Under the sea🎵 Under the sea 🎵

"Ariel, listen to me!
The human world, it's a mess.
Life under the sea
Is better than anything they got up there…"

We are in the Dominican Republic because it's the optimal mix of two things we want to do and one thing we need to do.

Wish one: Was Lennox and Lola getting a PADI diving licence. ( The smaller two are too young).

Wish two: go 🏄‍♂️ and windsurfing.

Need: Fly back to Europe to get to Asia, Mongolia, to be precise.

Jump two paragraphs if you want to skip the travel tips section.

To tick off the last one first, it costs $450 from here to Istanbul*, whereas from Miami, it's over $800, and from other Caribbean Islands, over a $1,000. So if you are too clever, then you might think coming here is saving us $2,000 or more 😉.

* The cheapest flights by far from Europe to Mongolia are from Istanbul , and bizarely you can take your carpet on board. Can't wait to see why that is so.

Coming back to wish 1, the older kids passed the theory part last week. Thank you, Grandpa, for the birthday present of that part.

Today, as you can see in the 1st picture, the practical lessons started. In the morning in the pool, and in the afternoon in the beautiful Caribbean sea. This might not yet be the paradise of the British Virgin Islands for divers, but it's a good place to start without bankrupting your parents. I'm glad the excitement of yesterday was for real today.

The 2nd wish will be addressed by moving to Cabarete next week.

Oh, and that song at the start is the horribly catchy "Under the Sea" from the film Little Mermaid. I advise you not to listen to it. Otherwise, there is a risk you it will circulate in your brain forever.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GC_mV1IpjWARead more