Hi George, Manado is a wonderful place. I have been living and diving in this area for some time. Off Manado bay there are 5 islands for diving like Bunaken and Manado Tua ( old Manado ). The diving spots out there are regarded as the worlds best, with drop-offs and an unbelievable variety of corals and also shells. You can find beautiful Conus aurisiacus in the small caves directly at the drop-offs during the wall dives in around 20 - 30 m depth. The island beaches are very good for shelling, especially the 3 islands not having small villages on it. Since I am a Murex lover, a lot of Murex shells have been collected : Naquetia triformis, Chicoreus cf. brunneus, Ch. torrefactus, Ch. banksii and many uncommon and even rare specimen. Bunaken and its surrounding is a national reserve where any collecting is prohibited, but the remote island have enough beaches and reefs for collecting. From Manado there are shuttle boats to the islands north of Sulawesi at the border to the Philipines where you may find diving spots with active underwater volcanoes ( minimum one to two days are required for going there ). The corals and shells quite surprising there, colors and sizes are much different to what is described in the books due to the temperature, sulfur, strong current and other circumstances. Unfortunately difficult to find and access. You need to know a local diving instructor and / or speak 'bahasa indonesia' otherwise you will be lost in this remote area. Try the 'Murex diving center' to get additional infos there. On the northern rim of Sulawesi there are lovely remote beaches and you should go there just with a local driver. By the time I have been there I did not find serious local shell dealers, just some shells in souvenir shops or the diving center boys. In addition I found some landshells, even though I am not familiar with them at all. Sulawesi is regarded as one of the worlds island with the biggest variety of flora and fauna, so keep your eyes open above and under the surface. If any further information is necessary, please let me know. best regards Dieter Stoll > -----Original Message----- > From: George Sangiouloglou [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Monday, 20. April 1998 9:43 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Manado > > Dear friends, > I am scheduled a shelling trip to South East Asia and I am planning to > include Manado of North Sulavesi, have been there any body? I need > information about there. > Best regards. > George > > -- > George Sangiouloglou > http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Plaza/1821/ > Xenofondos 40 Phone +30 1 8955241 9659956 > Voula 16673 Fax +30 1 8954507 > Athens Greece mailto:[log in to unmask]