News
Get the Flavoursome Festival Feeling with Regaldive
The latest addition from Regaldive is a tasty option. Offering divers the unique opportunity to combine diving with a love of chocolate, the Chocolate Festival Program, on offer at the True Blue Bay in Grenada this August, makes for an unlikely but tantalising addition to Regaldive’s portfolio.
Taking place between 18th and 24th August 2014, Grenada’s Chocolate Festival is the first of its kind on the island. The festival celebrates the organic produce made at Mott Green’s famous Grenada Chocolate Factory which has sparked headlines for its sustainability, ‘tree to bar’ slogan and unique transportation methods – guaranteeing a 100% pollution free delivery. As part of the Chocolate Festival Program, visitors can enjoy a daily breakfast with chocolate specials, visit the Chocolate Factory, attend a chocolate tempering and truffle making workshop, combine yoga with sipping cocoa tea, watch a cocoa inspired fashion show, participate in a chocolate cooking class, visit a chocolate bazaar and enjoy chocolate and rum tasting.
The Chocolate Festival Program is perfect for non-diving partners but it’s also designed to allow plenty of time to ensure visitors can get their daily diving fix. Divers can burn off the calories from their indulgence by venturing below the water to Grenada’s 50 plus dive sites including the Bianca C and Hema 1 wrecks, adrenaline charged drift dives and an underwater sculpture park.
A seven night stay at the True Blue Bay Resort, departing on 17th August 2014, costs from £1,539 per person to include return flights, transfers and B&B accommodation. The Chocolate Festival Program costs an additional £125 per person and an eight dive, dive pack costs from £233 per person.
Ideal for those travelling with non-divers, Regaldive are also offering a more intensive three day Chocolate Treat Package which is available as an upgrade throughout the year. Costing from £240 per person, the package includes a visit to a cocoa plantation, a spa day with a signature chocolate body wrap and chocolate facial treatments, a chocolate and spices cooking demonstration, a cocoa tea and Grenadian chocolate goody basket, daily chocolate breakfasts, ice cream and turndown truffles, a Grenadian chocolate book and a three course chocolate dinner.
For further information or to book, visit www.regaldive.co.uk or call +44 (0)1353 659999.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 3
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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