Wanted: Vacation Pictures to Impress Veteran Photo-Developers.

[island_sands]

Stephan!

sinkweight.. those photos are priceless... so which one is you in the yearbook?? c'mon spill the beans!

[sinkweight]

sinkweight.. those photos are priceless... so which one is you in the yearbook?? c'mon spill the beans!

The lowest one on the left, except now I'm a man...after some cuttin' and pasting...and I'm not talking Photoshop, either.

Nice try, I-Sands...you've seen my profile picture. It's sad to think that the Mares suit makes me look slimmer.

*crying in pillow*

--------

That poor school photographer kept on having to take Island's pictures over and over again, because she'd keep on giving the hand sign for "smile" every time he said "...big smile this time.."

--------

any more ideas to throw the dart at?

[Wishbone]

Man, I just saw the profile photo...

The ministry oh health should issue warnings against that stuff! I almost choked! But now we all know the reason why you feel uncomfortable around sharks!

As for the other photos, you guys almost convinced me about Madagascar! Mandrake is the man!
But on a second thought, Island Sands, I'd always prefer to get scrubbed with an old sock in a Turkish bath, than to be scrubbed by Mandrake in a Madagascarian (sounds like an Armenian name) with a tenrec! Appocalyptic image!

[gwpcasey]

Well, seeing as you've been looking for ideas and everyone's throwing it all in there, including the Turkish bath, I thought I'd do a bit of promo for my home island of Curacao.

There's a real variety here and there are definitely quite a few spots that were devastated by the tail-end of a hurricane a few years back and are now very desolate - dead coral etc. So that should satisfy your morbid fascination with all things ruined. In spite of its best efforts there are still very few tourists in Curacao (compared to, say, Aruba, which is only 30 miles to the west and has the same climate etc) but most of the population can speak reasonably good English. They don't like any foreigners really, but have no reason to dislike Yanks anymore than they dislike the rest of us, so that should be fine.

It's not that cheap though. Was that one of your requirements? There's a guy called Waterside here who stays at nice apartments on the sea-front that seem to be priced okay so that could be nice for you.

Anyway, Curacao's a quick flight away from Miami on AA, it's always hot, there are shelves all over the place and, to be honest, very little life in most places (pretty fish - yes, snakes, sharks, turtles etc - no) and none in other places. You'll also like the vegetation, by the way: cactus, sand, rock, iguanas. That's it.

Okay, there you go. It's a public holiday and I've been working the whole morning, about to head out for a quick surf at the pseudo surf spot here. I'll bring my fins too though, as there are occasionally sharks there and I've been looking for one to befriend.

Good luck finding your first spot.

Gordon.

[Pocoshower]

Try Baja California Sur, but have to wait until summer for warm water. Octuber is amaizing.

I think you will like to dive with MT and Aharon Solomons.

Some times you find some yellifish during warm water season, but not a big deal.

The place is very far away from tourist, no boats at all while your divind and the coastal geology is terrific.

Take a look at FREEDIVERS

Salud

[immerlustig]

mr sinkweight

you are talking about my neighborhood.

the place is called dahab. that's in egypt.

1. Someplace warm/hot with comfortable water temps for skin-diving.

may until december from 23 up to 28 celsius (water)

2. At least one person in-town who can squeak by as an english-speaker.

i can squeak by.

3. I'd like a place that seems prehistoric, preferably with lots of eroded earth and stone.

the mountains of the sinai are nothing else but earth and stone.

4. Little to no life. I don't mind critters on land, I'd like to just be alone in the water without being distracted or cautious of possible dangers. I deal with jellyfish/sharks or snakes/snapping turtles here in Texas.

no big, teethy distractions at all.

5. American-friendly (or at least feigns tolerance towards Americans). From what my friends in other countries tell me, I'm running out of options.

not all arabs are terrorists. not that us foreign policy is popular, but i never heard of any complaints by any westerner in the last 4 years of me staying there.

6. Definitely must be quiet for meditation.

walk out the back. quiet....quiet...quiet...

7. Not tourist-y. I'd rather shack up in a dung hut than stay at a hotel. Toilets are nice, though.

dahab is a bit of a backwards place in some respect. no big tousism, for sure. i can set you up with a choice of dung huts easily, if that's what you're after.

8. Clear water a must. I'm not that picky about salt/freshwater.

read sea, very salty. minimum visibility 20 m.

and for the 1000th cutomer today i throw in a special package: no currents, no boats, no jetskis, and for a beer i volunteer as a buddy.

for any further questions you are welcome to pm me.

cheers

roland

[sinkweight]

Hey, thanks folks.

Everybody's suggestions sound terrific, so it's going to make it harder and harder to choose.

I'll do some research today.

[trad_archer]

You should check into some of the out islands in the Bahamas! I go to Eleuthra Island two or three times a year. Water warm and clear, reefs and coral heads right up to the beach teeming with life, secluded beaches. I rent a cabin there for 600$ for seven nights that is on a secluded beach where i have only seen three people so far this year and thats a total of three weeks! There is also a huge private island off the coast that the owners will take you to and drop you off for a week and you wont see a soul! I cant think of the name right now but i can find out for ya if interested?

[sinkweight]

Ooooh...yeah...if you could find out that island, that'd be very nice.

That sounds like a do-able trip. $600 for seven nights sounds pretty good for a secluded spot. Definitely on the trip list. Might even bring some "intimate company" with me. Haw-haw-hawwww.

[trad_archer]

You should bring company. My girlfriend and i run around naked the whole week it is so secluded, but even the popular beaches on Eleuthra won't have many people and there are no PRIVATE beaches. Meaning it is legal for you to go on any beach you see so you will have no problem finding privacy! As far as that private island, it was a bit more pricey but you can search the net and find out all that. I wrote the name of it in the back of my girlfriends journal and when she gets home this evening i will post it for ya.

[sinkweight]

Cool! Archer, my man!

I haven't been to the bahamas since I started skin diving when I was 8!

[gwpcasey]

How come every time I run around naked I end up in pain - it's like smacking myself in the groin 20 times a minute. I'll never understand how the Greeks got through their Olympics...

[sinkweight]

How come every time I run around naked I end up in pain - it's like smacking myself in the groin 20 times a minute. I'll never understand how the Greeks got through their Olympics...

What, are you running through low cornfields or something? ha ha ha

I can understand the problem of "constant jingle-jangle" leading to some really sore orbs. I've never run around naked at full speed, but I'm sure typical wedding-tackle at full sprint would probably look like balloons tied to the antenna of a honeymoon limo streaking down the highway.

Wasn't Long Distance Groin-Smacking part of the original Greek Olympics anyway?

[trad_archer]

LMAO...I didnt mean we "ran" around naked, we just "was" naked...lol. The name of the un-inhabited island is Bowe Cay. It would be nice. I think the island has some raised wall tents, a source of fresh water, fishing gear, and a radio for emergency contact. It might even have a generator and lights...i cant remember. Check it out, might be just what your looking for.

[sinkweight]

THAT'S AWESOME! THAT'S PERFECT! I'll have to wait till next year....plenty of time to sell my body for money....and that's just to buy lottery tickets for a vacation.