Good morning! Let's do it like seahorses and start off with a dance. In this episode of “Take a Minute to Relax”, we invite you to look deep into the eye of one of the most effective and successful hunters, not only of the aquatic realm but of the entire planet: Hippocampus histrix, a fish that also goes by the common name of Spiny or Thorny seahorse. Back to the good morning dancing part as it is our new favourite fact about seahorses: "Hippocampus are essentially serial monogamists and stay with one partner for as long as possible. They also have voices and can make grunting sounds, as well as clicking noises. Some of these noises are made on a couple’s daily romantic “confirmation dance”, that takes place each morning, whereby the couple dances and pirouettes together for a couple of minutes. This often results in the iconic heart-shaped pose of their heads and upper bodies, before they separate for the rest of the day." More information on seahorses with the clip on our YouTube channel and Website under "Take a Minute to Relax" (links in bio). . . . . . #seahorse #hippocampus #TakeaMinute #relax #devotion #devocean #videoseries #marinefacts #marinespecies #macro #eyes #underwatervideo #diving #tauchen #duiken #plongee #buceo #indonesia #lembeh #uwvideo #underwater #unterwasser #nauticam #archon #gh5s

As dive guides we were often asked where to go to? Yoeri usually drew a map of South-East Asia and Australia and marked our favourites. However, one island was so far off course, he simply wrote on the top of the paper "Sint Eustatius - Best diving in the Caribbean - Go Statia". Last year we followed our own advice so we can enjoy diving and hiking in the beautiful national parks of this Dutch Caribbean island again. From the rocky hills of Boven to the lush green inside The Quill a great variety of ecosystems is waiting for you on this small tropical island of only 33 km2. Follow us on our journey to discover different layers of nature and culture that make Statia stand out so much. Of course, we take you diving with us as well. Take it to the next level: Go Statia! It's our pleasure to introduce you to our island in real life too. All contacts and contents to explore in our bio. We are looking forward to meeting you. . . . . . #devocean #devotion #travel #hike #caribbean #dutchcaribbean #Netherlands #nederland #gostatia #islandlife #Karibik #inselleben #caraïben #Niederlande #andeanderekantvannederland #statia #sinteustatius #Eustatius #travel2022 #experience #explore #hiking #walking #best #explore #discover #STENAPA #quill #backtonature #boven #tropical

Today just a screenshot of @stopfinningeu as we want to encourage all EU citizens to vote for a new policy to protect sharks and with them our ocean's ecosystem. Without sharks as the apex predators food chains collapse and marine diversity is severely diminished. Sign now at www.stop-finning-eu.org or read more in our latest blog post "Dive, travel, connect & protect" - and then sign (link to blog and website in bio). Special thanks to all individuals and organisations behind this European Citizen's Initiative such as @sharkproject_international or @seashepherd Have a wonderful weekend! . . . . . #stopfinningeu #stopfinning #conservation #sharks #finsattached #protect #connect #dive #travel #blog #devotion #devocean #citizens #EU #euinitiative #support #sign #savetheoceans #saveourseas #savesharks #change #vote #yourvoice #sayno #saynotosharkfintrade #saynotofinning #nofinning

Behind the scenery: The story behind the picture After successfully finishing his open water diver and enjoying the abundance and diversity the dive sites around Statia have to offer, Andreas joined hiking up the Quill. While I was capturing my island view (posting from yesterday), he took this photograph. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for the wonderful company (same to Pascale and Patrick). Thank you all for visiting our Golden Rock, the Caribbean hidden Gem. Thank you @globetrotter_schweiz for sending such lovely, curious, interested and interesting world travellers our way. We are looking forward to meeting more Swiss globetrotters here on Sint Eustatius and taking them diving and hiking to experience nature in all its glory and to root into our real nature. . . . . . #devotion #devocean #Statia #sinteustatius #steustatius #Eustatius #hiking #volcano #quill #panorama #dutchcaribbean #caribbean #caribbeannetherlands #view #travel #travel2022 #explore #experience #islandlife #inselleben #nederland #anderekantvannederland #Karibik #meinglobetrotter #globetrotter #outdoor #goldenrock #hiddengem #travelling #travellers

Panorama Point, The Quill, Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands Back to nature! Diving or hiking? Statia, how this small Caribbean island is called lovingly, has so much to offer on land as well as underwater. "Go Statia! Why visit the Dutch Caribbean island" is giving a first overview of the history and treasures this island has to offer (Blog posting on "Dive, travel, connect and protect" June 4th 2021). More articles on hiking and diving "The Golden Rock" are in the making as we are blessed with the opportunity of diving into the rich reefs on a regular basis. We are looking forward to sharing our findings and learnings, not only on our blogs and website but also here on Instagram and Facebook as well as our dedicated YouTube channel (all links in bio). We would like to thank @stenapastatia for maintaining the marine park, Quill / Boven and the Botanical Garden for all us Statians and all the tourists visiting this truly wonderful little island to experience tranquillity and nature in so many ways. . . . . . #Statia #sinteustatius #Eustatius #steustatius #caribbeannetherlands #dutchcaribbean #anderekantvannederland #STENAPA #devotion #devocean #hiking #quill #volcano #panorama #panoramapoint #view #travel #travel2022 #islandlife #inselleben #karibik #island #insel #eiland #niederlande #Nederland #experience #outdoor #backtonature #nationalpark

How to combine the good, the bad and the ugly into life! We went for a walk on the beach, always inspiring, collecting not only seagrass to fertilise our plants, but also rubbish along our path. Suddenly, Yoeri had the brilliant idea to make use of the ugly and turn all the suitable plastic containers into pots for my ever-growing little garden project. Here we go! Soon we go out looking for more as it feels so nice to combine my newly discovered passion for gardening with my old loves for the ocean, (beach) walks and conservation. . . . . . #devotion #devocean #recycling #upcycling #reuse #collection #rubbish #waste #trash #plants #garden #gardening #seagrass #seaweed #saynotoplastic #goodbadugly #beach #walk #lovennature #lovetheocean #love #cleanup #beachcleanup #ocean #nature #conservation #doityourself #diy #passion #pots

Our new favourite place by the sea! Statia itself is the hidden gem of all the Caribbean islands and this beach offers not only peace and quiet, but harmony through energy. Lost in time with sounds of nature we can silence all doubts, calm the mind and celebrate life and love. We shall meet again as this spot looks perfect to get into the ocean! . . . . . #favouriteplace #meetagain #ocean #sea #caribbean #islandlife #statia #sinteustatius #steustatius #Eustatius #soundsofnature #beach #strand #inselleben #devotion #devocean #karibik #celebrate #life #love #calmyourmind #perfect #bythesea #eiland #dutchcaribbean #caribbeannetherlands #Nederland #energy #harmony #niederlande

Welcome 2022: Let's dream big and begin with the first step, no matter how small it may seem. We form our 2022 with lots of love (also self-love and forgiveness), devotion and perseverance. To ease into it I took up swimming, hiking and underwater photography over the last week(s). However, more important than simply reaching any goal or new year's resolution seems to enjoy the process, to acknowledge the small things in life, to be thankful for all the beauty and inspiration surrounding us and to share what we experience and own with others. Special thanks to these wonderful tiny juvenile Highhats (Equetus acuminatus) dancing in the seagrass of Gallows Bay (Sint Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean). . . . . . #devotion #devocean #postcard #postkarte #warmregards #newyear #2022 #welcome #happynewyear #newyearresolution #underwater #unterwasser #diving #tauchen #duiken #beauty #inspiration #love #caribbean #Karibik #statia #sinteustatius #Eustatius #steustatius #experience #juvenile #thankful #happy #seagrass #perseverance

Follow ME! Never follow blindly. At least, we always ask why. Even if our heart is calling. As we are all carrying deeply rooted beliefs and behaviour patterns in ourselves which often don't longer serve us as well as others. However, we don't only like to dive deeper into our own thoughts, emotions, decisions and actions, but to study the world around us. In particular, the underwater realm is still full of incredible creatures like this Purple-blotched Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus latirostris). "Mantis shrimps have the most complex eyes and visual system so far discovered in the animal kingdom. It’s almost like they can look into another dimension.  The eyes on long stalks can be moved individually resulting in almost 360°view. Each eye can gauge depth and distance on its own by focusing on objects with three separate regions (trinocular vision). While human eyes have three types of photoreceptor cells, they have between 12 and 16 types. Mantis shrimp can perceive wavelengths of light ranging from deep ultraviolet (UVB) to far-red (300 to 720 nm), including fluorescent and polarized light." More on this otherworldly creature on our website under videography and YouTube channel in our video series "Take a Minute to Relax" (episode 3 of 33 so far). . . . . . #mantisshrimp #mantis #devocean #devotion #followme #why #askwhy #otherworldly #underwater #postkarten #postcard #warmregards #learn #eyes #unterwasser #naturelovers #oceanlovers #followyourheart #soulsearching #alien #marinelife #study #evolve #grow #diving #tauchen #duiken #indonesia #Bali #amed

Wild, wild East! This afternoon we were collecting seaweed are Zeelandia Beach for our gardening projects. 👣 In the morning I finally started running here on Statia. 💗 Next week I want to try "Around the mountain" to experience our beautiful house volcano "The Quill" up and close. ⛰️ Any tips or company is highly welcome! See you on Statia 🏝💙💃 . . . . . #zeelandia #statia #sinteustatius #steustatius #eustatius #caribbeannetherlands #dutchcaribbean #anderekantvannederland #Nederland #niederlande #Karibik #inselleben #quill #beach #vulcano #welcome #islandlife #lifeisbetteratthebeach #seaweed #seagrass #gardening #running #mountain #wildwildeast #atlantic #atlanticocean #ocean #wildlife #devotion #devocean

Making the most out of this life! As not everything fits into a square, we uploaded the full postcard as well as many others to our website (Photography > Warm regards). Lots of love and devotion to nature in all its glory, incl. us humans. . . Unlike the Caribbean where lionfish has been introduced by human activity and is threatening local fish populations, in Bali (Indonesia) and all of the coral triangle loinfish play their part in the ecosystem. Not all of their eggs survive and until they are fully grown many predatory fish species have their eyes on them. As this tiny fellow of 2 cm max. is such an easy and welcome snack for anybody really, it was hiding under a algae leaf in a shallow bay of Amed. . . #postkarten #postcard #warmregards #devotion #devocean #lifelessons #float #fly #fins #underwaterphotography #selection #greetings #nature #love #glory #juvenile #lionfish #Indonesia #amed #bali #2020 #diving #tauchen #scuba #followyourdream #alifeworthliving #fish #duiken #macro #supermacro

From end to beginning: Partial lunar eclipse on November 19th 2021 on Sint Eustatius. 🏝 Unfortunately, clouds moved in towards the end of the longest lunar eclipse of this century. In any case, it was well worth getting up at 3am. 😍 My 60mm lens was definitely not the best equipment to capture the show, but it gives you an idea. Who else was out and about staring at the sky? Next on my list is full moon hiking on Statia! 🌝 Too bad there are clouds blocking the moon right now ... ☁️ 💙🍀 Good night and good luck! 🍀💙 . . . . . #lunareclipse #eclipse #mondfinsternis #maansverduistering #maan #mond #moon #lunar #eclipse #caribbean #Karibik #red #clouds #wolken #devotion #devocean #steustatius #sinteustatius #statia #dutchcaribbean #caribbeannetherlands #nederland #anderekantvannederland #goodnight #gutenacht #goedenacht #nightsky #stars #sky #himmel

My new book and tea corner! So happy our shipment from the Netherlands has finally arrived. Also, different clothes to wear, extra layers for diving as the water temperature is dropping now, lots of food and spices and maybe best of all my whole base for DIY care products and more. And seeds, let's not forget about our friends the seeds. Just have to keep the Bullfinches in check! Read more about them in our blog "Dive, travel, connect & protect" at www.devocean-pictures.com (links in bio). Anybody interested in German books let me know. I am happy to share my joy! . . . . . #books #tea #moving #caribbean #inselleben #islandlife #read #bookexchange #shelf #dutchcaribbean #caribbeannetherlands #Karibik #shipment

The last Lesser Antillean Bullfinch has left the nest on our veranda. He was sitting on top of the twig for almost half the day, not feeling ready to take the leap into the unknown. After watching and chirping his little one on from the railing the father flew over. After the little finch hopped on his back daddy jumped high pushing the young one up into the air where he finally spread his wings. Unfortunately, he flew straight into our kitchen. The day before another one was flying around in here for hours. But this one didn't trust his wings, no matter how hard his father chirped and pushed. Eventually, I didn't see them anymore, so we locked the doors and windows when leaving for a stroll on the beach. Afterwards, the father followed us straight into the house frantically searching and calling his youngest until he crawled out from underneath our shopping bags. He made some attempts, more hopping than flying. In the end, Yoeri carried the small Bullfinch in his hand back to the nest. After one more night in his safe and sound environment, the young bird finally spread his wings and took off into the garden. Now we have many happy Lesser Antillean Bullfinches around the house. As they were messing up our freshly planted seeds, we used to call them Bullshit Finch. Now we put out bread crumbs and are looking forward to the next nesting round. Apparently, it is a myth that birds abandon their chicks after a human touched them as they are pretty devoted to their offspring and don't have a good sense of smell anyway. Don't take a baby bird away from the area of its nest though. Usually, the parents are not far off and maybe all it needs is another comfy night to truly believe in itself. . . . . . #finch #bullfinch #bird #nesting #learntofly #spreadyourwings #caribbeannetherlands #caribbean #Karibik #livingtogether #statia #sinteustatius #steustatius #Eustatius #inselleben #islandlife #behaviour #experiencenature #birdwatching #juvenile #leavinghome #growingup #parentalcare #love #learn #devotion #devocean #bullshit #observe #grow

Feeling connected! Thank you @scubaqua_dive_center