So long and thanks for all the fish!

This past weekend we made the last dives that Mrs Troporobo and I will do in Anilao.  After 18 years in this sometimes delightful, sometimes maddening, always interesting country, and 34 years overseas pursuing careers and diving all over Asia and the Pacific, we are leaving our beach house behind for early retirement near colder water in the Pacific Northwest of the USA.  It was a bittersweet weekend, thinking of all we have enjoyed here.  Perhaps with that in mind, I thought I could almost see the usual subjects looking at me wondering if I had lost my senses.  Just kidding of course, but I want to leave this place with three images from my final dive in the Philippines.  And I want to share them here, with a forum that has been a companion and wonderful resource all of this time.  Thank you all for helping me to learn and enjoy UW photography.  I'm not hanging up my wetsuit for good, but opportunities to submerge it will be much more limited in the future.  So to continue abusing Douglas Adams, we're glad that it has come to this . . .

Take care and travel safe...thank you for all that you have done for our community. Please don't be a stranger.

Wow, safe and happy travels, Robert. And a very happy and looooong retirement. I really hope we’ll see you here from time to time. 

Congratulations on your retirement, to quote a friend "I highly recommend it" 

That said, thank you for all your contributions here.  You have enriched my experience here, and I am sure that of many others as well.

Safe travels, and enjoy your new experiences.

Where are you moving to in the PNW? You were wise in choosing the one of the best locations for diving in North America! We have great diving in Puget Sound and British Columbia, with much of it accessible from shore. Amazing animals, big and small, and beautiful colorful reefs. If you are ever around Seattle I'd love you meet you for a dive.

Cheers & Congrats!

Thank you all for the kind words!  I certainly am not dropping out, just anticipating less frequent diving and more frequent hiking and dabbling with terrestrial wildlife photography.  

Adam, thanks so much for keeping WP going.  My morning coffee would be bleak indeed without it.  

Tim, I imagine the Caribbean will be high on our list for winter escapes, so I also hope to see you there some day. 

Dave, we learned to dive in Puget Sound a long time ago (eventually in those massive Viking dry suits) and I look forward to learning about the new dry suits. We’ll be in Seattle at first while looking for a home on one of the islands.  Once settled, I’ll reach out to find new dive buddies!  

all the very best. Its always a sad moment when one leaves the tropical blues.

11 hours ago, troporobo said:

Tim, I imagine the Caribbean will be high on our list for winter escapes, so I also hope to see you there some day. 

There will always be a cold one (or several) in the fridge for you. I look forward to seeing you out here - and our water is a delightful shade of blue unlike Dave's. (Green???? WTF???)

Best of luck. You are moving here to the PNW at the right time of the year. I know you are not hanging up your wet suit, but you are going to need a dry suit when you get here.