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Bora Bora Travels
Read more: Bora Bora TravelsMy next series is inspired by the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. Many new paintings are coming soon! French Polynesia is currently closed to tourism, so I’m grateful that I was able to travel there back in August 2020. It’s difficult to talk about this trip since it was during the pandemic. I…
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Moorea Travels
Read more: Moorea TravelsIa Orana/Hello! I somehow magically lucked out and was able to travel to French Polynesia two months ago. I took a break from painting after I returned, but I’m back and starting my next series inspired by the island of Moorea. Many new paintings are coming soon! My Moorea dive movie is up! Apparently manta…
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BAHAMAS, CHAPTER 2: Exuma
Read more: BAHAMAS, CHAPTER 2: ExumaFrom the plane’s window, I watched the imposing clouds of New Providence island morph into carefree clouds that hovered above the unending Exuma cays. The sapphire blue ocean transformed into neon turquoise with patches of exposed bright white sand. The islands appeared flat and deserted. Each time we passed over an island, I assumed we…
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COCOS, CHAPTER 5: Return to Manuelita
Read more: COCOS, CHAPTER 5: Return to ManuelitaOn the backside of Manuelita during the first dive, I watched a gang of whitetips swarm the reef until I was distracted by a cloud of bigeye jacks approaching us from the channel. As the jacks descended onto the reef, they instantly split off into pairs; one jack remained silver and the other turned black…
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COCOS, CHAPTER 4: Treasure Island
Read more: COCOS, CHAPTER 4: Treasure Island“Before we board the pangas, I have to say something important…” Angelo paused for dramatic effect. “You are not allowed to dig for treasure. You won’t find anything if you do, we already tried. Don’t touch anything or carve your name on the rocks or you won’t be allowed to dive again.” I scoffed as…
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COCOS, CHAPTER 3: Dirty Rock and Alcyone
Read more: COCOS, CHAPTER 3: Dirty Rock and AlcyoneOver the next few days, it was hard for me to stop thinking about the magic of Manuelita. All I wanted to do was dive with more tiger sharks. But, the other divers wanted to find hammerhead cleaning stations in the deep waters surrounding the island. Fights erupted over any diver who unknowingly entered a…
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COCOS, CHAPTER 2: Tiger Sharks and Boobies
Read more: COCOS, CHAPTER 2: Tiger Sharks and BoobiesDivemaster Angelo began his briefing for the first dive: “As all of you have probably heard, there were some recent incidents at Manuelita. A diver and a divemaster surfaced away from the rest of the group. When the tiger appeared, the divemaster thought he was doing a good thing by kicking the tiger shark to…
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COCOS, CHAPTER 1: Journey to Cocos Island
Read more: COCOS, CHAPTER 1: Journey to Cocos IslandThe immigration agent was engaged in a serious texting conversation as she asked me, “Where are you staying?” I answered, “The Cocos Okeanos Aggressor.” She continued to text in silence. I elaborated, “It’s just a boat at Cocos Island.” She eventually looked up, “Where is that?” I answered, “Um, it’s an island here…hopefully?” I glanced…
Megan Willis Art 