OUR 2nd ANNIVERSARY!

I remember the day that Andrew Lok call me to ask me if I was interested be part of amazing project called MV Solitude One…..at that time I was based in Spain working in my family business, Ali/Sub Dive Center,  happy  with what I was doing but at the same time I was so curious to take part in the new challenge that I was call for...... and I went for it!

The 9th of December is the second anniversary of this great company and I feel so proud to be part of it. A company that is already part of my life.

After all these months , when I see the boat sailing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean I cannot express with words what I feel, I feel more than happy . We cannot like everyone of course , but our service, our hospitality , our safety and our passion for what we do is there.....proof of it are our positive results! 

We are so grateful  for every single guest we have host on board, we learn every single day from all of them because we want to be better and improve in the industry that we are working for.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the whole team for their great , hard and exclusive job  are doing , without them will be impossible to be where we are! THANK YOU GUYS!

I would like also to say thank you, even bigger thank you to Andrew Lok  ( founder of Cocotinos Manado & Odyssea Divers)  together with Alfonso Ribote  definitely both of them have been my main support during these 2 years. We have been crying , smiling , suffering , celebrating  and sharing so many feelings and emotions together. THANK YOU !

Starting next year 2016, as well as begin operating in Philippines ,  MV Solitude One, will make long journeys, more exciting that no one else can do…. PALAU-YAP, PALAU-SORONG (INONESIA), PALAU-PHILIPPINES and many more to come …..keep posted !

HAPPYBIRTHDAY MV SOLITUDE ONE!

WHY TUBATTAHA....

TUBATTAHA REEFS NATURAL PARK

Here you have some of the reasons of why we have decided to add Tubattaha ( Philippines ) to our Solitude One’s liveaboard diving service.

It’s no surprise that scuba divers would want to experience Tubbataha firsthand. Recently nominated as one of the ‘New Seven Wonders of the Natural World’, this marine protected area is home to a staggering wealth of biodiversity. 

It is located in the Sulu Sea, Philippines – at the geographic centre of world marine biodiversity – lies an underwater nature reserve that is considered both a mecca for scuba divers, model for coral reef conservation and the largest marine protected area (MPA) in the Philippines.

Tubattaha Reefs Natural Park contains roughly 10,000 hectares of coral reef, lying at the heart of the Coral Triangle - the global centre of marine biodiversity in keeping our oceans alive.

Scientists have been visiting these reefs since the 1980s, and their research has shown that Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to no less than:

 600 species of fish

 360 species of corals (about half of all coral species in the world)

 11 species of sharks

 13 species of dolphins & whales

 100 species of birds

 And also nesting Hawksbill & Green sea turtles.

Since it was discovered by divers in the late 1970s Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) has been considered one of the most extraordinary dive sites in the world, a dream trip for most scuba divers.

It is only reachable by boat,  as everyone knows MV Solitude One will be there, starting in 2016…book NOW and don’t allow anyone to tell you the beauty of Tubattaha live the experience by yourself!

WRECK LOVERS.....

We dive in Channels, Blue Holes, Walls, Corners, Caves and of course in HISTORY....

It is well known that Palau offers a big spectrum of wrecks and Solitude we would like to introduce you all of them little by little, you will dive in some of them....or if you wish in all of them...

TESHIO MARU WRECK ….. lies at 25m

The Teshio is a Japanese army cargo ship. It is 100m long and was sunk on March 30, 1944 as it was trying to escape from an inner lagoon. Its lies on its starboard side with a hole in the hull just between the two forward holes caused by a torpedo dropped by a fighter plane from the USS Bunker Hill.
Both anchors are still in stow position at the bow. A small gun is mounted at the bow but it is barely recognizable due to the heavy marine growth of oysters, black coral and sponges.  The two forward holds are empty but it is possible to swim through the torpedo hole to get to the hull.

Few artefacts are found within the superstructure and much of the engine room is damaged from salvaging. The rudder and the shaft are easily seen.
Large sea whips and sponges drip off the hull.

More wrecks history and specifications are coming soon…keep posted!

Solitude Philippines Dive Team Leader - Bo Mancao!

Bo in Action! Photo by Ryan Alegre

Solitude Liveaboards warmly welcomes Bo Mancao, our Philippines Dive Team Leader! A dive connoisseur who knows the Philippine waters intimately and extensively, he is also a great supporter of Solitude and a personal friend. 

He is internationally known for proudly promoting the amazing dive experiences of his native Philippines and empowering local dive guides through The Dive Local Network, a Scuba and Adventure tours company. 

Photo courtesy of Bo

In addition, Bo is an award-winning underwater photographer and has been published in newspapers, books and publications like Asian Diver and EZ Dive that have a huge international following.

Together with cruise director Alfonso Ribote, Bo will ensure our guests have the best, most memorable Solitude Liveaboards experience. Bo will also announce his team of guides closer to the Tubbataha season in 2016!

Cruises are getting booked steadily but there are still some available cruises available for Tubbataha! For more information, please emailus@solitude-liveaboards.com

Tubbataha, Visayas, Leyte... Solitude One adding Philippines to their Destinations!

Dear Solitude Fans!

Photos Courtesy of DaveHarasti.Com

It is with great excitement that I announce my decision to add the Philippines to our Solitude One's liveaboard diving service! This will be an annual practice beginning in 2016. Solitude One will now be serving Palau and the Philippines!

The first cruise schedule is on the 19 April (to 28 April) 2016 leaving from Mactan and diving our way towards Tubbataha. Besides Tubbataha, We will be offering the itineraries of the south and northern visayas. With the tremendous support Solitude has with the who's who of the local diving in the philippines, we will be working with them on coming up with the various itineraries and exploratory plans too! 

I know what everyone thinks about when a liveaboard goes to a new destination, but even the most experienced had a first day at work. That is why the support is not all academics, but with the local diving aficionados being on board to assist in cruise directing and guide in tandem with our team!

Fresh off my desk is the updated schedule (and format) PDF file with the availability and rates. On page 3, you will find the inclusions/exclusions of the rates for our Philippines' itineraries. I will make available the other essential literature of Itineraries and FAQs as soon as I can and also be updating the website to add the pages with those essential information.  

As many of you know, this has been in the plans and we are extremely excited and looking forward to this new destination in addition to Palau! I want to thank all the support and encouragement to help make this decision easier!

Have a great week ahead and please feel free to let me know if you need specific information with regards to this latest added destination to welcome and host our guests!

Cheers!

Andrew Lok

MARINE LAKES

Jellyfish Lake in Mecherchar Island 

Palau has  around 57 marine lakes and each is unique. There are two different types of lakes in Palau. Mixed and Stratified lakes. Most of them are very difficult to reach. The largest one has 2000 m long and 60 m deep with small island inside the lake.

The Mixed lakes have tunnels connected to the ocean so they have coral reef animal live at all depths.

The stratified lakes are poorly connected to the ocean only trough small cracks and crevices and stratified from top to bottom with bottom layers lacking oxygen, do not have corals and usually surrounded by mangroves. Instead  ,they have colorful sponges, anemone….  At least 12  lakes in Palau are stratified including the famous Jellyfish Lake with high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide bellow.

Many marine lakes in Palau have Jellyfish of various species, “ Jellyfish Lake” is the only one open for tourist for conservational and ecological reasons. The lake is 400 m long , 150 m wide and 30 m deep. Because of the layer of poisons  hydrogen sulfide bellow 15 m there is no marine life. Scuba Diving is no allowed but yes the snorkeling.

In Jellyfish Lake are found around 5 million of a unique  subspecie of Golgen Mastigian Papua and nowhere else in the world. The lake used to be home for another kind of Jellies, the Aurelia Moon usually they were found deeper or below the Golden Mastigias but it appears that this Jellies no longer exists in the lake since the strongest El Niño recorded in 1999 and after this event the Aurelia Moon Jelly slowly disappear from the lake.

The Jellies have adapted to live in this lake, as the sun rises they swim in a migratory pattern towards the sun heading the east   and as the sun passes overhead around noon the jellies turn and swim back towards the sun  heading  to the west.

The Jellyfish swim   this way to avoid the edge of the lake where their real and natural predators wait for them, an endemic sea anemone, who will brush up against their tentacles.

Definitely a visit to the Jellyfish Lake is a must when you come to Palau, be able to swim surrounded by millions of harmless jellies is a unique experience and Palau is one little places in the world that you can do it.

That’s way we have to have to keep the lake healthy with simple guidelines like minimize the amount of sunscreen protection used, do not through trash into the lake, so not disturb, kick, handle or disturb the jellies, the are very fragile and can be easily torn apart…etc!

Golden Mastigias Papua Jellyfish 

LET’S ENJOY THE UNIQUE & NATURAL HERITAGE OF PALAU………!

LIFE in Palau....

Ngerchong Beach 

Since arriving in Palau 6 months ago, I have been treated to many amazing experiences and seen things I never thought possible. I have seen orange spine unicorn fish spawning, up to 30 grey reef sharks hunting, schools of trevally, snapper and barracuda larger than a football pitch and more manta encounters than you can imagine. As a dive guide and someone that has a connection with the sea that I cannot put into words, living in Palau has fulfilled many dreams. 

As a child I was always fascinated with water. Having said that, I learnt to swim quite late in my childhood; I think I was around 10 years old. I was never a strong swimmer. 

But I immediately had an affinity with water. 

Living on a boat is something I always wanted to do but I never imagined I would be able to do it. We have a multinational crew on board and like any big family we have our ups and downs. But we work really well as a team and we have great leadership which is essential in any successful business or on any boat.

We have a vast mixture of guests and nationalities that come on board. Every guest is unique and it is always so nice to show them the jewels of Palau. And hopefully to send them away with memories that will last a lifetime. 

There are however a few things that make life in Palau a little difficult. One of those things is the lack of internet and lack of connection with the outside world. Imagine going back in time 15 or 20 years and dealing with slow dial up connections or holding your phone in the air to maintain a hotspot. That’s what the internet is like here. But you do get used to it. Like everything in life I try to look for the positives in the negatives. It makes you appreciate the world that is before your eyes rather than the world that is in front of you on a screen.

The other thing is the rain. Having lived in a Egypt for the past 3 years previous to my arrival in Palau; nothing could have prepared me for the amount of rain that falls here. One can count on 1 hand the amount of times it rains in the area where I was based in Egypt. Having been born in the UK, and having grown up in Ireland, I never imagined I would find a country that experiences more rain annually than either of my home countries put together. But I certainly found it in Palau. When I arrived here at the beginning of the season, it rained for a whole month. I didn’t see the sun shine at all in that month. But then when it did shine, and the wind died down it was like being in paradise. I almost completely forgot about the month of rain that I had just experienced.

So, all in all, living in Palau is a positive experience. I have seen many wondrous creatures and met some amazing people. I have formed friendships that will last for a long time and learnt many life lessons. I am sure I will continue to learn more as my journey continues……..

Written by Colette Greene, Dive Guide