BROWSE OUR ADVENTURES - follow your dreams

 My hair is now streaked naturally by the sun, and not by a London hair salon; a permanent tan which does not have “San Tropez fake tan” written on a bottle; a strong upper body which has nothing to do with amount of repetitions whilst in an LA Gym outlet, but more with shifting tanks that weigh 40 lbs each...  

 The one hour lesson seemed to pass by in five minutes. I experienced something extraordinary and life changing. My body and soul felt completely happy. There is nothing like riding on a piece of plastic board while the wind is blowing one’s hair and the sun is stroking her face for a moment before splashing into the ocean with a happy scream... 

 Muck diving is not a derogatory term describing a type of adventure one would experience in filthy, cold, dark waters, but it is rather an exciting dive trend that many get excited about, especially photographers. Yes, the setting can remind you of a dump site, but it is a super fun treasure hunt for spectacular species... 

  When I found out that not only can I watch them, but to partake in a shark feeder course, I was happier than any Christmas mornings. Cristina Zenato is an Italian girl in the Bahamas, who self-taught herself about sharks and interacting with them. 

 I wanted to become a stunt diver for quite a while, just like millions of other divers. One day the gods smiled on me and I got a phone call to double Dina Meyer for the remake of Piranha...  

 If you have asked me just a week ago what was the coolest thing I have ever seen scuba diving, my answer would have been different. I have never imagined that anything could top that experience, but as it turned out, Costa Rica revised my list of the “coolest thing I have ever seen”  

  When you go cave diving in Siberia in February you need to learn it's not safe to get drunk and then go outside to pee by yourself at night, and that you have to freeze-proof your regulator. In that order. 

 As the vacation times approaches us, people spend a lot of money to get away from California, while others from other parts of the world spend equally as much to come here. I challenged myself to see as much of this place, as I can in one day.  

I thought my friend was pulling on my fins to get my attention, but when I turned around I only saw his grin from a distance; looking at a sea lion puppy chewing on my fins.

I can vividly recall that dive one day at spring near Santa Cruz Island...

 “Heading southeast at 60 feet, about 20 seconds after we pass the lava outcrop to the right, there will be a surprise.” I pondered what sort of sorpresa Claudio, our slyly grinning divemaster, could guarantee we would encounter on our first Easter Island dive.   

  The perfect dive can take so many forms it's not easy to recount 'the one', but there aren't many dive sites that can boast great and varied dives on every entry, whatever the season. The Azure Window at Dwejra, Malta's sister island, Gozo, is one that can. 

 I was already in the water waiting for my girlfriends to join me for our first dive while on our “Miss Scuba” vacation in Malta when I spotted an undoubtedly distressed diver on the surface a short distance away. He appeared out of nowhere, well not really out of from nowhere...  

 If someone had told me when I was a child that one day I will travel to a place as remote as Antarctica, I would have not believed them, despite the fact that I always was known for dreaming big.  Than again, when I was a kid, Oceanwide Expeditions did not exist yet.  But now everything has changed. 

 Wanderlust didn’t evaporate from my soul after I got married and gave birth to our son. I still love to bounce around in the world, but nowadays I travel differently.  Before I was rooted down by a family and a mortgage in Los Angeles, I used to pick my destinations based on adventure, adrenalin rush and remoteness from the “usual”. Now, I need way more ;-)

 As a California based stunt woman, scuba instructor and jewelry designer, I have an exciting life. I get to work on movie sets with actors like Drew Barrymore, swim with sharks in remote reefs around the world. Yet my most anticipated activities are working with at-risk youth in Los Angeles - through the A Chance for Children Foundation.  

Plunging into the unknown depths of the ocean and kneeling on the ocean bed amidst a shiver of sharks swimming around amicably, Cristina Zenato gently pats Foggy Eye — a shark she has known for long. As it nuzzles close to her body, she inserts her other hand into its mouth. Gently, she pulls out a fishing hook that was lodged inside Foggy Eye’s mouth...

  Buckle Up! I am about to usher you through some of the most exciting destinations in South Africa.  If you are keen on taking an adventure (both above and below the surface)  to a country that is cutting edge and offers an untamed wilderness, then this is the place for you.

 I did not choose to have breast cancer. But then again, nobody does.
I eat organic. I exercise every day. I teach scuba diving for a living and have a relatively stress free life. Why me?

However, I am choosing how I go through the journey.

 Whoever said, “you can’t have it all” obviously had never been onboard the Arenui boutique liveaboard in Indonesia. This one of a kind vessel decadently pairs luxury with underwater adventure. 

 Traveling through Asia is my favorite thing to do as I love the people, the culture and the food, not to mention the Thai massages. I also realized over the years that getting used to Asia can take some time for those less traveled, so decided to ease  into this one month long journey through Asia with Hong Kong, before Vietnam and Thailand.  

  After spending a week in Samoa, and returning home to Los Angeles, I found myself anxious, bored and unsatisfied. I went back to my 9-5 job as a designer in fashion. I hate the fashion industry... 

  California sea otters are in the midst of their prime pupping season during January and March - in Morro Bay. During this time sea otter pups largely congregate inside the Bay and it isn't rare that you may find anywhere from 12-18 sea otters huddled or rafted together. 

  This trip to La Paz is a special one, I’m spending it with my dad on a “father-daughter” spearfishing trip, I couldn’t ask for anything better.  It was long overdue and I was really looking forward to bonding over what we both love. 

Often while diving I find myself transfixed in a small area observing the obscure marine life that form the micro-ecology of the rocky reefs in the Casino Dive Park. 

It is like I am on a treasure hunt every time I submerge with our divemaster. He either has magical powers or has dove these waters thousands of times, because he can spot the most tiny, camouflaged creatures hiding tucked away under a coral branch behind a rock.

 Freediving on its own presents extraordinary technical challenges – which are inevitably added to when that diving takes place in sub-zero temperatures. ‘YOU KNOW ANYTHING COULD GO WRONG. SO YOU PUT YOURSELF IN A REALLY ZEN ZONE. IT’S THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF AN ADRENALINE RUSH.’ 

Passion is a key component of finding a quest or adventure. 

I applied rugged passion and dedication to complete a five-year journey in which I became the first woman to dive all 50 states. An American Immersion relives my journey. 

 For those of us who love the water, our bodies are tools. They take us into the depths of the ocean, give us countless adventures, and allow us to lift tanks, people, or other gear. How can we reward our hard-working bodies and stay in the great shape that our lifestyle demands? Here some expert tips. 

 We will always be grateful to The Little Mermaid for introducing us to the world under the sea, but let’s be honest—as heroines go, Ariel falls a bit short. All over the world, inspiring, real-life mermaids are brandishing spearguns, exploring shipwrecks, wrestling sharks, and pushing the limits of diving.

 Between my primary job as a scientist and my “free time” job as an underwater photographer and writer for various editorial outlets, I have even less time on my hands now than I did when I first discovered my breast tumor.  However, that inconvenience – shared by so many of us - is the key to what I hope to accomplish. 

 Exploring the Red Sea has been waiting patiently on my “To Dive” list until recently, when it was finally time to live out that dream. I wanted to experience the Red Sea, but without the crowd. Therefore Sudan was the only logical choice....  

 Some of us simply like to dive no matter where we dive.  Some of us have always wanted to work in a zoo or aquarium setting.  Some of us like the idea of volunteering.  Some of us have made this a life or career choice. 

 I came across a wonderful write up on Michele Hall in the Divers Alert Network Online Magazine that I want to share. She has long been my idol not only because of the fantastic underwater movies she and her husband produced over the years. Michele is a genuinely lovely, full of passion for life lady. She smiles a lot. She lives her dreams.

My very first dive will always be in my memory, the very first time I was able to become a part of the underwater world. I had been excitedly waiting for that moment, even before I had stepped off the airplane into Grand Cayman’s sun. 

 Why do I do what I do? The way I viewed the ocean as a child was that it was very far away and inaccessible. I grew up in Pennsylvania, surrounded by land. I absolutely LOVED watching television shows that took me underwater (the usual, Jacques Cousteau, NOVA, PBS documentaries) and taught me about all of the fascinating creatures of our oceans. 

 “I’m going to Vanuatu!”
“Where’s that?” will often be the response.

Being slightly unsure myself, I would wave my arm in a broad 180 degrees swipe in a North Easterly direction and say, “just a little down from Papua New Guinea.”

 I am surrounded by sparkling sky-blue sea, softly caressing breeze, infinite tranquility and serene silence as I am sitting in front of the captain’s bridge. Meanwhile the large boat glides from one coral reef to another and I can hardly wait to dive! Until now I have been travelling to the Red Sea for safaris only in the spring and late fall... 

After nine years working in diving in Asia, Caribbean and Central America I was waving goodbye to frijoles, ‘mananas’, ‘cervezas’ and saying ‘Gdday’ to schooners, ‘barbies’ and first world efficiency and regulations.

My Australian boyfriend was going home after 13 years, I was about to notch up my eighth country of residence in 10 years.

  In the North Andamans: Long Island and Mayabunder. There is very limited tourism infrastructure in the North, especially the region we will be visiting. The Lonely Planet doesn't have any info on it. Even the dive sites don't have names (U2 would be proud). This is about as undiscovered as it can get....