A sweet little
interactive feature
in the Times by one of our favorites: Jon Bowermaster.
Bowermaster headed to the Maldives to report on the state of these little islands which, as many people know, may
very well cease to exist in the future should sea levels rise even a small amount. The photos are excellent and
Bowermaster delivers a solid (and short) audio commentary on the state of things there.
Check it out.
I’d never even heard about the place before, this
private little island getaway called Mustique (odd name, too…like
musty and mystical). But my guess is the stars and wealthy that go here regularly would probably be happy that the hoi
polloi like myself don’t know much about it. (According to the piece, both Mick Jagger and Tommy Hilfiger have
homes on the island). Of course, that’s now no longer the case. The New York Times today is running it’s cover article
on the island, suggesting that it is a hot new destination, providing, of course, that you have the bank account to go
there. The island’s site lists it “featured villa”, which will set
you back $16,000 a week…chances are you’d leave your Lonely Planet at home.
Apparently, there’s not a whole lot to do there, although the diving is said to be good. Most visitors spend their
days on the beach, by the pool, or wandering the beach in search of shells (whoopie!). But if anything, it might be
nice to know of the place so you can tell your friends you know where Jagger like to vacation.
Windsurfers note: May 15th is the kickoff for the 2005
Professional Windsurfers Association Freestyle tour in
Bonaire. This is one of the biggest events of the year for windsurfers and used to be held in December. The
Tour is frequented by some of the world’s best freestylers out there, who are going after a $70,000 prize
purse. Could be a great trip as you can pair the event with some
killer diving.
In a followup to the piece following Tony Wheeler around
Oman in the New Yorker, here’s an
interesting article
on traveling in Oman. It seems like an
incredibly cool place, where the old and the new mix to create an experience that will seem both ancient and
modern.
It is, I understand, a relatively safe place to travel, and there are ample outdoors things to do there,
including some diving.
I blogged over at
divester yesterday about
Aliens of the Deep in IMAX, which I had just
seen, and I thought it was such an incredible experience that I wanted to mention it here too.
James Cameron of True Lies, Terminator fame is now something of an underwater explorer. And he led a team of
biologists, astrophysicists, and other young and surprisingly photogenic souls on a series of deep deep dives to the
black depths of the ocean…at from 3000-8000 feet. They go down there with hugely expensive 3D cameras and almost Star
Wars-like submersibles, and they shoot around the hydro-thermal vents at the bottom of the ocean…or more specifically,
along the geologically active area around the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. You see the film wearing 3D-glasses which is always
kind of goofy. But the experience is anything but.
This is a terrific film and about as excited as I’ve been at a movie theater in a long while. Some of the
footage is so amazing, you really can’t believe it’s real. There are several scenes of such breath-taking beauty that
you almost fall out of your chair. As I mentioned at Divester, too, there are a couple of CGI scenes that I wish had
been left out of the film since they distracted from the real stuff. But all in all this is a film that you should see
alone, with friends, with your kids, whatever. Check your local listings and see the film. Don’t wait for it to come
out on DVD. The IMAX experience is too good to miss.