Under the Volcano

An April volcano eruption (two, in fact, about sixty miles from Manado, Indonesia), which we noted in a past email, disrupted a lot of divers. One of our long-time correspondents, Ken Paff (Richmond, CA), wrote in:

"Today, May 2, I should be muck diving. But instead, I'm at home. On April 30, the gods ruined a trip for six of us. Due to a major volcanic eruption some 70 miles from Manado, Indonesia (where we were scheduled to fly), the Manado airport is closed. Two Fish Divers is covered in volcanic dust."

Ten days earlier, a lesser eruption had shut the airport, and reader Mike Hofman (San Francisco) was lucky to have gotten out.

"We made it out of Manado Tuesday after having our Scoot flight to Singapore canceled on Saturday. It taught me a good lesson about flying around in Indonesia - always a good idea to use a local travel agent.

"We got great help from the staff and owner of Murex Bangka (Danny Charlton), but making alternate plans was a crapshoot. After our flight was canceled, we stayed at the Novotel in Manado (close to the airport). I tried to find a flight on Garuda, knowing I could pay for tix on this airline. Lion Air, which runs Lion, Wings, and Batik, often doesn't allow foreign credit cards to be used ... and was able to book a flight. Always book buffer days, especially when traveling to Indonesia, as things happen, and you must be light on your feet and prepared for change."

We believe all the Sulawesi resorts are now operating normally.

The eruption:
https://tinyurl.com/77s3yp2v