Shenanigans around the globe

I was welcomed to the Philippines by Wilson, my lovely taxi driver, and his love of 90s pop music. The 3.5 hour  drive to Maya was soundtracked by Aqua, the Vengaboys and who ever it was who sang hey macarina! (You can dance that dance to any song FYI). The views were spectacular, the ocean was visible for the majority of the ride and when it wasn't leafy green forest areas were. The car had air-con which was lovely as it's a very humid heat, staying steady at 28 degrees most days and only dropping a few degrees when the sun goes down. Makes for a very sweaty Hemy. After a short boat ride I arrived to the beautiful island Malapascua, just in time for the interns meeting at 5. I was almost late at I could not get the padlock off my door, luckily one of the crew was with me and after struggling with it for a good 5 minutes I was in! I also got a bit lost on the way back as the island has lots of narrow passageways and I wasn't sure of what turns to make as I'd gotten a ...

So I'm off on another adventure, this one of the aquatic variety. I'm going to a wee tropical island called Malapascua in the Philippines for an eight week Dive Master internship. I'm pretty nervous as this will be my first solo trip that involves flying and crossing borders...also because I've wanted to do this since I first scuba dived (dove?) in Egypt in 2006 (or maybe it was 2007) and fell in love with the underwater world. That first dive (well the 3 on that day) gave me a sense of calm and a great appreciation of this planet we're on, more than anything else has. Except when a tiger shark swam underneath me (quite far down), definitely didn't feel super calm then. That lead to me getting my Open Water diving certificate in 2008 - total brag but that was the only exam i've got 100% on. Unfortunately due to financial and location issues I've only done one dive since - a pier dive with my dad in 2009 in Victoria (Australia) where local boys fishing ...

Recently my (middle) sister and I went to Basel, Switzerland for a couple nights. It's the first time we have gone away just the two of us so it was long over-due. After a turbulent flight and bumpy landing, which included almost losing my hand (she doesn't like flying) we were in Basel airport. Which is an airport with exits to three countries - France, Germany and of course Switzerland. We had a cozy studio apartment just a stroll away from the Rhine and a wee walk from the town centre. The host had left us a lovely welcome in the form of mini bounties on our pillows, so after our swift tiny snack it was time to explore and make the most of our 48 hour trip. We meandered along the river - coffee and pastry in hand - taking in the beautiful architecture and pointing out our favourite houses, passing nursery groups lead by men (a sight I've not come across before) and many joggers. All the building are in muted colours, with accentuating darker shutters and balconi...