72 Aquatics by Paragon Dive Group

If you’ve ever been to southern Thailand, you might recognize this place immediately.🙂

Koh Phi Phi Ley has a funny nickname among divers and locals — from the right angle, its silhouette looks a bit like a sleeping Homer Simpson.😄

But beyond the shape, this island is surrounded by some truly fantastic diving. Think dramatic limestone walls, colorful reef fish, leopard sharks, turtles, blacktip reef sharks, and iconic dive sites like Bida Nok and Bida Nai.🐠

And the best part? We’re planning to head back to Thailand next year and visit this beautiful corner of the Andaman Sea again.😎




📸 Tobias Reitmayr

I frequently mention it, but it's undeniably true that the people make the trip and the critters are the icing on the cake. We had a wonderful weekend. 7 dives, searching for nudies and spotting all our favorite critters.

You should be diving with us!

~ Sheree

Scuba training is interesting.🙂

In an Open Water Course, we teach skills that, honestly, divers may only use once in a lifetime — or hopefully never. An out-of-air ascent. Disconnecting a stuck low-pressure inflator hose. Recovering a regulator. Emergency sharing of air.

So why spend time on them?🤔

Because diving is about being prepared for the rare moments that matter most. Most dives are calm, beautiful, and uneventful — exactly as they should be. But confidence underwater comes from knowing that if something unexpected happens, you’ve practiced it before.😎

Comfort through repetition to be prepared.🙂

You Know It’s Going to Be a Good Dive… 😁

There’s a moment many divers know well.🤓

The boat slows down at the dive site. You look over the side and suddenly the water changes. The blue becomes lighter. You start making out shapes below. Rocks, reef, maybe even the outline of the wreck. The bottom gets shallower beneath the boat, and you can actually see it from the surface.😲

That feeling.🥹

Before you even giant stride in, you already know: visibility is going to be fantastic today.✅

The excitement builds. Gear checks feel faster. Everyone starts smiling a little more.✅

As divers, we live for moments like these.✅

What’s the best visibility you’ve ever had on a dive?😎



📸

One of the classic fish many divers remember from Caribbean dives is the Gray Angelfish 🐠🌴

They’re not the flashiest fish on the reef at first glance, but once you start noticing them, they seem to appear everywhere—slowly cruising around coral heads, sponge-covered wrecks, and reef walls. Adults often have a calm, almost curious behavior around divers, while juveniles are much darker with bright yellow stripes and tend to stay hidden near the reef.🤓

Gray Angelfish feed mostly on sponges, which is one reason they’re commonly seen around healthy Caribbean reefs. Sometimes during a dive, one will quietly follow divers from a distance as if observing the group.😎



📍Utila, Honduras
📸 Tobias Reitmayr

One of the most beautiful things to photograph underwater are sunrays cutting through the water.😲

But they usually don’t just “appear” by accident. The best conditions are often:
• early morning or late afternoon sunlight✅
• calm surface conditions✅
• clear water✅
• slightly looking upward toward the light✅
• and ideally something in the frame like divers, wrecks, reefs, or kelp to give the rays scale and depth✅

Interestingly, a little bit of particles in the water can actually help make the rays more visible. Too clear isn’t always best.🤓

Sometimes you descend and suddenly the entire ocean lights up for a few minutes. Those are the moments underwater photographers wait for.🥹





📸 Freediving Tobias Reitmayr

Dive trips are about much more than just the time underwater 🌎🤿

Some of the best memories happen during the surface intervals and after the dives are over. Exploring local markets, eating fresh seafood by the marina, watching sunsets over the Sea of Cortez, road trips through the desert, small fishing towns, mountain views, local culture, and long conversations with friends after a full day on the ocean—it all becomes part of the experience.🙂

That’s one reason dive travel feels different from regular vacations. You don’t just see a place underwater, you slowly experience the atmosphere, the people, the food, and the rhythm of life around the ocean.😎

What’s your favorite surface activity during dive trips? 👇




📸 Tobias Reitmayr

At first glance, the nudibranch Jorunna funebris almost looks unreal. With its white body covered in dark rings, it looks more like underwater artwork than a living animal. Unlike many tiny nudibranchs that are easy to miss, these can actually grow relatively large, making them one of those critters that instantly catches your eye on a reef in Southeast Asia.🤓

They move slowly and calmly across the reef, feeding mostly on sponges, completely unaffected by the rush of the underwater world around them.🧐

Maybe that’s why divers love nudibranchs so much. They force you to slow down, look closer, and appreciate the small details most people swim right past.🥹

What’s your favorite nudibranch species? 👇




📸 Tobias Reitmayr

Every dive group has its personalities… 😄

There’s the underwater photographer holding everyone up for “just one more picture.” The gear perfectionist checking every clip and strap three times. The marine life expert spotting tiny nudibranchs nobody else noticed. The diver who’s always first in the water, and the one somehow still putting fins on while everyone else is descending. There’s always somebody already talking about post dive food before the second dive even starts too. 😅

Different personalities, different diving styles—but somehow it all works together on a dive trip.😎

What types of divers have you encountered on dive boats over the years?👇

Our long weekend in San Carlos was amazing. Nudibranchs aplenty! A few we have not seen before and loads of our favorites.
💕
Also seahorse, octopus, sea lions, turtles, blennies, gobies, beautiful fish, and amazing boat full of people that had a great time.
🤗
Shout out to the 8 newly certified open water divers, 1 night and limited visibility and 1 navigation.
😅 Big weekend.
Can’t wait to do it again.
“Nudie Run 2026” in 2 weeks! I’m excited!
~ Sheree