Galen, Author at Roaming Unbound

Goby and Shrimp Symbiotic Relationship - Underwater Naturalist Specialty

Mauritius

The Goby and the Shrimp: Underwater Naturalist Specialty

I learned a fun fact in preparation for my Underwater Naturalist specialty. Some species of gobies and shrimp share a symbiotic relationship as roommates. The shrimp does the heavy digging, building and maintaining a burrow in the sand, while the goby stands guard at the entrance. Because the shrimp has

Mauritius

SCUBA Instructor Examination in Mauritius

A diver is using a 15 L cylinder filled to 220 bar. Their SAC rate is 18 L/min. They plan a dive to 32 metres on air. They want to surface with a 50 bar reserve. Ignoring ascent and descent time, what is the maximum working bottom time? That’s pretty

Mauritius

Self-Reliant SCUBA Diver Achievement Unlocked

The thought is still sinking in that I’m now qualified as a Night Diver, Wreck Diver, Self-Reliant Diver, Enriched Air Diver, Deep Diver, Rescue Diver, Dive Master, and now Master SCUBA Diver. The Wreck and Self-Reliant SCUBA diver experiences deserve some detailing.

Mauritius

Hauling Gas – Dive Instructor Training in Mauritius

We report for duty at 06:20 sharp. We discuss the day ahead and begin loading the van with gas cylinders. In goes all the SCUBA gear, fuel for the boat and a snack bag. We drive to the beach and haul gas and gear to the boat. It’s then back to

Mauritius

Mauritius Dive Instructor Training Day 1

Due to flight delays, I arrived at the dive center in Mauritius after 10pm. This is usually past bedtime for SCUBA divers. The place was deathly quiet with no signs of life. After messaging all contacts and receiving no response, I nearly resigned myself to sleeping on an outside couch with

Vietnam

An Alien, Spaceman & Angry Pig on a Dancefloor

My sixty visa-free days in Thailand had come to an end, so I took the short flight across the border from Chiang Mai to Hanoi in Vietnam. My previous experience of Vietnam had always felt a little overwhelming compared to Thailand, but I was up for a dance after settling in.

Indonesia

Back to Bali (Indonesia Travel Diary #1)

At the end of 2013, I enjoyed the best 1-month adventure of my young hot life in Bali. It’s almost 10 years to the day that I find myself back here. Smell can be our strongest sense with regards to memory flashbacks, and being back immediately felt familiar.

Author: Galen