Author Archives: Judy G Diver

About Judy G Diver

Born and raised on the west coast of Canada, I have always felt a strong connection to the sea. But for many years, I stayed on the surface, afraid of what lurked down deep. When I was in my early 30's, with three young children (aka the P's), my husband (aka Mr G) signed us up for a SCUBA certification course, as a surprise. Although I had my fears, my stubbornness prevailed, and somehow I made it through four murky, frigid, cold water dives in Vancouver to successfully pass the course. Soon after we went diving off the west coast of Mexico, in the Sea of Cortez, where my eyes were opened to the beauty and other-worldliness of the life down under. And the rest, as they say, is history. I currently have well over 2000 dives under the belt, and I have been fortunate to travel and dive in Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Fiji, Palau, Philippines, Galapagos, Costa Rica, Hawaii, California, Egypt, Mexico, several islands in the Caribbean, and here in British Columbia. In addition to this blog and my personal website (Awoosh.com/Directory), which is linked at the top of the blog, my stuff has been published in a variety of magazines and websites, including a regular monthly feature for Scubadiving Magazine for several years. All links to this work can be found in this blog.

Raja Ampat, The Last Diving Paradise?

We recently returned from a truly wonderful dive trip to Indonesia. After the stress-inducing O-ring debacle of the diving portion of our first adventure post-Covid, in Egypt‘s Red Sea, this was relaxing, exhilarating, and breathtakingly beautiful diving. (Note: You’ll need … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Indonesia Travel, Photography, Pic of the Day, Travel, Trip Reports | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Yalla Yalla Habibi!

I’ll admit that I was never super interested in ancient history; I think my last whack at it was in the early years of high school. Egyptians, Romans, Greeks? They were bygones to me – more mythology than history in … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Egypt, Image Galleries, Photography, Travel, Trip Reports, Writings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Touched By A Shark

Massive tiger sharks. Big beefy bull sharks. Marauding reef sharks. Thick clouds of thousands of fish. Dive masters swimming up into this chaotic melee to dump fish guts in murky mid-water, in an effort to attract the big ‘uns. Twenty-six … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Trip Reports | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Sun Also Sets

Yesterday was the much-anticipated solar eclipse. And although we live a bit north of the ‘zone of totality’, it was still a noteworthy happening. And amazingly, it was a clear sunny day for this extraordinary event.

Posted in Photography, Pic of the Day, Writings | Leave a comment

Diving In The Front Yard

It had been over a year since we last donned the drysuits and waddled into the water. It’s totally awesome to be shore diving in the front yard, but the bods are not getting any younger, and contorting into the … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, British Columbia Travel, Image Galleries, Photography | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day – Doto Nudibranch

From the Bali files. This is the front end of a teensy Doto nudibranch, feasting on a hydroid. There are thousands of species of nudibranchs (aka sea slugs), and they come in a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns. Big nudis … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Indonesia Travel, Photography, Pic of the Day | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Pic of the Day – Pen Shell Shrimp

This is a fairly unusual critter – so much so that it is not in my (older version) Humann & Deloach Caribbean Reef Creature ID book. It is a Pen Shell Shrimp (Pontonia mexicana), about half an inch in length, … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, Pic of the Day | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day – Pederson Shrimp on Corkscrew Anemone

Pederson shrimp on a corkscrew anemone. Photographed in St. Vincent. St Vincent is known for coughing up some pretty weird and wonderful species, some of which are seen no where else in the Caribbean. I initially thought this might have … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Pic of the Day | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day – Stunning Sunset

Sunsets are always beautiful, fleeting things, but every now and then they transcend into the truly spectacular. This was one of those sunsets. Taken from the stern of a live aboard dive boat, in eastern Indonesia, with a yummy rum … Continue reading

Posted in Indonesia Travel, Pic of the Day | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pic of The Day – Spinecheek Anemone Fish

My diving buds know that I am a bit nuts about anemone fish. I just can’t swim past an anemone inhabited by these cute and colourful little fish without trying my luck at getting a pleasing shot. They are frustrating … Continue reading

Posted in Indonesia Travel, Photography, Pic of the Day | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day – Alor, Indonesia Old School Fisherman

And now for something a little different. This fellow peering down at me as I took pictures from under his canoe is a local fisherman in the Alor area of Indonesia. These guys hand make bamboo fish traps, and place … Continue reading

Posted in Indonesia Travel, Photography, Pic of the Day | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day – Thread Fin Hawkfish

I have a scary number of underwater images in the hopper – three trips’ worth, truth be told. I have been sharing a few on Facebook and Instagram (you can find me there – Judy G Diver), but I have … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, Pic of the Day | Tagged , | 2 Comments

New Zealand – You Beach!

It’s been a bit of a whirl of travel over the past few months. In addition to some regularly scheduled dive and Berlin biz trips this year, a couple of other opportunities have arisen – one – in absence of any … Continue reading

Posted in Links, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Getting Mucky With It

My apologies for my long absence from the blog. I don’t know where life goes – but it seems to be whizzing by. Lots of travel and other events are keeping me hopping. Since I last blogged, I’ve been diving … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Image Galleries, Scubadiving Magazine Photo Essays | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day – Flamboyant Critters

After the deluge of posts about a trip to India, and then the rant about BC real estate, I’ve taken a little down time to take care of some stuff on the home front. But as I am now on deadline … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, Pic of the Day | Tagged | Leave a comment

Hitting the G Spot

Today, I am feeling a tad crabby. A few years ago, Mr G and I went on a search for a property where we hoped to have a weekend cottage. Our criteria were pretty firm –  relatively easy water access … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, House & Garden, Photography, Writings | Leave a comment

A Passage in India (& Nepal) – Part 7 – Wrapping the Trip in Khatmandu

To go back to the beginning of this 7 chapter travelogue, follow this link: Chapter 1 – Just Say No to Delhi Belly After the hell, fire and brimstone of an evening in Varanasi (and then the redeeming beautiful morning after), … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, Travel, Trip Reports, Writings | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day – Chain Moray Eel

Ready for my close up. This is a picture of a Chain Moray Eel (Echidna catenata) that I captured in Roatan, Honduras. This variety of eel can grow up to 24 inches long. Although I couldn’t see the body of … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Photography, Pic of the Day | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Scuba Diving Magazine Feature – Cuckoo for CoCo View

Here is a link to this month’s photo feature for Scuba Diving Magazine (online). The images in this gallery were captured on a recent trip CoCo View Dive Resort, on Roatan Island in Honduras. It was a fun reunion group trip, … Continue reading

Posted in All About Scuba Diving, Image Galleries, Scubadiving Magazine Photo Essays, Trip Reports | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Passage in India (& Nepal) – Part 6 – Learning and Burning in Varanasi

When I last left you, we had a big day in Khajuraho, touring some super sexy temples, and experiencing some amazing Ayurvedic massage therapy. The next morning, we were up at dark o’thirty, for an (optional) jeep safari tour in … Continue reading

Posted in Photography, Travel, Writings | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment