If there ever was a person loving snorkeling, it was Surain. She absolutely adored gliding through the water and looking down through her snorkel, watching fish and underwater sea life. We first snorkeled together in Hawaii. In 1989 we traveled to Tonga and Samoa in the South Pacific. The fish were incredible, but the biggest difference from Hawaii was the plant life, that was so much richer, colorful, and exciting. We had had similar experiences in the Honduras Bay Islands during our 1981 South America trip.

Kayaking added a whole new dimension to snorkeling. The coral reefs in the Bangai Islands in Indonesia were even better than what we had seen before, and it was absolutely fantastic to snorkel there. This was in 1997 - during my 50th birthday - and we traveled with our very close friend Elizabeth Berg. We would slip into the water from the kayaks and tow them behind us while snorkeling - so we would not lose them! The water was so warm that an hour could go by, and then we would get back into the kayaks again. On our 20th anniversary in 1998 Surain and I kayaked in Fiji with equally amazing coral reefs.

So we decided that it is appropriate that some of her ashes rest along a coral reef in the South Pacific. I will do it the next time I see an amazing reef, but don't know exactly when that will happen.

It would take five years before I once again found myself at a coral reef. Meanwhile, I had married Ghislaine, whom I first met when she left her homeland France to settle in Sweden in October 1973. We had continued to keep in contact after I moved away from Sweden in September 1978. To celebrate my 60th birthday, we were in Indonesia - one more time - to paddle kayak and visit corals, that I had found so incredibly fascinating ten years earler.

It is not difficult to find fantastic coral reefs in Indonesia! Initially, I had planned to spread Surain's ashes in a little island group just north of New Guinea, but fate intervened. You can plan as meticulously as you like, call Indonesia to get the ferry schedule (for a two day journey), and then buy your airline tickets to match this schedule. But when you arrive in Manado and discover that this ferry has been canceled ...

But luckily there is a Marine National Park just outside Manado at the northern tip of Sulawesi - the Bunaken islands. So we joined a 20 meter (60 feet) scow going out there, filled with happy indonesians, all sorts of necessities, oil drums - and our three heavy sacks with the kayak, tent, food, etc. One hour later the kayak was unloaded at Bunaken Island and I could start putting it together, eagerly watched by curious indonesians. Someone - the only one who spoke English - said, that he had never before met someone bringing his own kayak. It drizzled now and then, but when it is over 30° (86°F) and 28° (82°F) in the water, it matters less. We took off a little before dusk.

The mangroves were dense around the flat island. We couldn't resist muddling ourselves and the kayak in among the incredible thickets. A troll like atmosphere met us and it was easy to feel like in the land of Hansel and Gretchen, with trees with weird snags and aerial roots. Then, the next morning, we paddled over to the volcanic island Manado Tua nearby. The water was so blue, blue - just like you dream about, but never believe can be true in reality.

We immediately felt at home among the Indonesians, as I had done ten years earlier in another island group. Nobody was starving, but neither were there any surplus articles. The children played in the sand with the dead corals. They would sit for hours looking at us, while we pitched our tent, cooked, etc. No doubt they were much happier than the Western children with all their parafernalia. The day after the island teacher came, who spoke some English. My bahasa indonesia was inadequate, even more so than ten years ago. I could say some phrases of salutation and a few more things - and order tea! Mau minum teh (I would like some tea).

We snorkeled at several places along the way. It was so incredible to once again be absorbed by the underwater life with all its unforgettable colors, fish, crustaceans, and corals. For me, it was the first time since 1999, and for Ghislaine the first time ever - such an incredible enchantment for her! On the other side of Bunaken Island we found corals that reminded me of what Surain and I had seen ten years ago and that were worthy of receiving her ashes. I towed, and Ghislaine sat on top of, the kayak out to a beautiful reef. Slowly I let the ashes fall down from my hand and down into the sea, and slowly they sank to come to rest among the most magnificiant among magnificiant corals.

A week later there really was a ferry bound for Biak, a little island a bit north of Papua (formerly called Irian Jaya - the Indonesian half of New Guinea). Rarely or ever before had we seen so many people crammed into such a big ferry. During the two day journey we were the only tourists to behold the pageant. There were human beings everywhere, including in the first class corridors, on the outside decks, the areas around the small shops, the stairs, etc. The only places not full of peopled were the first and second class cabins (!), the restaurant and the toilets. We wondered if it was always so crowded, or if the cancelled ferry contributed.

The pictures of the corals are taken both from Bunaken and from the little island Auki, to which we paddled from Biak. There the corals were as wonderful, but the underwater life even richer. And it felt far from civilization, when we pitched our tent on this inhospitable island.