Greetings from the tiny tropical island of Bunaken. This island is a one-hour boat ride off the island of Sulawesi, home of the crappy hotel room. Here we are on the boat, my poor North Face bag dwarfed next to a big pile of rice (or something).

Bunaken is a very small island — it’s L-shaped, with each leg 3 miles long — and has two beaches that are filled with tourist accomodations; the rest is filled by the native villagers. This is the shore as we near it with the boat.

I am staying at Living Colour, by far the island’s most upscale resort, which is run by a Finnish married couple. This place boasts the best service and meals. More importantly, they run the island’s most professional dive trips with the best equipment. This is the main entrance to the resort, which is accessed directly by incoming boat (I’m standing in water for the picture). Off to the left are some very useful hammocks, and to the right is the Safety Stop bar, cleverly named after the stop one needs to take ~15 feet below the surface, when ascending from a dive.

My huge terrace:

And the view from that terrace:

Days are pretty routine here since most are here to dive. We eat breakfast at 8am (three delicious home-cooked meals provided daily), go for two dives, return for lunch, go back for another dive, relax, and then have dinner. This is what I do after my dives and before dinner, putting both hands to good use:

Staying here is a cross between the Swiss Family Robinson and summer camp, given the layout of the bungalows within the trees and the (semi) regimented way the days are run. But really, in terms of accomodations, service, diving, and food, you cannot find better on this island. If you like diving or relaxing, I highly recommend it.  

There were some additional activities after dinner tonight since it was a special night for two reasons. First, it was Friday so there was a live band of local resort employees: 

and I got a cake because it was my birthday.

Fun times here in Bunaken!