February 9, 2026

One of the main reasons we went on this getaway was to get our PADI open water certification. Shout out to our fantastic, super skilled and patient dive master Ellie Simons we succeeded!

(L to R) Dive master Quentin Duhaillier (25 year old Frenchie) and Dive Master Instructor Ellie Simons (fantastic 27 year old Brit -they are also a couple), Anna Fitler, Me and Bosco - celebrating the night after we completed our PADI Open water certification training. I so appreaciate Ellie, she really made the whole experience fabulous. Diving is scary, alot can go wrong quickly and the course work is intense and really focuses on all the horrors, so you need someone to bring calm and reassurance and Ellie is a delight! She gave me the tough love and lots of tricks to conquer my buoyancy issues. I wish I could do every dive with her! But she has given me confidence to keep at it and hopefully it will begin to feel less intimidating.

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PENYALI RESORT, ANAMBAS ISLANDS, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • June 25, 2026
Today was just pure relaxation! We arranged with Tourism lady from yesterday, to have Penyali Resort send a boat to Tarempa port to pick 10 of us up and take us to the Resort, for the day. The speed boat ride took about an hour. Some of us just floated about with cocktails, others snorkled but all had a great time. They prepared a yummy lunch for us, with a fresh grouper fish, we literally picked up, on our way there.

SIANTAN ISLAND BOAT TOUR of COAST

By Pat Patrick • June 24, 2026
Today we arranged to see Siantan Island by hiring a local Captain & boat owner to take us, along with 2 lovely young ladies, we met at the Tourism office, who spoke great English. The ladies found the Captain and we negotiated a price of 1,200,000 IDR or $67 USD to take four of us out and about, for 2 hours. Since the forestry on the island and the soil is gigantic hard boulders, almost all the villages are on the water on stilts or the edge of the coast. Excavation cost would be a huge premium and best done with equipment, they don't possess.

TAREMPA, ANAMBAS ISLANDS, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • June 23, 2026
The ANAMBAS ISLANDS REGENCY, is a remote Indonesian archipelago in the South China Sea, part of the Riau Islands Province known for its stunning clear waters, pristine reefs and rich biodiversity. It is located between Singapore and Borneo and consist of over 200 islands of which only 26 are inhabited. Tarempa is the administrative center of the Islands and is located on Siantan Island. We are anchored, about a 15 minute tender ride, from the Tarempa Wharf . Our first day here, was all about celebrating our friend Terri's Birthday!