
lands in the toilet). It facinates me because I remember going
through earthquake drills in school, and now they seem harmless and
mysterical.

Luke

Busy with Dive Courses

2009-05-25T09:33:00.001+11:00

So they always say when "It rains it pours" that has been very true
for us lately. I was teaching about 10 different students a month
here, and in the last week I have taught 6 in 3 different
classes/levels of diving. John made it out and home Ok, and it was
great seeing him. We were slow then so it worked out really well.
Now I think my next day off will be sometime in June, but it is
relaxing being so busy and being in a routine.

I have added some photos of what a hectic day around the shop can look
like, and the new workers we had to hire to work the boats and
entertain the guests. They are avid swimmers, and great look outs for
divers.

Luke

Dave and the Internet

2009-05-13T09:53:00.001+11:00

So Dave from fatboys, saw my blog yesterday and felt famous that it is
his hand holding open the crocs mouth so because he was so excited, I
decided to put up some pics of him and his family. They have been
very nice and fun while I am out here, we always can find a chance to
talk about how much we either hate or love it here. For Dave Chelsey
and Keiran.

Luke

Weekend Away

2009-05-12T11:15:00.001+11:00

We just returned from our weekend to Munda. It started on Friday with
lunch at fatboys. While we were chatting with Dave the manager a boat
pulled up to say they had a crocodile on board they had caught in
their village on a nearby island. It was about 2 M. We grabbed it
and through it on the dock for closer inspection, when I thought to
ask "Killem Dead" they responded "No hem need Kakkai" Which I asked
if he was dead, they said no, he needs food! We then realized we had
a live croc. Dave bought him from the people and we took him to the
workshop to kill and fillet for dinner in the restaurant. I must say
killing a crocodile was quite a different thing to do.

After that was done we caught a boat to Munda and met up with some
friends there to do some diving. Saturday we did a cave dive out onto
a reef that was very spectacular seeing the fossils and stuff in the
cave and then it opening into a bright blue sea with corals
everywhere. Sunday we did one of my favorite dives with was on wall
dive or vertical reef, that ended in the sand at about 40 M, where
there was a Corsair fighter plane almost perfectly intact resting on
the white sandy bottom.

On Monday we were meant to meet some friends at a resort on Lola
island for lunch then ride with them back to Gizo. So we got up and
hitched a ride on a local boat from the market and got to Lola. At
Lola we found out the weather was bad in Gizo and our friends were not
coming, so the owners made up a beach side bungalow for us to stay in
waiting for the next boat to go to Gizo. We spent the day reading,
and I went on a walk through the bush for few hours, then we napped
and ate some good food. Another person there needed to get to Gizo so
we hired a boat and got back today.

I think the weekend was pretty spectacular since we:

Killed A Croc
Did a Cave Dive
Saw an amazing wreck
Managed to Relax

Hope all is well at home, and Happy Mothers Day Mom, sorry you could
not join in on the fun.

Luke

Learning the Life in Gizo

2009-05-08T10:26:00.001+11:00

John is quickly catching onto life in Gizo, and visited a Kindy or
Kindergarten for the Americans. He had some fun trying to speak
pidgin but the kids are rather shy. The age of the kids in the Kindy
is from 3 to 9 and most have trouble reading or writing. School here
just became mandatory this year so lots of kids are behind on their
education, and school is still not free. The government now covers
tuition but the other cost of uniforms, books, and maintenance cost
for the schools is still not covered. The government only pays the
teachers, not the power bills, land fees, or building costs. Where
most people here still do not use cash a lot, but a barter system it
makes it difficult to come up with the money for schools.

This weekend John and I are headed to Munda, a town about an hour and
a half away by outboard motor. We will meet up with some of my
friends that run the dive shop there and do a dive that should be
incredible. You walk into an island then follow jump into a sink hole
and follow a cave/tunnel that empties out onto the reef wall in the
ocean. It should be pretty incredible, and hopefully we will have a
cool video to put up afterward. We will come back on Monday, then
follow one of our staff back to his village and spend a night and day
there fishing, canoeing and teaching John some custom weavings.

Luke

John's Visit

2009-05-07T10:58:00.001+11:00

So it took a year of traveling, but my brother finally came out for a
visit with some help from Mom and Dad. He arrived last Saturday and
has already been able to do quite a bit. When he arrived I drove a
boat to the airport to pick him up (the airport is on its own island
10 min from town). We organized a welcome party for him at the bosses
house, and had fresh fish and salad from the market. I took him
grocery shopping in the open air market, where the dress code was
casual only wearing board shorts.

On Sunday he went out for two dives with us, then ate some nice
crayfish at fatboys my favorite restaurant and watering hole. After
lunch there was a volley ball game on Kennedy Island we took the boat
over and met up with a bunch of medical students that were in town and
spent the day on the beach. Tuesday John and I grabbed a local friend
Dougy and headed off to Lola Island with the owner of fatboys, and
spent the 2 hour boat trip fishing, drinking, and snorkeling. At Lola
we took John to a Custom site called Skull Island - a bit obvious why.

He is out diving now and enjoying himself, tomorrow we will head out
to Munda and do some dives with some friends over there, hopefully
squeezing in a dive through a cave that empties onto a reef! I hope
this makes everyone jealous and want to come for a visit, you are all
welcome to, just bring candy!

Luke

Stranded on an Island - On Purpose

2009-04-22T09:42:00.002+11:00

This weekend was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time.
There are quite a few medical students in town now, which means quite
a few people my age. It was one of the girls birthdays this weekend
so I organized a camping trip to Kennedy Island, named after JFK who
spent a night there over sixty years ago. So Saturday afternoon we
set off for Fatboys, a resort near the island for a big dinner and a
few drinks, then at sunset I borrowed a boat and we dropped everyone
off on our own private island in the S. Pacific for the night. It
felt like the first episode of "Lost" as we arrived in the dark.

The group is quite disorganized (medical students never do anything
without being asked here) so I split the group up to go find firewood,
move all of our stuff into a nice pile, and to lay out some sheets to
keep the bugs off, and of course pack the cooler to keep the beer
cold! It took about an hour to set up our small camp, mainly building
the fire and getting enough wood, then I set back to Fatboys to pick
up the managers Dave and Chelsey, two good friends of mine here and
the ones that found me adrift at sea. They brought their four year
old son Karion who was excited about his night time picnic, he packed
his spider man backpack with tongs, a spoon, and coloring books.

The night was spent just swimming, drinking, lying around, and finally
around 2 am everyone was asleep in the sand in different spots, truly
like the first night on "Lost". Most people would never get cold
here, but I guess I truly have thin blood. I woke up shivering
throughout the night and tried to use a tea towel to keep warm, and
keep the fire going. The next morning most people just laid around,
we ate some tinned tuna and biscuits for breakfast. Then picked up
camp and waited patiently for Fatboys boat to come pick us up. It
finally came around 11am and we all decided to go to Fatboys rather
then return to town. Back at Fatboys, this seems to be a trend for
me, but we went and ate lunch and had some drinks while swimming and
shooting pool. Then Dave made a generous offer to let everyone stay
for the night at no charge! So we split up and everyone got their own
beach side bungalow to relax in for the night, a perfect end to a
great weekend!

Monday walking into work, my boss noticed I had not had a shirt on
since Friday, and was wearing the same board shorts as I did last
week, while I might not have smelled very refreshed, my mind and body
were defiantly refreshed.

Go With The Flow, Even If its A Rip

2009-04-14T16:25:00.001+11:00

My Horoscope for April from a magazine here "Go With The Flow Even If Its A Rip"

Well I am writing this to everyone to let you all know about my
learning experience with tides, rip currents, and bobbing. I made
some foolish mistakes yesterday while diving that made a lot of people
worried here in the Solomons. I was diving for fun on a day off and
jumped in on a gorgeous reef, that had a strong current. I had a
great dive, and saw lots of sharks, eagle rays, and a school of 10
Mantas. As the dive finished I came up and my safety stop, then
surfaced at 1:10pm. I surfaced about 500 M from the island the boat
was on, so I took off one of my yellow fins and waved it to the boat.
The boat then started driving towards me, but I was wrong they had not
seen me.

At this point I was stuck in a strong current going out to sea. And
still thought the boat had seen me, it took about 20 min to realize
they never saw me and by this time I was out in the middle of the S.
Pacific. I knew going back to where I dove was against the current
and I wouldn't be able to do, So I started swimming accross the
current, towards the next set of islands, probably about 4 km across
Ferguson Passage. This is important because JFK PT 109 Sunk in
Ferguson Passage and he swam to Plum Pudding Island. Well Plum
Pudding or now Kennedy was really far away so I set my sights on
making it to Naru Island. So for the next 4.5 hours I swam as hard as
I could to make it to an Island before dark. It was tiring but I knew
If i could make it to the reef line and through the surf, I could rest
on the reef, then swim to Naru where I knew there was a house with a
radio. As I was swimming I could start to hear the surf break, and
that helped me push further. I made it to the surf and used my dive
gear as a buffer for when I had to dive under the waves and hold the
reef. I made it through then walked up on the reef just in time to
see a boat!

A boat from a resort here Fatboys was out searching along with about 8
other boats. So I then had to swim back through the surf, exactly
what I wanted to do, and get on the boat. I got on the boat and drank
lots and lots of water and went to Fatboys where the response was, Ya
Your alive. Everyone was told the good news and the party was then at
Fatboys. Its not nearly as bad as people thought I am a strong
swimmer and knew I was not going to be seen out there, and so I took
it into my own hands, or legs and swam.

So now to get to my mistakes:

- I didn't stay near the reef
- I was diving alone
- I didn't get confirmation from the boat that they had seen me
- It was the one time I was to lazy to bring my Surface marker (A
large orange float that stands 4 feet tall)
- I underestimated the currents

So just to let you all know how well the rescue was organized

- They had two cop boats out
- All three of our boats
- 3 other boats
- 4 divers in the water looking for me
- 4 snorkelers looking at the surface
- A plane was being routed to run a search grid

Everything went great, and the only flaw was, the US consulate here
just now returned the call of a missing persons here. I guess they
should mention there emergency line for US citizens in Honiara is a 24
hr turn around.

I am fine just sore legs from swimming minor cuts from the reef, and
some sunburn (my shorts were chaffing badly so I swam naked for a bit
haha), and never panicked, and learned alot from my mistakes, and I
hope you all do not get too worried about this, but just though I
should let everyone know so that if I bring it up I don't have to
explain it 20 times :)

Gizo Town: Still Here

2009-04-02T15:47:00.001+11:00

Well last Friday I arrived back in Gizo, and was welcomed by all the
staff, and lots of Cats! It was nice to get home where everyone knows
your name. I was greeted at home by 8 winging cats, all that wanted
food and something to play with. That quickly became my feet as the
constantly terrorized me trying to walk through the house. The house
smelled like cat pee so I decided Monday was moving day for the little
ones.

That morning we packed them all up in a box and brought them to the
shop, where a temporary cage was made by lining up scuba tanks. I had
gotten all of them good homes by lunch time, what a success and a
relief. I have been out on the boat diving, and one day visiting a
cruise ship for lunch, and mingling with the guests, nice to have good
free food and wine! Today we dove a spot Grand Central station and
spotted a hammer head that was about 2 Meters long, I was doing the
last dive for an Open Water student, what a treat for him.

I hope all is well, and you all have more power then us!

Luke

Last Memories of Sydney

2009-03-26T15:27:00.001+11:00

It is now time to move on from Sydney, I am heading to Brisbane at
9:00pm tonight then back to the Solomons at 1:00am. The last few days
I have been relaxing at Bondi Beach doing lots of reading, and
swimming in the surf. I did go to the zoo in Sydney the other day
which was really fun! I saw Koalas, Kangaroos, Elephants, Lions,
Tigers, Bears, Monkeys - I never knew all those animals lived in
Australia!

I also went to a concert last weekend with some people I met in the
Solomons and live in Australia, and threw in a photo of them. We also
had a few Brazilian type BBQ's which were excellent since all they
cook is meat, no veggies to distract you. There is a photo of my host
Christian and Cara, Christian is the chef tasting his masterpiece.
Sydney and Australia was fun, but I am ready to go back home, and
sleep in my own bed, and go diving again. I don't however look
forward to going back to work, which I am sure many people can relate
too. I have quite a few students that have arrived in Gizo since I
left, and will be starting classes for them all tomorrow after my red
eye on the plane, and then a 7am Island hop, I will get picked up in a
boat from the airport and off to work I go!

Luke

Things I Love

2009-03-22T20:05:00.001+11:00

So some things I have learned to love now and will miss when I am back
in Gizo this week. I hope you all read the list and appreciate that
you have these everyday:

Hot Showers
Washing Machines
Dryers
Sharp Razors
Beef
Blue Cheese
Cheese
Take Out
Fast Internet
TV
Grocery Stores
Ice Cream
Lots of Candy

Things I don't Miss:

Crowded streets
Unfriendly People
Bad TV - Reality shows like "Australian Customs"
Overpriced goods at stores
Clothes shopping
Rude people on Trains
Hectic Airports
TV
Lack of fresh fish and potatoes
Big towns where you have to walk alot
Being on time
News - lets be honest its just depressing, what happend to the state's
since I left?

Anyways that was just a short list of things I have noticed and
thought I would share. I hope everyone enjoys all that they have and
are given, we are all so blessed in this wonderful world.

Luke

Sydney Down Under

2009-03-19T13:03:00.001+11:00

I arrived in Brisbane at about 10pm and cleared customs in about 2
minutes and was out the door and picked up by a friend that lived
there. He immediately took me to a 24 hrs McDonald's, but it was not
as good as I remember it. It was a bit disappointing but I did find a
KFC which I still love. The next day I headed into the city to do
some shopping, but was immediately intimidated by all of the people,
the fast cars, the hectic sidewalks, and tons of things to buy. I
shopped around and picked up some clothes and a mobile.

On Friday the 13th I kissed my good luck and got on a plane at 6 am to
Sydney. In Sydney I took the buses and trains and found when I got
off at Central station that I was right in front of the Opera House
and Harbor bridge, the two land marks in Sydney. I then caught a
ferry to Manly beach and fell asleep for the afternoon with all my
bags in the sand. I met up with a friend and hung out with him and
his friends that weekend, enjoying some good swims and body surfing at
the beach. The surf here is bigger then most places I have been; it
was common to see 2 and 3 meter waves and body surfing them was fun,
but tired you out fast.

Now I am in Bondi Beach another famous beach here, staying with a
great couple that I taught to dive in the Solomons. They are about a
3 minute walk from the water. It is a very relaxed atmosphere and not
hectic like the city. Hopefully this weekend I will get in a surf
lesson or two from Christian my host here. He has been surfing his
whole life and goes surfing most mornings before working a corporate
job with Yahoo Australia. Hopefully next time I write I will have a
photo or two of me surfing!

Luke

Update of Last Month

2009-03-12T12:35:00.001+11:00

Sorry guys it has been awhile since I have been on here to update. We
have been busy, and I have been lazy. We have had quite a few guests
coming through lately, so I have been on the boats most days. Since
my last update I have learned many new things, like how to make pizza,
so now we have a weekly pizza night. It is so good, probably the best
pizza I have ever eaten if I must say so myself. I have to give a
special thanks to my room mate for teaching me though. It is also
nice that we have power back, and have had plenty of rain so we have
water in the house also.

The diving has been extraordinary lately, we have been seeing lots of
cool things. We have seen mantas, a new family of eagle rays is
always around one of the reefs, and lots of sharks have been joining
in on the dives. Now on a dive we generally will see three to five
sharks, which is pretty exciting since they are being killed very
quickly by fishermen all over the world. We have also had great
weather, where usually in the spring the weather is at its worst.

The cats are another story, a month ago I had two cats, then one had
kittens. Well as it turned out the other cat was pregnant and had
kittens 6 days later. I went from 2 cats to 8 cats in less then a
week! The new kittens are awfully cute, but a chore to take care of
it. One of the moms Little Ghost is wearing on our patience with her
constant meowing, I am threatening to leave her on an island by
herself. The kittens are playful now and exploring everything, you
never know what they will get into next and destroy. One is
especially adept to climbing things then not knowing how to get down,
so she cries until you help her out.

Right now I am in Brisbane Australia and am heading to Sydney tomorrow
to attend a dive and travel show. I will try to update more and post
more pictures now that I have a faster internet connection.

Luke

Back In Time....

2009-02-13T10:26:00.001+11:00

Lately we have had a few utility problems. I should have three
utilities at my house, but only one is currently working properly. I
should have water, power, and gas. I do still have propane, but no
reliable power and no water in the house! The power station here has
two broken generators, so the whole town is running on one. Which
means I have power for a few hours a day. I then noticed the
neighbors had tied a pipe into my rain water tanks and had used all of
my water for the house. Luckily I have one extra tank, but it only
has a tap outside, so were back to the days of filling buckets of
water and bringing them in the house to drink, for washing, and
running the toilet.

With all of these inconveniences it makes you appreciate what we
usually take for granted. For instance now to wash dishes I have to
fill up two buckets and bring them to the kitchen, boil some water,
all by light of a kerosene lamp. The most interesting part was when
my room mate saw walking outside in a swimsuit with: a watering can, a
kerosene lamp, and soap; she wanted to know what I was doing. I said
"taking a shower", and then hung the lamp on a tree and washed up.

It is not too bad, kind of relaxing sitting by light of a lamp and
trying to read a book at night. But with petty theft, and no power
for security lights, I don't want to leave the house alone at night.
Unfortunately it easy to spot the ex-pats houses here, and most people
know they have things of value there. So leaving your house blacked
out in a dark jungle is gambling with fate. It has been like this for
about 10 days, but the problem should be resolved with the power in
the next two weeks, as for the water we are praying for a large rain
storm.

Luke

New Kittens

2009-02-06T09:28:00.001+11:00

Yesterday I enjoyed a day off. Well kind of enjoyed, first off there
was no power at my house all morning, a common thing here. So while
the power was off I cleaned, I bleached and washed all the walls in my
room and cleaned the floors and windows really well. After I finished
cleaning my room I put everything back, and made sure to zip all of my
bags shut, since I had a pregnant cat and I didn't want her to give
birth in my bag. Later that afternoon I went on a H.A.S.H run with
some other ex pats then returned home and watched a movie.

I noticed that evening that I never saw the cat, but didn't think much
of it until I went to bed. I started to fall asleep when I heard some
meow's and some really little meows! I looked all around the room and
couldn't find them, it is then I discovered one of my bags unzipped a
few inches. I opened it to find my cat Little Ghost with two tiny
kittens, and another on its way out still, how GROSS! I don't think I
will ever look at that bag the same. Well a few hours later, we had 3
live little kittens, and one that didn't make it. I have had a
multitude of cats through the house now, but it is a hard life for
cats here and I have had four not pull through, either they are born
sick, they run away, the mom doesn't like them, or the wild dogs get
them.

My new cats are adorable and fit in your hand they are so small. I
hope you all enjoy your vets back home

Luke

Hiking a Volcano

2009-01-28T10:30:00.001+11:00

Since I have been here I have wanted to hike up a dormant volcano that
overshadows the surrounding areas that we dive at. It is about 1800
meters tall, and the hike takes two to three days. I set off with a
friend August from Indonesia and two Australian medical students that
were here.

So at 6am on Monday we all set off in a boat with one tent, water,
tuna, rice, and noodles. That is about all you need to survive when
you have some locals with you. We arrived at the Iriri Village about
7am. We then met the chief and some of the council members, and paid
a custom fee to visit the mountain. Then we found a guide and hired
him to take us to the top.

We set off from the village at 7:30 and started the hike through muddy
trails, we had about a 5 hour walk to the base of the Volcano. This
hike was filled with mud, then vines that covered every inch of the
trail. At about noon we reached the river that runs along the base of
the Volcano and stopped and had a lunch of canned tuna and crackers.
We washed off in the river and filled our water bottles back up before
starting the climb.

Going up was defiantly hard. It took us two and a half hours to reach
the base camp that was about half way up, but had a spectacular view.
It was actually cold there too! It was raining, but had rained all
day. We were already so tired and so wet that we all just laid down
in the wet grass and rested our legs before setting up camp. I think
few people ever get that tired, that lying down in pouring rain
soaking wet is relaxing. We set up camp and August built a fire and
cooked some delicious rice with chili tuna and cheesy baked beans all
mixed in. It was one of the best meals I have eaten!

That night everyone slept cozy in our small tent and bundled up in
jackets and towels, because lets be honest no one here has warm
clothes. We got a good ten hours of sleep and woke up to a beautiful
view of Gizo, and all the surrounding islands. We then ate a quick
breakfast of crackers and nuts and started a two hour trek towards the
top. It was the toughest part but we didn't have our packs so that
made it easier. Just below the top we had a gorgeous view for miles
around. At the top it was like being in an enchanted forest. The top
is almost always in a cloud and is dripping wet even when no rain is
there. There is a constant mist that seems as if it is rising from
the moss covered landscape. I halfway expected little hobbits to run
around.

Then we started our trek down. The trip down involved lots of falling
and cuts and scraps. The way up was hard on the knees, the way down
was hard on our backs. On the climb you are constantly climbing up
and down 10 feet ledges by grabbing roots and digging your feet into
the side. There are also huge trees, maybe 5 feet in diameter that
you constantly have to climb over. It took us about 8 hours to go up,
and only 4 to come back down. On the way down I radioed my boss who
was coming over to pick us up and asked that some candy bars and cokes
be put on the boat. It was a nice reward walking down to the sea and
jumping in with a snickers and a coke. That was a nice way to end the
trip. It was fun and challenging and full of beautiful views.

McDonalds

2009-01-22T16:10:00.001+11:00

So today I was working on fixing up some office computers all day. I
had a day out of the water, but still wore a swim suit. That paid off
because working in an office with no A/C when it is about 100 degrees
gets hot, so some swim breaks were needed. Sitting at the computer
all day made me remember going to school and doing that almost
everyday, then I thought of the quick McDonalds breaks I would have
and missed it severly!

I then tried to explain to the staff what McDonalds was and why I
missed it, but no one understood... My comfort is that in 2 months I
will be in Sydney and get a chance to eat some deliciously deadly and
fattening fast food. I will also enjoy a hot shower for an hour or
two. Even though it is hot here, when you spend all day in the water,
especially if it rains, you enjoy some hot water. I look forward to
not boiling water before I drink it, sometimes I'm safe and have
become immune to it, but it is not happy when you find out the water
was not safe, EW.

Another thing I noticed, is that no matter who I call in town I just
have to say "hello" and the other caller says "Oh, Hi Luke". It is
now very evident that everyone on the island knows me, and since I am
one of three Americans, they have a 1 in 3 chance of getting my name
right by the way I talk. Definatly a small world, phone numbers are 3
digits generally, because everyone starts off 60_ _ _. Sometimes you
ask someone for their phone number and they respond "9" which would
mean it is 60009. Very different from the world of cities have 3 area
codes for themselves.

Enjoy your McDonalds,

Luke

Hooray For Mail

2009-01-19T10:54:00.001+11:00

I have gotten some mail, and wanted to give a big thanks to my parents
and sister Theresa. It seems they actually broke some records in how
fast it got here! One package came in 3 weeks, the other in 4 weeks.
The mail from Australia can take that long sometimes and Oz is only a
3 hour plane flight away. It was very nice to get, and had some nice
Christmas cards in it also.

Lately I have been diving everyday, except for Christmas Day, and New
Years Day. I have taught quite a few students lately, 6 Open water
students, 3 Advanced open water students, and 1 Divemaster. They are
all finished now, so I am turning my attention to fixing up some
computers around the shop, and for Fatboys. I don't get paid for it,
but get free meals in drinks, and for western food that is quite a
nice commodity.

I have recently gotten a cold, and I hate being sick, it is the guest
that bring in sicknesses and then all the staff/island gets it in a
mater of days. People don't understand why, but when you look at the
fact that we are in a hot humid environment, and no dishes are washed
in hot water. So don't send any sicknesses here because they don't
sell cold medicine. I do have some but don't share it since it is a
rare commodity.

All is well...

Luke

Fatboys and Hair Cuts

2009-01-05T11:10:00.001+11:00

As many people have commented I needed a hair cut. I don't know why but I put getting a hair cut up there with going to the dentist, I just don't enjoy it. It is not that I am overly attached to my hair, just I never feel like I look good with a hair cut, and I hate the business of making an appointment and the useless small talk. Since I have been here there is no place to get your hair cut, unless you want it just shaved off, and even then you have to find one of the few people that have trimmers.

I started asking guests and the medical students that come if they can cut hair, I finally found one! So yesterday I got my hair cut, and I must say at a rather relaxing salon. The Sunday tradition here is to go to a resort called Fatboys for lunch. If we don't have to work everyone goes out in the mornings and relaxes on the dock, swims, and eats a big lunch. Fatboys is a large grass roof pavilion built over the water, right next to a reef and has "Gin Clear Water".

So we set out yesterday wish scissors and shampoo. I went for a swim then grabbed a bar stool, and a bikini clad hair stylist and got my hair cut! Afterwards everyone enjoyed lunch and headed back to Gizo. I didn't drink, because I was driving the boat, but enjoyed quite a few cokes, which is a rare thing here. I didn't even hit a reef on the way home, which is always a positive, I have a 100% safe driving record here so far (knock on wood) and have avoided the many unmarked reefs.

Luke

New Years

2009-01-02T15:51:00.001+11:00

Well it has been a busy time the past few weeks. I have been diving everyday, and teaching lots of classes. There have been a number of students come through that have been keeping me busy. For New Years Eve, we all went to an Island and grilled out celebrating the birthday of our bosses daughter. Then that evening everyone went to the two discos in town and partied until about 6 am. It was fun seeing how much people were celebrating, after midnight groups of families would march down the street with homemade fireworks, and dragging roofing iron around making it a loud festive time. Then the next day everyone slept in for the most part. Somehow a few people saved their fireworks and noise makers until about 10 am and woke everyone up!

As we look back on the past year I think of all we have done. I finished university, thank goodness, and now live in a third world country. I can catch fish without a pole, fillet and cook the fish. I know how to shop without grocery stores, and even know a bit of pidgen (the language here). The US has gone through tremendous strains financially and also managed to elect a president that 50 years ago would not have had a chance in government. At this time from what I see of the news not much is positive, but I hope in this next year we all overcome our hurdles, and focus on improving ourselves and our countries.

Happy New Year,

Luke

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T18:47:00.001+11:00

I just wanted to wish everyone in the cyber world a Merry Christmas. My holidays have been good, I did two dives on Christmas Eve, and have tomorrow off and going to lunch at the bosses house. We had our staff Christmas party yesterday which was a riot to spend the day with all the staff and their families. Imagine a Hundred people on an island with tons of food, drink, music, and children. We even got a tree from the islands today, and it is not a palm tree! It is a shaggy evergreen that looks nice decorated. I miss everyone back home and wish for a cold night for Christmas Eve so I can sleep nice and comfy. While I have not bought many gifts this year, I hope everyone takes some time and gives something that doesn't have to be unwrapped - it could be a hug, a helping hand, or even a cold open beer!

Miss you all, and Merry Christmas,

Luke

Marovo Lagoon Pictures

2008-12-24T18:36:00.001+11:00

Here are some pictures from Marovo Lagoon

Marovo Lagoon Holiday

2008-12-22T14:49:00.001+11:00

I just had an amazing week of vacation, or as aussie's say "Holiday" in Marovo Lagoon at Uepi Island Resort. The resort is owned by friends of my boss, and was very hospitable. I had my own bungalow on the water, that featured a king size bed and a huge bathroom. The bathroom usually would not matter, but to give you an idea of how small the bathroom is at my house, I have to stand in the shower to close the door! The food was amazing all catered, which was mainly fish and lobster. A few nights there was some chicken or pork to mix things up. I was able to do a lot of reading, something I do more now then ever before in my life. I read a book PT 105 written by an officer that served with Kennedy on the PT boats here, and has some thoughtful insights into what it was like living here during the war.

For fun I did a lot of diving. I did 9 dives all were fabulous. Now I do get to dive most days in Gizo, but that is always for work with students. It was nice just being able to relax and enjoy the diving. They have a jetty or dock there, that is home to a resident school of Reef sharks ranging in size from 2 feet to about 5 or 6 feet. That is pretty large for reef sharks. They were there almost 24 hours a day. There would usually be about 20 of them there at any given time. It was incredible to sit underneath them on the wall watching them feed above and all around you. The corals there are gorgeous the best I have seen. The reefs are full of short tunnels that you can go through and pop out at another spot, which is fun to pop out and scare someone. I hope all is well and am looking forward to Christmas, although it certainly does not feel like it.

Luke

Telemarketing Phone Calls

2008-12-11T12:34:00.001+11:00

It finally happened, I got my first telemarketing call in the Solomon Islands. It was from Miami Florida, who would of thought that. They were calling to boost a web site www.thegiftrevolution.com that is about giving free acts of kindness for Christmas, and changing the world in 25 days. When they called the staff could not understand them so they gave me the phone, weird to here someone from where I used to live on the phone. I wanted to inform the person that with the money they spent calling, they could have fed a family here for a week.

I guess it is a good idea, but why call all the way here? Especially since the Solomons lack the materialistic Christmas that they seem to be combating. I mean there is about two places in town with Christmas decorations up, and the kids will get some toys but nothing like what happens in the US. The shops do not stock up on anything special, and I have only seen Christmas decorations in one of the shops. Anyways just thought I would let you all know what was obviously the oddest thing to happen this month. But who knows the month is not over yet.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T09:00:00.001+11:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I missed being with friends and family, and the turkey of course. I searched everywhere here, and after trying to explain what a turkey was, realized they don't have any here. I was not surprised, but still a little disappointed. I am one of only 2 Americans on the island, and the other one seems a bit off her rocker. So I talked to the staff at work about what Thanksgiving is, and they were all excited about it. So we took a half day off of work, and I bought the biggest fish in the market. It was 100 SBD or about 15 US. I could barely pick it up, it defiantly weighed more then me.

We filleted the fish and marinated it with some limes, and everyone cooked food in there Modo, the traditional ovens here. You basically take everything you want to eat, wrap it in leaves then put hot stones on it all night, and in the morning cooked food. It is similar to a crock pot only no electricity is needed. We had Kasava, Fish, Banana Pudding, Potatoes, Fried Rice, lots of fruits, fresh breads, and some beer of course! Everyone had their kids come and enjoy in the food. It was a lot of fun, and kind of exciting. I started thinking that the pilgrims were starving so the Indians brought them food on thanksgiving. Well I am always hungry here, and the locals cooked all of the food their way, for us to enjoy. It was easy doing the dishes as well, when you use leaves for all your plates!

We probably had about 50 people come. The one and only radio station on the island even got wind of it, and said Happy Thanksgiving to all the staff at Dive Gizo. A guy named Kennedy came, his grandfather rescued and hid JFK and his crew from the Japanese during the war after their PT boat sank. He was nice enough to bring some Lobster and beer!

Dude Where's My Canoe?

2008-11-24T09:27:00.002+11:00

This weekend, I spent diving as usual. On Saturday though I had a problem, most of my staff did not show up for work! I found out that the truck that drives people from the villages did not run. On Sunday one of the carpenters showed up and apologized for not being at work on Saturday. He had a very good excuse and a funny one. He did not come in the day before because he could not find his canoe! Unfortunately some fishermen in his village had borrowed it without asking, because he usually does not work on the weekends. I thought that excuse was just a riot, and had to share it with you all. It is defiantly interesting watching how many people still use a canoe as transportation. On Mondays like today some people travel 2 days by canoe to come to the markets here, and we complain about a 30 min commute in an air conditioned car!

Luke

What goes on in Gizo

2008-11-20T13:26:00.001+11:00

Life here is a bit different, and it constantly reminds you how it is. It seems like everyday I learn something new. Well the other night I was reading on the veranda, and heard a knock at the door. It was some of the neighborhood kids wondering if they could climb my coconut tree to get some coconuts. I had lots of small ones, that are very sweet to eat, and they even chew on the skin. Now I have seen many people here shoot up the coconut trees but these were small kids, about 5 to 7 years old.

I was fine with them doing it, and just said not to drop the coconuts on someones heads. They thought that was funny as the ran off now smacking each other on top of their heads. While they were knocking down the coconuts, one fell within a foot of another child, and they laughed at how close it had come. What is interesting is there are a number of injuries and deaths here from the coconut trees. If I forget and sit under one, someone will quickly move me, for fear I get hit by a falling coconut.

After this I went by my neighbors house. Joe Bruno lives there and also works with me. He is by far the loudest person in town, and rides with me to work everyday. He generally rides in the back so that he can talk to or yell at everyone we pass. He bangs on the roof and I stop to pick up people. His youngest son was one of the boys in the coconut tree, and I go by and chat and eat some food with him during the sunset. Bruno also has a grandson Jaygone, that lives with him. Jaygone is not shy at all and loves talking. He rides down to the market once or twice a week, wearing a big straw hat, and home made clothes. He does not like to wear new clothes, only ones made from hand me downs. He calls me Luku, and talks about Uhos (fish) every chance he can get. He is fascinated by trucks, and when ever one goes by he says it is Danny, my boss. He is in the photos above.

Today I learned how to fillet fish, and actually did it one my own. Then we built a fire at work, and grilled some yellow fin Tuna, it was a huge fish that only cost about $4 US, it fed about 12 people lunch! It was not the most tasteful fish, but they have run out of beef and pork, and the chicken is too expensive. So the fish is cheaper and better tasting then Spam here, so that is what I have to learn to love. I defiantly like it better grilled or fried, I do not care for the boiled fish. I have been loosing weight and either need to eat more or find someone to take in my shorts. I eat donuts from the market for breakfast, or eggs if I get up early enough. Then eat Tuna Salad, noodles, or go out for fish and chips during lunch. Then dinner is usually cooked at home, except Fridays when most the other ex pats and I eat at the Hotel. About once a week I splurge and go to Wing Sun Store, where he has American candy bars. I buy either a Mars or a Snickers and it is so wonderful!

Hope all is well at home

Luke

Good Diving Days

2008-11-17T10:22:00.001+11:00

Well this weekend I had four students that had finished their Open Water course so we all went out for some fun dives. We went on two wall dives and one plane wreck. The wall dives is like diving the side of a building that starts just under the surface and generally continues for about two or three hundred feet below towards the bottom. The dives were at some of our best reefs here, Yellow Corner and Secret Spot. We dove a Hell Cat fighter plane that crashed into shallow lagoon when it ran out of gas in WWII. We saw lots of sharks at Yellow Corner, and at one point had 4 or 5 circling us. Don't be worried they were all small reef sharks, the largest one being about a meter and a half long.

Since I did not have any students I was able to bring my camera along and get some pictures. I got a few of the sharks, but they are rather hard to get good pictures of. I also got some photos of Nudibranchs, a lion fish, a crocodile fish, and of the plane. During our surface interval a storm kicked up as we were cooking some fish over a fire. I felt a little cold for once, it was almost pleasant. It passed in about an hour, and we got on with our lunch and the rest of the day of diving. It was a fun relaxing weekend, and am glad I got to take some photos.

Luke

Sick...

2008-11-14T11:50:00.001+11:00

So I have not been sick much in recent years. And if I was I always had my mom (love you), or even my brother that I lived with to kind of look out for me. Well the other night I got home from work but did not have too much of an appetite to eat. I don't know why, I had some perfectly delicious Spam and some fresh baked rolls. Well I did not eat dinner, and soon afterwards started throwing up. I don't mean the kind of throw up where you feel much better afterwards, I mean the kind that makes your sides and stomach muscles ache.

This decided to go on for the next 20 hours or so, just a good bit of vomiting on the hour, also accompanied by a large fever. Now I don't have a thermometer but I know when I am getting a fever. Now when you get sick at home you drive to the store and buy whatever of the many drugs you need. But when its the middle of the night and there is only one pharmacy in town, which is closed by the way. Rumor is the owner is in jail, don't ask me why. You have to make due. So I rummage through some medicine in the closet, a vast assortment from different countries and different languages. Trying to find Tylenol to reduce the fever. Of course it can't be that simple, it seems the US is the only country that has Tylenol, and I could not remember the active ingredient in my fits of vomiting. I finally found one that did not look too old, and promised to reduce fevers, so I took 4, and low and behold an hour later my fever seemed to go away.

Well now the fever is under control but I am in a very hot country sweating a lot with no AC and can't keep liquids in my body. I am severely dehydrated so I try sipping some sprite. Well now I had the pleasure of throwing up Sprite. I decided if it went on for longer then 24 hrs to go to the hospital just for fears of passing out due to lack of water. Luckily it stopped and I am feeling much better, but being sick alone, and crawling around the house is no fun.

Now that I feel better I am craving all of that food you want after you were sick, like soup. So I go to the Chinese shops in town in search of soup. Well first I have to explain what soup is to the people, which is hard to do, because I wanted to say "Its liquidity, you know like soup". So between the language barrier and the people never apparently having soup, I failed. I did find two shops that knew what I was talking about, but did not have it. So I was stuck between foods I knew would be good on the stomach, $2 noodles, $40 cereal, $10 snickers bar. I went with the noodles and snickers bars. I mean $40 for a box of counterfeit Kellogg's is just outrageous.

I missed all the friends and family back home, and hope you enjoy some soup next time you are sick.

Luke

Teaching Open Water Dive Classes

2008-11-10T12:25:00.001+11:00

Well I just finished teaching my first dive class here in the Solomons. It went really well, I had four students that volunteer in the hospital here. They were all lots of fun, and we had a gorgeous place to learn in. The training consist of five class room sessions, five pool dives, and four final training dives in the ocean. For the class room portion we did it on the large veranda of my house, overlooking the ocean and the waves breaking. The learning environment was quite nice compared to a stuffy class room with no windows.

There is no pool here, so doing the pool dives we needed to improvise a little bit. We found a shallow lagoon that was between 3 and 12 feet deep, and used that to practice our skills. We would set up our equipment on the beach, then wade into the water and start doing our class. It was nice being in 90 degree water, as clear as a pool, with lots of fish. One annoying aspect of teaching in a real swimming pool, is that it is hard to swim around in such a small space, but being in a large lagoon we could spread out and really practice the skills.

For the open water dives we did the first three off of Kennedy Island, on a site called Kennedy Wall. This is the Island JFK was marooned on, hence the name. We had clear warm water, and plenty of fish to see. We saw some large jacks, trigger fish, and one of the biggest jaw fish I have ever seen. We were also able to find 3 different kind of Nudibranchs . The nudibranchs are a small snail like creature that are brightly colored and hard to find. They are often smaller then your finger nails. The last dive we did at a site name Naru Wall, by Naru Island. We got to see some lion fish here, as well as a few small sharks.

I hope all is well back home, I was able to hear the election results, and I hope Obama will be able to do some great things for our country and the world. America is a very great place that got that way through innovation, hard work, and God's blessing on the people there. I just hope that everyone realizes that when you want something you need to work for it. One thing I have noticed here, is everyone has complaints about the government and corruption, and why their problems are someone else's fault. But..... All day they sit around, do not work, or strive to open businesses, and all night they spend their money on beer. Their are some that contradict that statement, but they seem to be in the minority. If you want something work for it, and I think Americans are forgetting that now more then ever.

Luke

Market Clean Up

2008-11-04T13:50:00.001+11:00

Well like in America, people here litter. The problem is that they can not afford to pay someone else to pick it up for them. So today was a market clean up day organized by the government. They closed down the market, which made a few people upset. Then they gathered volunteers by riding through town in a truck yelling with a bull horn. About 200 volunteers showed up, and in about one hour, they cleared about 12 truck fulls of trash from 1 city block. It was pretty incredible to see.

Next they passed out sand paper, and all of the wooden booths were sanded by hand for painting. Keep in mind this is the area of a city block and all the sanding was finished in about 45 minutes. Next some paint arrived and brushes were passed out to everyone. After about 3 hours of painting, it is nearly complete. The market looks incredible, I wish I had taken some before and after photos. I never thought they would put such effort into it. They also have new laws for the market to prevent it from getting so messy. Everyone here is very proud of their work, and I think they should be. I have seen lots of community projects done before, but never with the enthusiasm and hard work that they did here. I just hope everyone appreciates it and keeps it cleaner from now often.

Luke

Halloween

2008-11-03T11:07:00.001+11:00

I have learned that Halloween is really an American holiday, the brits and aussies here never do anything special for it. But since I wanted to, we threw a party at the Gizo Hotel. It was quite a blast getting everyone dressed up, the staff at the hotel really loved it. You may ask yourself where do you buy a costume when you are in a third world country, especially one that is a small island? Well, the answer is you make it, I decided to be an Island Warrior so making my costume was quite easy. I walked through the jungle and got leaves, and flowers to put together a skirt, head dress, and arm bands. I then had the guys at work make a spear and shield. I even learned how to make black paint out of charcoal and coconut oil. It was quite, fun and I won third prize, which was 100 Solomon dollars or about 15 US.

Things here have been good. I have done a good bit of dives, and enjoying the weather. It was quite cool yesterday evening it got to 79 F, the lowest it has been since I have been here, it made it quite nice and easy to sleep. I started a class with 4 people doing there Open Water class, the basic diver course and enjoyed it a lot. There is no swimming pool here, so we do the first part of the course in a shallow lagoon, about 6 feet deep. The water was crystal clear, and about 90 F, hows that for a heated pool! There was even large schools of silver fish and some clown fish hanging around. It was nice having fish swimming through your swimming pool! I am doing great and really enjoying things, and hope all is well with everyone in the States. I am very anxious to see the results of the election and am sure there will be a log of finger pointing the next few days no matter who wins.

Luke

Wild Dogs

2008-10-26T10:42:00.001+11:00

The last few nights have been a bit hectic. Nemo's mom is in heat. She lives outside and is half wild, but does occasionally come into the house for a few hours. By the house her and 2 other dogs wander from house to house and get fed, and are very tame and nice. However since she is in heat she has attracted wild dogs from all over the island, which has caused lots of fighting. This fighting has resulted in the dogs being beat up and howling into all hours of the morning, as well as very loud fights. I have counted about 12 dogs trying to attack her now.

All this happens right under my house. So to give her a break, and me some peace I brought her in and let her stay on the porch. She enjoyed it for a day or two, getting nice food and water, but has since wanted to go back outside. The cats at the house also do not care for her, but are quite intrigued by all the noise the dogs cause. They constantly stay on the porch peering over the edge to see all the dogs fighting, while appreciating their own safety in the house.

The cats however gang up on the dog in the house and pick on her, she is about 70 lbs, but is scared to death of the cats! I think this shows just how much smarter and evil cats are. So last night I returned home to find the dog inside the house, but I had left here locked on the porch? She wanted to get away from the cats so bad, she broke a window to get in. The cats regularly climb in and out of the slat windows, but the dog was too big and broke them when attempting the same maneuver.

It sometimes feels like a zoo here and is a definatly a different world. While trying to leave the house and let her out, all the dogs waited outside the door for me. They growled and showed their teeth, and were not happy with me at all. I had to open the door and scoot them away with a broom to let her out. I can not wait for her to be calmed down again and all the dogs leave!

The first Rabbit in the Solomon Islands

2008-10-25T13:43:00.001+11:00

There has never been a rabbit in the Solomons before today, but everyone agrees that the new shop dog Nemo looks more like a rabbit then a dog. It is rumored his ears pick up tv stations from Australia.

Feeding The Cats

2008-10-20T19:38:00.001+11:00

So everything here is a bit more difficult then at home, I guess that is what a third world country is like. No paved roads, no cat food. So feeding the cats is a little more difficult then opening up a bag, lets just say they eat all fresh food. So there are three cats that allow me to live in this house. It is defiantly their territory, but they are sweet and share it. They are very loving but when you come home from work they know what time it is. It is a bit obvious when you are carrying in a 5kg fish for them. They smell the fish and come running, but first you have to prepare it.

You have to take out the guts and the gills, defiantly a fun job to do before cooking your own dinner. Next you need to cut it up to fit in a bowl to microwave (I think I am one of 5 people with a microwave here) if you don't have a microwave you can boil the fish. After cutting through the guts and other fun things you microwave it for about 13 min, meanwhile the cats sit under the microwave watching it spin, they know what is happening. After it is done cooking you toss the head and tail to the dogs outside and divide the fish up for the 3 cats in bowls, they follow you religiously at this point. They are adorable and love the fish and show there love afterwards by sitting at your feet. Pets here are a bit different since they are all half wild, so seeing them act sweet is always a nice change!

Luke

Nemo Walkem Around

2008-10-18T19:18:00.002+11:00

Today was a fun day of doing some WWII tours for guests. We took six people around to see an old US Tank from the war, snorkeled on a Hellcat fighter shot down in the war, and then to skull Island. We ate lunch at a beautiful Island resort, Lola. Then spent spent some time hanging around the shop. At the shop there are two fierce guard dogs Nitrox and Nemo. Nitrox is an old girl that is pretty good at laying down and licking you when she feels like getting up, while Nemo is a puppy that has to be leashed so he does not run away.

Nemo has a very appropriate name because if you let him loose to run around he will be sweet and stay with you for about 10 minutes then when you turn your back he is gone. Today I noticed Nemo was not around and asked the staff, but no one had seem him. In pidgen they told me "Nemo Walkem about" Which meant Nemo left or "No Lookem Nemo" I have not seen him. So everyone about 10 people went looking for the naughty dog. Bradley found him about half way to the market. Nemo was in search of anything, there is lots of rubbish laying around that he would spend hours going through if you let him. Bradley then chased Nemo back to the shop, where Nemo promptly came in and gave kisses to everyone like nothing was wrong. The problem is Nemo gets regular baths and medicine while the streets he likes to wander are full of strays. The pets here are lovely and I love Nemo but playing finding Nemo everyday is a bit tiresome, yet entertaining. I will get a picture of him up, he has the largest ears I have seen on any dog, and shows his emotions through them, they are easily larger then his whole head!

Luke

Chasing the Needle in the S. Pacific

2008-10-16T16:35:00.001+11:00

Today I had a special treat. My company participates in a program launching data gathering equipment for US research group. These things are called spray gliders, and it is a not propelled robotic sub that dives in the oceans for about 3 months at a time. Today we picked up one that traveled hundreds of miles, and made about 700 dives since July 4th of this year. They measure depth, temperature, salinity, and location. They dive every few hours and when the come up the roll over so that fin serves as an antenna to send data to the researchers.

Now every few months they must be found and pulled out of the water to be cleaned and have the batteries changed. That is what we did today. Now when they are finished diving they send there gps coordinates every 15 to a satellite phone that we have on the boat. It sounds easy but is a bit of luck when you are in a small boat in 5 foot rolling seas, your gps is only accurate to 20 meters, and the satellite phone is not as reliable as all might like to think. Today we got lucky and spotted it in about 30 mins. All that there is to spot is about a 6 inch tall orange fin pointing out of the water. We found it and loaded it on the boat, it had small scratches and lost of odds and ends attached to, all in all it was a very successful trip.

More info on the glider is here http://spray.ucsd.edu/

Luke

Switching to the Left

2008-10-15T16:18:00.000+11:00

You might read this title and be a little shock. With all of the recent politics the left and right have both taken there stances. My switching to the left has nothing to do with any of these things, I have switched to driving on the left side of the road. The differences are subtle but are very prevalent at times.

For instances when getting into a vehicle to drive it, you look stupid when you get in the wrong side then have to get back out and walk around the truck to the right side where the wheel is. Also while driving constantly reminding yourself which side to drive on. You shift gears with your left hand, and operate the turn signal with your right hand. I feel like it is the first time driving a manual since I have to think where each gear is.

These things in themselves can be easy to overcome, but with one exception. That is when you are on an Island with no paved roads. There are giant potholes to dodge as well as people, children, stray dogs, and occasional rubbish piles. Now today I had the joy of driving through the bush for the first time, which is basically an unpaved road through the rain forest. I only got the truck stuck once, but had to back up a muddy hill back to the main road since there was no time to turn around. I popped into 4 wheel low and got out, marveling at the experience.

I am also training on driving the boats, which is not hard they are fun little 20-25ft boats with twin outboards. But there is not much in the way of navigational markers, so learning where the reefs are is imperative.

It has been fun and exciting and I will keep you all updated on my latest feats of glory as I like to think of them.

Luke

Arriving in the Solomons

2008-10-14T16:17:00.000+11:00

I have arrived in the Solomon's and even with all of my baggage, it does not appear that anything is damaged either! Now that I am here I am quickly learning how to run and operate the shop since my boss and his wife are going to Australia for 5 weeks soon. This also means I get to house site there lovely home that sits on a cliff overlooking the Pacific.

They leave on Monday and will return December 2^nd. That will leave me as the only American on the Island for Thanksgiving; I do have quite a house to host the party in though. I have met some other foreigners here most of them I met when I was here during the summer, or as it was winter here. The weather is great about 90 in the day and 84 at night, sunny and gorgeous seas. I have started driving some, and tomorrow will do some training learning how to drive to different Islands to get guests and avoid running the boat aground.

Luke

Aussie Land "A Dingo Ate My Baby"

2008-10-12T21:46:00.002+11:00

Well, after 35 hours of traveling I made it to Brisbane, Australia on Friday here, Thursday back home. The planes were uneventful, but the 13 hour flight to Tokyo was not Fun. I flew from Atlanta to Chicago and had a Layover there, I needed to go back through security for the international flight. It would have been uneventful but I was lucky to be chosen for the random security check. As the TSA agent described it, they will go through everything I have. I didn't think it would be that bad until they asked me when my flight left. When I said it was in 2 hours, they replied "we will have to hurry then". I made it through with all of my things, and after that the trip was pretty uneventful.

Australia is quite fun. I am staying at a type of uni housing in which it is all people my age. Yesterday I went to Byron Bay, a beachy hippie town south of the gold coast for the day to hang out, then stopped off in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. In Byron bay we walked on the beach and went to a gorgeous Light house, and the most Easterly point on the mainland of Australia. We had a bite to eat then went to a few bars before coming home. Everyone here is nice, and is easy going. I have noticed a few differences, like the have Tyres on their cars not tires, and you cook on a Barby not a Grill. I have some good photos and will get them up next week. As for now tomorrow I am going to try to take a bus to see a friend south of Brisbane and then on Tuesday morning I will fly to the Solomons to start work. I hope all is well in the states and will get more up soon.

Luke

My first Kangaroo Experience

A Barbby not a grill

Aussie's showing up for the Barbby

Moving On

2008-10-07T01:57:00.001+11:00

Well the past week I have left Florida and took a plane to Charlotte NC, then a bus to Raleigh. It was exciting travels with no major hang ups. My bags were sent to Atlanta however but John was able to pick them up at the airport to keep them from winding up in a warehouse somewhere. In Charlotte I stopped by a Dive shop and saw some friends for lunch then continued to Raleigh. In Raleigh I saw Theresa and Matt as well as my parents. We ate good home cooked food(Great Job Mom and Theresa), and watched movies. Theresa and Mom still found time to go shopping. We did go and see the movie Step Brothers which I must say was better then I could have expected and defiantly one of Will Farrel's funnier movies.

From North Carolina I drove my parents Truck to Atlanta. In Atlanta I went and met John at work and stole my truck back, I had missed it over the past 5 months. John and I then Joined Mrs Shirley and her family for dinner where she made delicious corn beef and cabbage. Grandpa would be and is Jealous I am sure. That night I went out with Mathew for a bit, then headed downtown to meet some old friends for some beers and pool at their new house. It is nice to be back in Atlanta, it does feel like home, and nice to be surrounded by people who know you. And get together some final supplies and things for the next year.

Whats Next?

Wednesday I head for Brisbane Australia, I depart Atlanta at 7:20 am and arrive in Brisbane at 8:00 am Friday. The trip includes a few layovers one of which is in Tokyo for 8 hours. I am hoping to go into town there but will have to play that by ear. Catching my plane is defiantly the priority! I should be in Australia for a week or two in which I will see some friends I met while traveling. Then head back over to the Solomon Islands for a year.

Hurricanes

2008-09-09T06:04:00.001+11:00

Well, this hurricane season has not been fun for much on anyone in the South East. We have already had 3 storms in the keys, as Ike is approaching us now. It does not look like it will really hit us, but it does call for evacuations which means no work for 5-7 days during the storm. It has been somewhat of an annoyance not having work or much to do. We usually just go to the beach to kill time and read.

Right now my room mates our on vacation so I have the storm shutters up and am waiting out the storm, got plenty of water, canned food, and beer for a week. The best thing is Fancast, where you can watch lots of tv shows online, it has kept me occupied for much of the storm.

I have gotten my travel plans for my next workplace. I will be leaving Miami on October 1st, and spending a week in Atlanta/Raleigh NC, then I will spend a comfortable 40 hours on planes and in airports to go to Brisbane Australia. It looks exciting especially with a long layover in Tokyo. I will then stay in Brisbane for a week or so waiting out my work permit, then off to the Solomons again for a year.

I am looking forward to seeing lots of friends and family when I get to Atlanta

See you all soon,

Luke

Key Largo

2008-08-19T03:11:00.001+11:00

Well I have returned safely from travels in the south pacific. Although I am returning, as soon as I can get a work permit. It will take about 6 weeks to get after I apply for it, I have to send a background check and other documents in order to apply. It takes about 3 weeks to get the background check that is needed. So I will be here for about 10 weeks.

With that said I flew into Miami jobless and homeless. A friend picked me up and I went and caught up on some of my jet lag. I did feel the 40 something hours of traveling. I got to my friends apartment and took some naps and did laundry for the rest of the day. The next day I went job hunting and got a job in about 1 hour. I went to work with a friend that works at John Penenekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. I am a narrator on the glass bottom boat tours, and a dive-master on the dive and snorkel boats. After being back for a day I now had a job and a place to live.

The job pays well, but I do have to wear what we refer to as a "Key Largo Tuxedo" which consists of a khaki fishing shirt, khaki shorts, and crocs for shoes. I feel like the crocodile hunter in such an odd uniform. Luckily on the snorkel and dive boats I can take it off and wear board shorts once we are on the reef.

I am working 5 days a week about 12 hours a day in hopes to save up some money before traveling. I am living in an apartment with friends in Homestead right now, and share rides to work. Life is simple yet very enjoyable, I have one suit case and air mattress, and dive gear.

I think I will end this with a quote "In search of the Great Perhaps," - Rabelais

Whats Next?

2008-07-30T00:14:00.001+11:00

So I have been away from the internet for a few weeks. So I have just spent another two weeks diving in Munda and Gizo. I will be back in Miami on August 6th. I had to decide what to do next, and as luck would have it the Dive Shop in Gizo www.divegizo.com was looking for an instructor. I got the job and will be returning for a year at the end of September. The job comes with a house to live in and about all the fish I can eat. As well as a cat named "Ghost".

I am looking forward to it. In a few days I went from homeless to having a nice house, and even a pet! I will get plenty of time of to dive some on my own. I am looking forward to doing some technical training with an Australian Course Director that works out there periodically. There are lots of WWII wrecks as well as deep walls to explore.

Talk to you soon, and will have more photos and such when I have better internet in Miami.

Luke

Pacific Harbor, Days Off

2008-07-11T14:45:00.001+11:00

Well it has finally happened I have had a few days off. So the last four weeks have been spent traveling. I have done awesome dives in the warm waters of the Solomon Islands, visited Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Dove WWII wrecks, and seen Manta Rays, and Devil Rays in Kadavu Fiji. I have slept in villeges overnight, and seen how they still live off the jungle and substance farming in both the Solomons and Fiji. I have had few hot showers in the past month and was looking forward to some relaxing time.

The days off started with a quick night in Nadi on the main Island of Fiji, the next morning me and my co-worker spent time finishing up paperwork and calling the office. I was able to get McDonalds, the service here is 10 times better then anyone in the states. I also have gotten some Oreo cookies to munch on. We then rushed to the bus depot to catch a bus to Pacific Harbor, about a 3 hour ride. We paid the $9 fee, and climbed on a very "Local" bus. The ride was very interesting crammed with the locals slowly moving up the mountains then racing down. We arrived in Pacific Harbor to meet friends, but had no Idea where they were staying. Pacific Harbor is spread out over a few miles, and they had no Idea we were coming. After standing on the side of the road for a few minutes a divemaster from a local shop stopped to talk, and it turns out had been diving with our friends that morning! We were about 100yds from their lodge.

There is so much to do here its hard to sleep in. Yesterday me and my co-worker Alex awoke at 7am to go whitewater kayaking through Navua Gorge, which is quite possible one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. There were countless large waterfalls, beautiful mountains shooting up from the river banks. We went swimming in the cold spring water, I think they might bottle Fiji water nearby. I thought of all the people paying $3 for it in the states and thoughtfully relieved myself, only to make sure you get your monies worth.

Today we awoke early again to go on a shark dive. We went out on a local boat for a feeding. The sharks were incredible and were joined by a 2-300lb grouper. We say 7-8 foot reef sharks, and some large bulls were circling in the distance. It was defiantly worth the early wake up. We have been staying in dorms the past few days, so this afternoon we checked in at a local resort on the beach. We have a gorgeous bungalow overlooking the water, complete with a huge outdoor shower garden to bath in! So the plan is to finish relaxing the rest of the day and mingle with the travelers from all over the world. Everyone is so friendly and you are guaranteed to meet someone new each night. Well I will try to get some pictures up soon. The weather in Fiji is colder, I def was not prepared for that but am enjoying it, but missing everyone back home.

Luke

Kadavu, Fiji

2008-07-09T09:45:00.001+11:00

So I have just finished a week in Kadavu. The diving there was great but a little colder, about 76 F. We saw devil rays, and manta rays, as well as amazing amounts of colorful coral. The coloring of the reefs is like something out of Dr. Seuss's books. There is such an abundance of coral and fish it was unbelivable. I think that the Solomons had more fish, but Fiji is winning on the Coral side of things.

We stayed in Matava Eco Lodge, which were very plush accomodations. We had three and four course meals, and you stay in seperate grass huts that are quite luxurious scattered along the hillside. The view from bed in the morning was unbelievable.

I am in a bit of a rush to finish laundry and start traveling on a few days that I have off of work. I will be headed to Pacific Harbor on the big island to do some shark diving and meet up with some friends. Here are a few tips I have learned while here:

When Flying in the south pacific always wear boardshorts and sandals, most plane flights also include wading through water to a boat then a one to two hour boat ride.

All flights are give or take two hours, so be early and stay late. It is not unheard of to show up at 10 AM for a Noon flight and find out you missed it by 20 minutes.

All dive gear will break due to your remote nature. I have busted many seems on random pieces of gear after only 30 or 40 dives, have a sewing kit. I currently have a bag being held together by zip ties (which are holding up better then the bolts that they replaced).

Off to swim with the fishes!

Nadi Fiji

2008-07-03T08:41:00.002+11:00

Well I arrived in Nadi two days ago. They have fast internet here so I am trying to take advantage of it. Nadi Is on the main Island, and it seems like a huge city compared to the ones where I stayed in the Solomons. I have been enjoying hot showers, as well as cooler temperatures since Fiji is not as hot as the Solomons. Things I still have not gotten used to our people driving on the left hand side of the road. I have mistakingly tried to get in the drivers right door a few times now. Later today I will fly to the island of Kadavu and then take a boat to the island/village of Matava. I am looking forward to enjoying some diving in Fiji, and will talk soon! By the way Fiji water is still really expensive in Fiji

Luke

Leaving Gizo

2008-07-02T14:20:00.009+11:00

Bula - Hello in Fiji

So it was time to leave Gizo. It was hard to do the people were so friendly, the diving so good. But after spending over two weeks, drinking only rain water, and treating all water like Gold. (The main source of water on the island is rain water that is caught in the gutters), it is time to head to Fiji. I am currently on an extended layover in Nadi, a larger city on the main Island.

Tomorrow I will head off to Matava. That involves a 45 min plane ride followed by about an hour water ride on a boat. Matava is very small, there are really no roads, limited phones, and maybe some internet. The diving there should again be exceptional. It will be much colder though, the water temp in the Solomons is about 84 degrees, and the water in Fiji is about 76-78. We will be doing some cool Manta Ray dives as well as some more wrecks. There is always plenty to look forward to.

After a week in Matava, I head to Nadi to put people on a plane, then get to enjoy about 5 days off. We will see what else Fiji has to offer. I want to try and go white water rafting, do a shark dive, and maybe even give surfing a try.

Not too many pictures to post, it has been very hectic here with teaching, but will definatly put some together to post in my days off.

Luke

Gizo, Another Week, Another Island

2008-06-28T16:37:00.001+11:00

So I am now in the Island of Gizo. It is still wonderful. Each day
is busy but fun. It starts with breakfast of toast at about 7am, then
a 1.5 mile walk down the hillside to the water, where we hop in a dive
boat and do a dive. It is mostly wall drift dives.

We have done a few wrecks, 1 a 400 ft. Japanese transport sunk by US
Airman in WWII, that lies at about 120ft. It has tanks and lots of
cargo still. We have also been on US Hellcat fighter plane that was
awesome.

After our first dive, we head to an Island for lunch, it is usually
fish, which I eat now! Mainly because I have too, we usually have it
for lunch and dinner. Today we had lunch on the island JFK was
stranded on after PT 109 was run over/sunk.

After lunch we head in the water for another dive, and then a march up
the hill to our house. Everything is wonderful. Things I miss are
only fast food, I would love a hamburger! But I don't miss it too
much, when I look around at how beautiful it is, and how nice the
people are.

I haven't been on a computer much, mainly due to a strike at the only
communications company in the Solomons. I am headed to Nadi Fiji on
Tuesday. I have left my dive computer on US time and find it
entertaining that while I am diving you all are going to bed on the
previous day!

-- Luke

Munda, Solomon Islands

2008-06-20T16:56:00.001+11:00

After 30 Hours of traveling, 5 airline flights, I have made it to the
Island of Munda. Only one place has the internet, and it consists of
a dirt runway, a bank, and about three or four general stores. Then a
small guest house and bar and dive shop where we are staying.

The water here is about 86 degrees. It is wonderful wall dives, that
usually are drift dives due to the current. Everydive we see sharks,
and the occassional Manta ray, eagle ray and sting rays. There are
many Neudebraches(Spelling?) As well as huge pieces of coral.

Everyday we go out and do a dive then eat lunch on a random Island
beach, then do one more dive before heading back. Everything is slow
paced, but does take a while to complete. The computers and internet
are bad here, I have been very busy teaching, but have a few pictures
to attach. I probally will not be able to update for another week or
so. It is so gorgeous I hate to be in front of a computer!

Luke