#TRAVELTAMSTYLE Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

How You Can Travel to a Different City Monthly!

April 12, 2017 By Tam Warner 33 Comments

explore, local, explore local box, travel monthly — **Isn’t this adorable? And YUMMY.**

Now you can travel monthly! Not everyone can travel extensively, or even very often, but thanks to a brand new company, Explore Local Box founded by Jessica Larrabee, you can! Receive a monthly box, or one time box, that explores the local flavors and cultures of other locales! I just went to Boston, and it was an awesome little trip! The box is so cute and I was excited to receive it. Anyone who loves to travel, and/or loves food, will love this gift. Just in time for Mother’s Day, and as a bonus you can use the code TWT10 to get 10% off your one time box, or the first box of a subscription! Check out Explore Local Box, and get your Travels with Tam discount!

explore, local, explore local box, travel monthly midlife women — **Just seeing that I received it made me instantly smile!**

Beautiful Diving in Raja Ampat on Day 5!

April 6, 2017 By Tam Warner 14 Comments

raja ampat, scuba, diving, misool, watch tower — Shoal of snappers on Watch Towers

Misool Island continued to be good to us, and there was beautiful diving on day 5. It was a short dive day, so the dive had to be good! We went to Watch Towers, and enjoyed a great variety of fish and coral! And I saw my first Woebeggone Shark, so exciting! Enjoy!

Diving is sometimes similar to a Dr Seuss book.

The First Dive Day in Raja Ampat on The Arenui!

March 27, 2017 By Tam Warner 6 Comments

misool, diving, scuba, raja ampat, indonesia, the arenui — A Spadefish in bright orange coral, isn’t the color amazing?

The first dive day in Raja Ampat on The Arenui! Exciting! The currents were strong as you can see on the video, but it was wonderful. There were 15 divers on the boat and we were split into four dive groups, and each group had a guide. Most divers dive with a guide though there are some places in the world (Australia for example) where divers can go off with a buddy. My personal preference is to have a guide nearby, but that depends on the location and site as well. There are some places where I stay pretty close to the dive guide.

The first day of diving in Raja Ampat found us at Misool Island, and the dive sites Yuliet, Shadow Reef, Boo Windows and Boo Ridge. Before each dive the divers receive a dive briefing from one of the dive guides. The briefing consists of a map of the dive site, a discussion on typical currents, entries and exit points, and what animals are typically seen there. I have been on boats where a briefing is not given, in Key Largo I was given a map of the dive site to look over before jumping in.

I took GoPro video on this first day. Why? Because I have a new and fabulous camera, the Olympus OMD EM5 Mark ii, a mirrorless camera with DSLR quality photo ability, and I had to learn how to use it underwater. My new housing, a Nauticam, also took quite a bit of getting used to. For the most part, the first day was spent relaxing, getting used to diving again (I had not been since July 2016), and taking in the environment. On one dive, I took my new camera, but forgot to take the lens cap off! I thought the dive guide would drown he was laughing so hard! Ah, well, I can be somewhat forgetful at times, but by the end I had it down. Overall, I was happy with the photos I took, but they were certainly better by the end of the trip. I have to say I am just thrilled with my new camera and it’s capabilities!

misool, diving, scuba, raja ampat, indonesia — Dive Map of Shadow Reef.

raja ampat, diving, scuba, the arenui — A Clown Triggerfish

raja ampat, scuba, diving, arenui — These are False Clownfish. Only an experienced eye would know a False from a True Clownfish!

If you had good eyesight, you might find a pygmy seahorse in these gorgeous branches!

misool, the arenui, raja ampat, indonesia, scuba — Can you see the Scorpionfish? Great camo!

the arenui, raja ampat, indonesia, scuba — Shoal of Chevron Barracuda!

I Loved Diving in Raja Ampat, it was Sensational!

March 24, 2017 By Tam Warner 6 Comments

During July 2016 I took a fabulous dive trip to Komodo National Park in Indonesia with Ray of Hope Expeditions, to document manta rays in the area. Dr Andrea Marshall, the foremost Manta Ray scientist and co founder of Marine Megafauna Foundation, does several of these expeditions every year, and I absolutely love these trips, and I travel solo! I wrote about my Komodo trip extensively, and the diving was so intensely beautiful, I decided I just could not wait to get back and do more diving in Indonesia. So, in February 2017, I went to Raja Ampat with Andrea, and once again stayed on The Arenui, a Boutique Liveaboard, the most luxurious dive boat I have ever been on!

Video by Andrea Esty.

Where is Raja Ampat? It is in West Papua, on the Bird’s Head Peninsula of Indonesia which consists of over 1,500 islands! Raja Ampat means “four kings”, and the four kings are islands, Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. We went to all four of the kings. The kings are named for local mythology that tells about a woman who finds seven eggs. Four of the seven eggs hatch and become kings that occupy four of Raja Ampat biggest islands while the other three become a ghost, a woman, and a stone. What is so great about Raja Ampat? It is part of the Coral Triangle, which contains the richest marine biodiversity on earth. The diving I have done in Indonesia confirms that there is life…on every inch of the bottom of the sea. Thankfully, the warming ocean temps and acidification seems to be better tolerated by the reefs of Indonesia, for unknown reasons. I don’t know if it will always be so, but for now, the area is doing well.

the arenui, raja ampat,, citizen science, diving, adventurous — This is such a big, gorgeous seastar!

I flew Japan Airlines (incredible service!) from Dallas Ft Worth to San Diego, to Narita, Japan, to Jakarta, Indonesia, then I rested! I spent one night in Jakarta, just to catch my breath. The next day I boarded Garuda Indonesia (the national airline of Indonesia which is quite nice) in Jakarta, connected in Makassar, then arrived in Sorong, Indonesia. Ronald, one of the dive masters on The Arenui, was waiting to greet us at the airport. It was lovely to arrive onboard, go to the cabin I would be sharing with Andrea, and wait for the trip to begin! I love citizen

science expeditions.

The start of a trip is always exciting, and it was fun to see the cruise directors, Debbie and Jerry, and all of the crew and staff I remembered from July 2016. Another passenger, Elias, who was also on the Komodo trip was onboard as well. There was a group of six fun loving, dive crazy, adventurous women, and we were all anxious to see manta rays! So, off we went!

You would also enjoy http://tamtravels.wpengine.com/how-to-perform-citizen-science-with-manta-rays/

the arenui, raja ampat, indonesia, diving, adventure — Each cabin is named for a mythological creature from the Ramayana. We were in Ganesh (the peaceful elephant).

the arenui, raja ampat,, citizen science, diving, adventurous women — I love meeting new dive friends!!!

Check Out Tigre, a Cool Day Trip out of Buenos Aires!

March 17, 2017 By Tam Warner 2 Comments

Buenos Aire, Tigre, tourism, Argentina — The Ferris Wheel in Tigre

While in Buenos Aires my friend Annie and I were excited to take a day trip to Tigre, a town north of the city. Of course our trip was arranged by the fabulous Maria Corbalan Bespoke Tours. Tigre, a popular town for tourists north of Buenos Aires, is on an island in the Parana Delta. We took a boat trip and enjoyed seeing the Delta and the communities there. Living in the Delta, you need to be sure you order all your groceries, because the grocery boat only comes once a week! Certainly the area is varied and fascinating in its appeal. To live in a place where the only transport is boat must be incredible, both in its simplicity and its difficulties. My friend Annie and I enjoyed our trip to Tigre, and particularly our journey on the Rio de la Plata, the widest river on earth. The River of Silver does look like silver in the sun, but it was named such because of silver mining. I have never been on a river before where I could not see the other side of land! It felt like being on the ocean.

Once we were on the Rio de la Plata we saw sailing clubs, boats and fishing. The views of Buenos Aires while coming into the city were incredible! The huge city looked so small from our viewpoint. A wonderful and fascinating day!

Buenos Aires, Tigre, rio de la plata, maria corbalan bespoke tours — Sailing on the Rio de la Plata with an amazing view of the city.

Did You Know They Tango at the San Telmo Market in Buenos Aires?

March 11, 2017 By Tam Warner 4 Comments

buenos aires, san telmo, tango — Color in San Telmo!

San Telmo is nothing if not colorful and full of life. What I did not know is that they tango in the marketplace on Sundays! Buenos Aires is the heart and soul of tango. Tango is everywhere! There are tango shows, both large and small, tango clubs, tango lessons, and tango on the street corners. One of my favorite tango experiences had to be the tango at the San Telmo Fair. The market, or fair, is open on Sundays, and the tents market everything from food to jewelry to saddles! One of the best things about San Telmo’s market? Tango!

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