Change of scenery! Having friends over on Statia inspires us to explore new parts of our new Caribbean home island.
Yesterday we hiked up Bergje and were rewarded with beautiful views towards the Quill and St. Kitts (in pic). Today we were wandering along and across the ridges of the Gilboa hills, also in the North (Boven).
Thank you @stenapastatia for keeping up the trail system. Next time I would like to take colourful tape with me to replace and add some markers on these Northern routes, even though we enjoyed the feeling of a treasure hunt. We lost the path a couple of times … Most importantly, there were birds singing, butterflies fluttering, a cool breeze blowing, lizards roaming around and hermits crabs rolling downhill.
Tomorrow, back to diving.
Good night and good luck!
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#statia #sinteustatius #steustatius #caribbean #caribbeannetherlands #hiking #view #quill #volcano #dutchcaribbean #hills #berg #bergje #wandering #devotion #devocean #inspiration #betterinnature #getout #visit #travel #feel #Karibik #losingtrack #onmyway #followyourownpatj #treasurehunt #gilboa #boven #lovennature

The first highlight of the day came early: Hatching Hawksbill Turtles right next to @scubaqua_dive_center
The first time I was lucky enough to witness such a beautiful event. Tiny turtles stumbling over the beach to reach the sea. Yoeri rushed back to get his camera. Fingers crossed for a beautiful clip there.
@stenapastatia kept all the spectators in check and gave lots of wonderful information on the lifecycle of these magnificient creatures.
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#hatchlings #turtle #sea #ocean #birth #hawksbill #STENAPA #devotion #devocean #nature #witness #magnificient #tiny #baby #seaturtle #highlight #diving #divecenter #explore #wonderful #wondersofnature #beautiful #lifeisbetteratthebeach #caribbeannetherlands #caribbean #eustatius #sinteustatius #steustatius #statia #Karibik

Finally, we took the time on our day off to visit "Made in Statia" and buy some herbs and leaves to enrich our diet. So happy we can buy local produce of the island and also seeds as we want to grow into our new role as hobby gardeners.
Thank you for taking the time to show us around, give plenty of explanations and tipps. Next time we shall pass by earlier in the morning for string beans and okra.
The location itself offers such a beautiful view onto the Quill, our dormant vulcano overlooking this cute Caribbean Netherlands island.
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#statia #islandlife #dayoff #explore #travel #grow #gardening #hobbygardener #Hobbygärtner #shoplocal #buylocal #caribbean #caribbeannetherlands #dutch #sinteustatius #eustatius #homegrow #view #volcano #devotion #devocean #quill #karibik #madeinstatia #visit #relax #plants #herbs #locallyproduced #monday

Listening to the gentle splash of the waves during our lunch break at @scubaqua_dive_center 🌟💙🙏💙🌟
Perfect diving conditions around this Dutch Caribbean island. 👉🏝💗
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#diving #scuba #islandlife #island #caribbean #dutchcaribbean #netherlands #caribbeannederlands #Karibik #waves #sea #ocean #oceanview #sky #tropics #beach #lifeisbetteratthebeach #lunch #break #takeabreak #relax #inselleben #eustatius #sinteustatius #nederland #anderekantvannederland #travel #travel2021 #destination #statia

Bridge of clouds to our neighbour island Saba!
Fingers crossed we get a ferry service starting in November. At the moment we would have to take a plane to Sint Maarten first to visit another the third special municipality of the Caribbean Netherlands (BES islands – Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba). We are way too busy and happy with where we are right now, the general outlook on life, not only this sunset view.
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https://www.statiagovernment.com/news-and-tenders/news/2021/09/16/press-release-ferry-tender
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#bridge #clouds #sky #island #islandlife #saba #sinteustatius #Eustatius #statia #islandhopping #caribbean #dutch #netherlands #sunset #boat #transfer #connection #view #outlook #sunset #bonaire #special #visit #travel #dive #devotion #devocean #oceanview #Karibik #ferry

Monday is our Sunday!
Rumbling thunder and clouds travelling eastwards into the wind make for dramatic skies. We enjoy the view over the Caribbean sea, while the island greedily soaks up the water.
Rainbow for Statia! Water for the cisterns.
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#monday #sunday #thunder #rumbling #caribbean #rainbow #statia #water #sea #ocean #clouds #wind #skies #dramatic #hurrican #devotion #devocean #sinteustatius #dayoff #relax #island #islandlife #Insel #inselleben #karibik #frei #travel #Regen #rain #Regenbogen

Harvesting coconuts in the Caribbean! 🏝 Sint Eustatius is getting ready for Saturday night's cocktails. 💙 Have a wonderful weekend – on Statia and beyond. 🌠
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#caribbean #sinteustatius #statia #dutchcaribbean #dutch #netherlands #islandlife #weekend #saturdaynight #devotion #devocean #inselleben #Karibik #niederländischekaribik #Niederlande #nederland #caribbeannederlands #Wochenende #samstagnacht #kokosnuss #Palme #palmtree #palm #palmboom #zaterdagnacht #gettingready #wonderful #Cocktail #harvest #Ernte

After 6+ years, we finally answered the "Blue Beads" call, and returned to this charming, little known gem of an island, in the Caribbean! There were many things to arrange and prepare for our departure to, and arrival at St. Eustatius and we're currently still rather occupied settling in. Soon hope to share our passion for the ocean and the whole wild and wonderful world with you again, through photos, videos, and articles.
In the meantime, here's a cute roadsign along "Weg to White Wall" on Statia.
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#statia #sinteustatius #gostatia #roadsign #iguana #caribbean #islandlife #explore #travel #netherland #dutchcaribbean #gem #island #diving #devocean #devotion #passion #followyourdream #bluebead #weg #clouds #sky #road #crossings #iguanas #caution

Goodbye run this morning! First time I made 3 hours. Though I had to stop to take some pictures in between (and pee …). Not sure how I can keep this up once we moved to our Caribbean paradise, Sint Eustatius.
We will miss the diverse landscape of Drenthe, one of the Northern provinces of the Netherlands. Hun / neolithic graves around every other corner, lots of horses, cows and sheep still out in the fields and sometimes like these Scottish Highlander Cows in the nature reserves to keep the heather from turning into bushland and forest. And the heather is in full bloom at the moment.
However, I enjoyed the shade of the trees and even the muddy soak while crossing some wetlands and following little streams, watching more than 20 storks searching for their breakfast. Maybe there is still time for a swim in the lake before departure. Drenthe has it all!
OK, tropical reefs are missing. That's waiting on Statia, a special municipality of the Netherlands.
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#netherlands #drenthe #hunnebed #heather #bloom #cow #grave #stonegrave #neolithic #nederland #heide #hei #stork #storch #ooievaar #gasterse #duinen #naturereserve #run #move #fields #highlandcow #love #devotion #devocean #stream #paradise #stop #niederlande #goodbye

In this “Take a Minute to Fly”, we take a look at the wonderful colours and patterns of a flower field in the North of the Netherlands.

This small nation’s passion for cultivating flowers really started to take on epic proportions after Tulips were introduced in the mid 16th century. These iconic “Dutch” flowers originated and were imported from, the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey and beyond). Their popularity increased noticeably, after famed Dutch gardener Carolus Clusius started experimenting with tulips, and wrote what’s considered the first major book about the flower. Recognising the flower’s potential, he began planting specialised tulip nurseries around the time he became the director of the University of Leiden’s botanical gardens, in 1593.

For more information and visual meditation, watch the whole playlist on our YouTube channel or browse through the different clips on our designated page „Take a Minute to Fly“ on our website.
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#fly #takeaminute #Meditation #visualart #video #drone #aerial #netherlands #field #flowers #videoseries #holland #colourful #spring #1minute #calmyourmind #Blumen #Luftaufnahme #devocean #devotion #YouTube #playlist #colours #dji #pattern #bloem #veld #nederland #voorjaar #lente

Last night it was too clouded in the Western parts of Germany to watch the night sky and wish for shooting stars. 🌠 Last night was predicted for the Perseid meteor shower after all, one of the most dramatic things to see in the night sky between July and August. 🌟
Hopefully other regions were blessed with clear skies. I keep an eye out tonight as well. After all, it is Friday the 13th 😉
Yesterday we simply enjoyed our candle lights and play with the shadows of the flames. 🔥
Have a wonderful weekend!
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#night #sky #light #candle #candlelight #nightsky #shadow #flame #see #watch #shootingstar #stargazing #meteor #persoid #devotion #devocean #weekend #friday13 #germany #sternschnuppe #meteorregen #Wochenende #schatten #kerzenlicht #Nachthimmel #sterne #flamme #kerze #katze #cat

Take your minute to relax with cephalopods. Our video series „Take a minute“ reached already clip number 30. More underwater beauty and knowledge is in the making.
Cephalopods are molluscs with their arms attached to their head. The word is based on old Greek (kephalópodes; „head-feet“). Octopus, cuttlefish and squid are in a class of their own in multiple ways. Classified as cephalopods they lack a backbone in their soft bodies but show remarkable intelligence for invertebrates. These savvy softies arouse a great deal of interest in divers and science alike.
Probably the most fascinating aspect of cephalopods is their ability to change colour as well as the texture of their skin in a blink of an eye. This way they can blend in with their surroundings perfectly. Alternatively, they show bright warning or hypnotizing patterns at will. Just below the surface of their skin sit thousands and thousands of chromatophores (colour-changing cells). Each chromatophore contains a sack of a particular pigment (black, brown, orange, red or yellow). By stretching the sack, the colour appears brighter. A complex system of nerves and muscles controls this magical transformation including the texture of the skin from smooth via small bumps to high spikes.
Additionally, some cephalopods have iridophores, plates reflecting greens, blues, silvers and golds, while leucophores mirror the colour of the surroundings to perfect their camouflage. They use their skill to hide from predators as well as to sneak up on their prey. But colour patterns are also a way to communicate to another or others in the form of flashing bright warning colouration, like the poisonous and venomous Flamboyant cuttlefish. As a last resort, they can release a cloud of ink and disappear through any hole their bony beak fits through, the only hard part of their body.

More on cephalopods our website or on our YouTube channel (links in bio).

#TakeaMinute #relax #videoseries #devocean #devotion #cuttlefish #cephalopod #macro #underwatervideo #uwvideo #1minute #underwater #diving #squid #octopus #meditation #lovetheocean #safetheocean #lembeh #indonesia #beauty #knowledge #calmyourmind #visualmeditation #connect

Two years ago and hopefully forever:
"Not talkin' 'bout a year
No not three or four
I don't want that kind of forever
In my life anymore
Forever always seems
to be around when it begins
but forever never seems
to be around when it ends
So give me your forever
Please your forever
Not a day less will do
From you
…"
Please listen to this wonderful song "Forever" by Ben Harper yourself and you'll get our loving mood. Feel inspired to live and love. Every single day!
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Wedding photography: Ines Heider www.fotografie-muenster.com
Thank you and the small group of guests for a truly wonderful day.
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#forever #wedding #marriage #married #memories #music #sayyes #benharper #lyrics #love #live #everyday #look #listen #feel #hochzeit #trauung #holdinghands #devotion #devocean #thankful #thankyou #danke #hochzeitsfotografie #münster #Hamm #kinderfotografie #wonderful #Porträtfotografie #eventfotografie

There are no words to express how thankful I am for all the wonderful people in my life and all the unique souls I had the privilege of meeting throughout the years all over the world. Nevertheless, I shall give it a try. I feel like pure love is running through my veins, like the world around me – or possibly even through me – is vibrating. Completely content, yet ready to rock. Fully at peace, yet sensing that this is just the beginning. I am 41 years old now and I never felt better in my life.
The key is within, but without support from the outside, I would have never found the key or the lock. Possibly not even ventured into the world to search for all the pieces now falling together.
Soaked with life I want to take a moment to say thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes – offline as well as online. Thank you for making my day! Thank you for being you! Thank you for making a difference in this world! Thank you for supporting each other! Thank you for protecting others as well as nature!
It's the total picture that counts, our love and devotion shining through the things we do. I feel whole and blessed.
Yoeri made "Take a Minute to Relax XXX: Cephalopods" for me. It is waiting for you on our YouTube channel (link in bio). In this video series, we invite you to relax and refresh your mind and soul with visual meditation. Take a 1-minute break from whatever you are doing to immerse yourself in the beauty of our blue planet. For this minute, Yoeri selects one long shot to allow you to fully focus on one creature or seascape. Dive into the scene, feel the energy, open your heart, connect to the subject, look for details or simply get carried away!
Feel the love and press the red subscribe button to express yours. Thank you for helping me making my day his day and to spread our passion for the ocean and the whole wide wonderful world. You rock!
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#thankyou #love #passion #devocean #devotion #birthday #41 #thankful #fulloflife #powerofnow #atpeace #happy #wonderful #present #nicolajaeger #readytorock #content #youtube #takeaminute #relax #energy #makeitcount #support #smile #blackandwhite #life #nomakeup #keineschminke #ungeschminkt #naturallook

Our happy news over the last two months! Our YouTube channel is finally taking off.
Fun fact: During that time Yoeri couldn't upload any new clips as his laptop was on a long journey of repair (thanks to Brexit and Covid).
Join our little club now as we start to "Take a Minute" tomorrow again. More ideas, projects and lots of natural wonders are in the making.
See you on the bright side of life (link in bio).
Interestingly, the Coconut Octopus is our most-watched clip now. With almost 14,000 views it overtook the longtime favourite of "Long Island on land" and keeps ongoing. Take your Minute to relax and fly right now. Thank you and enjoy!
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#devocean #devotion #takeaminute #relax #fly #enjoy #youtube #thankyou #subscribe #watch #video #uwvideos #underwater #unterwasser #coconutoctopus #octopus #coconut #happynews #happy #brightside #stayathomeandtravel #brexit #screenshot #diving #tauchen #duiken #plongee #buceo #visualart #visualstorytelling