DAY 1 - SUNDAY, 18 MARCH ARRIVAL
Neal; Mike & Lisa Bain, behind him; Terri Etenger, in front of him; Sheryl & Jerry Brandes Liz & Mike Bain; Sheryl & Jerry Brandes On 20 March, Neal writes: Hmmm - internet trouble . . . this worked when I first turned it on . . . now it won't. Yes, the network is down. Router trouble and since it's Sunday no one to fix it . . . . Monday (today now) Is José Cuervo's birthday or something, so it is a National Holiday - more reason not to work. Made it here fine - by 11:20 a.m. local time. Rooms weren't ready until 3 p.m. We had a nice outdoor lunch . . . guacamole & chicken enchiladas. When you finish lunch, you order dinner. (That's the way things worked in TONGA, too). Dive orientation time where we had to fill out dive forms, pay a park fee (marine park, not to park car), show dive certification forms, fill out more dive forms, get the boat assignment for tomorrow, a tour/brief on how things work; BTW, did I tell you we had to fill out dive forms? After my writer's cramp cured, I set out my weights and dive stuff . . . . By then the rooms were ready, so moved some things into the room. We finally get to our rooms . . . Looking in from the hall way, bath is on the left. My bed nearest; John is taking the farther one. Large bathroom sink Across from the foot of my bed is a small refrigerator for ice cubes, beer & water Looking across the courtyard from our balcony, I do have a good view of the ocean from this room. From our balcony you can see the dive storage lockers & equipment rinse tanks. The Dive Center is right below us. Mike, Lisa, Liz, Terry Sheryl, Jeri & I did an afternoon dive. Left the camera ashore for this one. Did some spotting for night shots. Deciding on lenses to use. Not much coral; a trash pile at 20' from when the hurricane took out the old pier, but LOTS of marine life. Many anemone colonies, hermit crabs, arrow crabs, eels, small rays & lobster. Had fun annoying a little damsel fish, and got the lay of the land (underwater), so if there's a night dive tonight I know the seascape. Awaiting dinner, outside Mike & Lisa's room Fancy presentation of soup course at Monday night dinner No night dive: called on account of tiredness. Beautiful sunset.

TEAM MANTA GOES IN THE WATER HERE