Marco's Log
February 19, 2010
What a busy week we've been having, Mr. Journal! Just as I was set to get a little R&R on L&L's Nineball Island, who do I see but my dear new friend Klaus come running towards me flailing his arms wildly in a way that only a well-seasoned and incredibly interesting German man is able to.
It appears that Klaus was very eager to continue surveying the shipwrecks we found earlier in the week. I of course obliged, as I hadn't been back there since our last dive. And as you may recall, I needed a bigger bag! This time, however, I was ready.
Klaus and I talked at length about where we should venture next, having encountered various whirlpools in the southern areas of the Ciceros Strait, we thought it might be a good idea to check that place out again. I mean, really, even nature is trying to protect whatever's back there.
As it turns out, the locals around Ciceros were celebrating a holiday related to this Dragon Song I've been hearing so much about. Unfortunately, this made it extremely difficult to charter a boat to our previous dive location. The earliest time we were able to get out to our destination was around midnight, which was fine with me, and apparently even more fine with Klaus. He was as happy as I'd ever seen him. (Seeing as I've only met him once before, I don't have a frame of reference, but he was definitely happy.)
A little fun fact about Klaus: He's a skilled night diver, but he'd never tell anyone that. This guy must have had some sort of night vision, as he was taking me through ruins and wrecks with speed that I had never seen before.
Our first dive was cut short as Klaus forgot to pack his reserve tank and we had to go back up for an air refill. While we were on the boat we had both noticed that all the underwater whirlpools had vanished from the area that we were diving in before, so we decided it would be in both our best interests to check out this new and exciting diving opportunity.
We quickly decended back down to the depths and I immediately started picking up blips on my multisensor! Instead of watching where I was going, I navigated solely based on my instrument readings. As the blips got closer together and increased in frequency, Klaus let out an amazed gasp over the radio.
It seemed we had stumbled upon the ruins of Triton Village! I could tell this place was important as Klaus had his camera out the entire time snapping picture after picture. It was rumored that this place is linked directly to the location of Valka Castle which, as you know, Mr. Journal, is where all the money is!
All around these ruins were ingots of Gold and Silver, which fetch a decent amount of coin on the surface. However, I'd heard rumors of priceless lost works of art in Valka Castle, and that's what I was really after.
While Klaus was busy taking pictures of really old rocks, I came across what looked to be a well. I radioed over to him and reported my findings. Being the brave diver he was, Klaus suggested we swim down it. This would have been a bigger deal if I hadn't done a deep sea dive with Jean just yesterday, but I was feeling ambitious and agreed to follow him down into the darkness.
I felt a little bit like Alice going down the rabbit hole, but what we found down there was something that almost flooded my mask with tears of joy. We found Valka Castle! And by the looks of it, we were the first! I pulled out my multisensor and went straight to work scanning my surroundings.
As we went through room after room, I found little trinkets like rings and dolls littered about... Nothing of great value. I was really starting to get worried that all the rumors of great riches and priceless artifacts were all a bunch of fisherman's tales, until Klaus radioed with such urgency that I thought he had been seriously injured.
Klaus had found what seemed to be the Treasury, the most aptly named room in the entire structure! I can only imagine he had a big smirk behind that mask as he introduced me to my fame and fortune for the first time! This room was full of artwork that was ready to be salvaged by yours truly! I gathered as much as I could and by the time our air supplies began to run out, I had a full compliment of artistic marvels in my possession!
I cleaned up big today, Mr. Journal. I'm taking you out to a fancy dinner to celebrate.
Klaus Daimler's Journal
February 19, 2010
Well, things were certainly looking pretty grim in Brazil. Jean had to take off in a hurry and ended up taking most of the supplies with her! I tried a few local shops, but you'd be surprised at how hard it is to find a place where you can refill an oxygen tank in the middle of the Amazon. With nowhere to turn, I figured I'd make my way back to Nineball Island and come back some other time. It wasn't like the ruins were going anywhere.
When I got back, I bumped into Marco. He had some new, matching dive gear, so I could only guess that his treasure hunting was going well. We got to talking about our dive from earlier in the week and how we were foiled by those damn whirlpools. Thinking we could try finding a way around, we decided to make our way back and give it another shot.
When we reached the Aegean Sea, it was impossible to charter a boat. The place was just packed with tourists and amateur divers. By the time we found a boat, it was close to midnight. Not wanting to waste any time, we decided to try for a night dive.
Marco had some trepidations, but thankfully, I had done plenty of night dives while working for the coast guard. We set off from a spot near the whirlpools in the Ciceros Strait. To our amazement, they were gone! It must have something to do with the heat during the day. With this newly found path, we forged ahead and came across a shipwreck.
This was yet another fantastic find in this area. The sunken wreck of the Black Lotus. I was beginning to wonder if any ships made it through this way. Naturally, Marco dove right in and started his hunting. I made a closer inspection of the ship, noted the location and took some pictures.
Once we were done with the ship, we kept working closer to shore. I liked diving with Marco. I don't think I saw him bother to stop and take a single picture of a fish along the way. What we found next made us both go a little shutterbug crazy, though.
That—my friends—is what's left of the entrance to Triton Village. There really wasn't much left of the place at all actually, save for a few ruins and archways.
Don't mind the army-clad diver.
Despite the poor quality of some of the ruins, there were still a lot of great little gems to be found.
While I was busy snapping photos, Marco was off doing his thing, diving for treasure. Then, I heard an excited voice over the radio:
We debated it briefly, but we both knew we had to try exploring it. The entryway was certainly large enough to fit through with room to spare, so we made our way in. We reached the bottom and found that the well lead to a vast sewer system. Continuing down the larger tunnels, we emerged into a circular room. I looked up and was stunned.
Immediately, I knew where we had found ourselves. This was Valka Castle! Or at least part of it, anyway. I swam straight up, hoping to find some sort of landmark. Amazingly, I was able to surface at the top. Somewhere in the sea, this part of the castle wasn't submerged! I took a couple of pictures and met up with Marco at a doorway.
We worked our way down a long hall, then through some rooms. I could barely contain my excitement—and neither could Marco, given how frantically he was stuffing things into his sack. One of the bigger surprises was finding this massive room.
This place had everything. There was even a ballroom! I grabbed a few shots of the beautiful architecture.
After exploring the ballroom a bit more, Marco and I checked our oxygen levels and decided it was time to call it a night. This was easily the highlight of my work thus far. I'm sure the Rügen Research Group will be quite pleased with my findings.
February 19, 2010
What a busy week we've been having, Mr. Journal! Just as I was set to get a little R&R on L&L's Nineball Island, who do I see but my dear new friend Klaus come running towards me flailing his arms wildly in a way that only a well-seasoned and incredibly interesting German man is able to.
It appears that Klaus was very eager to continue surveying the shipwrecks we found earlier in the week. I of course obliged, as I hadn't been back there since our last dive. And as you may recall, I needed a bigger bag! This time, however, I was ready.
Klaus and I talked at length about where we should venture next, having encountered various whirlpools in the southern areas of the Ciceros Strait, we thought it might be a good idea to check that place out again. I mean, really, even nature is trying to protect whatever's back there.
As it turns out, the locals around Ciceros were celebrating a holiday related to this Dragon Song I've been hearing so much about. Unfortunately, this made it extremely difficult to charter a boat to our previous dive location. The earliest time we were able to get out to our destination was around midnight, which was fine with me, and apparently even more fine with Klaus. He was as happy as I'd ever seen him. (Seeing as I've only met him once before, I don't have a frame of reference, but he was definitely happy.)
A little fun fact about Klaus: He's a skilled night diver, but he'd never tell anyone that. This guy must have had some sort of night vision, as he was taking me through ruins and wrecks with speed that I had never seen before.
Our first dive was cut short as Klaus forgot to pack his reserve tank and we had to go back up for an air refill. While we were on the boat we had both noticed that all the underwater whirlpools had vanished from the area that we were diving in before, so we decided it would be in both our best interests to check out this new and exciting diving opportunity.
We quickly decended back down to the depths and I immediately started picking up blips on my multisensor! Instead of watching where I was going, I navigated solely based on my instrument readings. As the blips got closer together and increased in frequency, Klaus let out an amazed gasp over the radio.
It seemed we had stumbled upon the ruins of Triton Village! I could tell this place was important as Klaus had his camera out the entire time snapping picture after picture. It was rumored that this place is linked directly to the location of Valka Castle which, as you know, Mr. Journal, is where all the money is!
All around these ruins were ingots of Gold and Silver, which fetch a decent amount of coin on the surface. However, I'd heard rumors of priceless lost works of art in Valka Castle, and that's what I was really after.
While Klaus was busy taking pictures of really old rocks, I came across what looked to be a well. I radioed over to him and reported my findings. Being the brave diver he was, Klaus suggested we swim down it. This would have been a bigger deal if I hadn't done a deep sea dive with Jean just yesterday, but I was feeling ambitious and agreed to follow him down into the darkness.
I felt a little bit like Alice going down the rabbit hole, but what we found down there was something that almost flooded my mask with tears of joy. We found Valka Castle! And by the looks of it, we were the first! I pulled out my multisensor and went straight to work scanning my surroundings.
As we went through room after room, I found little trinkets like rings and dolls littered about... Nothing of great value. I was really starting to get worried that all the rumors of great riches and priceless artifacts were all a bunch of fisherman's tales, until Klaus radioed with such urgency that I thought he had been seriously injured.
Klaus had found what seemed to be the Treasury, the most aptly named room in the entire structure! I can only imagine he had a big smirk behind that mask as he introduced me to my fame and fortune for the first time! This room was full of artwork that was ready to be salvaged by yours truly! I gathered as much as I could and by the time our air supplies began to run out, I had a full compliment of artistic marvels in my possession!
I cleaned up big today, Mr. Journal. I'm taking you out to a fancy dinner to celebrate.
Klaus Daimler's Journal
February 19, 2010
Well, things were certainly looking pretty grim in Brazil. Jean had to take off in a hurry and ended up taking most of the supplies with her! I tried a few local shops, but you'd be surprised at how hard it is to find a place where you can refill an oxygen tank in the middle of the Amazon. With nowhere to turn, I figured I'd make my way back to Nineball Island and come back some other time. It wasn't like the ruins were going anywhere.
When I got back, I bumped into Marco. He had some new, matching dive gear, so I could only guess that his treasure hunting was going well. We got to talking about our dive from earlier in the week and how we were foiled by those damn whirlpools. Thinking we could try finding a way around, we decided to make our way back and give it another shot.
When we reached the Aegean Sea, it was impossible to charter a boat. The place was just packed with tourists and amateur divers. By the time we found a boat, it was close to midnight. Not wanting to waste any time, we decided to try for a night dive.
Marco had some trepidations, but thankfully, I had done plenty of night dives while working for the coast guard. We set off from a spot near the whirlpools in the Ciceros Strait. To our amazement, they were gone! It must have something to do with the heat during the day. With this newly found path, we forged ahead and came across a shipwreck.
This was yet another fantastic find in this area. The sunken wreck of the Black Lotus. I was beginning to wonder if any ships made it through this way. Naturally, Marco dove right in and started his hunting. I made a closer inspection of the ship, noted the location and took some pictures.
Once we were done with the ship, we kept working closer to shore. I liked diving with Marco. I don't think I saw him bother to stop and take a single picture of a fish along the way. What we found next made us both go a little shutterbug crazy, though.
That—my friends—is what's left of the entrance to Triton Village. There really wasn't much left of the place at all actually, save for a few ruins and archways.
Don't mind the army-clad diver.
Despite the poor quality of some of the ruins, there were still a lot of great little gems to be found.
While I was busy snapping photos, Marco was off doing his thing, diving for treasure. Then, I heard an excited voice over the radio:
*crackle* Klaus?
I found a well.
*phhffft* *crackle* I can't see the bottom.
I found a well.
*phhffft* *crackle* I can't see the bottom.
We debated it briefly, but we both knew we had to try exploring it. The entryway was certainly large enough to fit through with room to spare, so we made our way in. We reached the bottom and found that the well lead to a vast sewer system. Continuing down the larger tunnels, we emerged into a circular room. I looked up and was stunned.
Immediately, I knew where we had found ourselves. This was Valka Castle! Or at least part of it, anyway. I swam straight up, hoping to find some sort of landmark. Amazingly, I was able to surface at the top. Somewhere in the sea, this part of the castle wasn't submerged! I took a couple of pictures and met up with Marco at a doorway.
We worked our way down a long hall, then through some rooms. I could barely contain my excitement—and neither could Marco, given how frantically he was stuffing things into his sack. One of the bigger surprises was finding this massive room.
This place had everything. There was even a ballroom! I grabbed a few shots of the beautiful architecture.
After exploring the ballroom a bit more, Marco and I checked our oxygen levels and decided it was time to call it a night. This was easily the highlight of my work thus far. I'm sure the Rügen Research Group will be quite pleased with my findings.