It's a brand new year, and time for me to head to one of my favourite dive destinations...the Eastern Fields of Papua New Guinea. It's been slightly over two years since I was there last, so I'm anxious to get back and see how things are.
As of this morning, I have news from Captain Craig of MV Golden Dawn that the conditions are fantastic. Keeping my fingers crossed that it'll stay that way.
One of the highlights of my previous visit was when we stumbled upon a plump, pink frogfish at a dive site called Shaw Thing.
This discovery caused Craig to clap his hands in the water, skip around, and squeal like a gaggle of giggly girls high on helium.
This pretty pink piscine caused Craig to squeal with delight
Not that there's anything wrong with said hypothetical congregation of snickering schoolgirls of course. It's just that Craig so wants everyone to take him seriously and accord him the respect otherwise due to the captain of a marine-going vessel.
To this end, he invests considerable effort in trying to look steadfast and stalwart:
Craig trying (in vain) to look captainly
...but just can't quite seem to pull it off (the dopey expression being an obvious contributing factor).
So back on the boat, pursuant to the Frogfish Incident, I felt obliged to advise him, as a caring friend, that tittering about in the water doesn't help his cause.
We'll see if he's learned his lesson.
For everyone joining the upcoming trips...safe travels and see you soon!