I have been in the Maldives in 1997 (Kuramathi-island in the Rasdu-Atol) and found both the shelling and diving great. Diving for splendid house reef with twice a week the oppertunity to do a (very early) morning dive to watch hammerhead sharks. Also, Kuramathi is close to the Ari-atol where the famous Ukala-point is located (manta). Also nice shelling for cones, cyprea (hirundo francesca), strombidea and a lot of other great shells. Dear listers, I've been reading all your mails with great interest for the last two months and I regret not having introduced myself earlier. However, I'm a software engineer in Klagenfurt/Austria and also a quite enthusiastic beginner in collecting and classifying marine mollusks. About one year ago my new girlfriend introduced me to several new passions, one of them was the collecting of mollusks........ ;-) She is really wild about every new species and sometimes they are serious rivals..... She studies environmental technology at the University of Leoben and her apartment there brims over with specialized literature and wonderful specimen of Strombidae, Cypraeidae, Tonnidae, Cassidae, Ranellidae, Volutidae, Haliotidae, Harpidae, Olividae, Conidae, Nautilidae, Muricidae and so on. But also my collection is growing up. Our favourite families are Cassidae and Ranellidae, but as many others we collect nearly everything... We love to go on snorkel trips, unfortunately up to now only in the Mediterranean Sea, but this year we hope to spend our holidays in the Caribbean Sea (Dominican Republic) or on the Maledives. Does anybody know good diving areas and species there??????? I also regret having deleted your last mails about the best shell cleaning methods - Could anybody send me these specific messages??????????? I'm looking forward to reading all your answers... Daniel Kogler, Klagenfurt, Austria ******************************************** Email: [log in to unmask] ******************************************* =============================================================================== De informatie verzonden met dit E-mail bericht is uitsluitend bestemd voor de geadresseerde. Gebruik van deze informatie door anderen dan de geadresseerde is verboden. Openbaarmaking, vermenigvuldiging, verspreiding en/of verstrekking van deze informatie aan derden is niet toegestaan. KPMG staat niet in voor de juiste en volledige overbrenging van de inhoud van een verzonden E-mail, noch voor tijdige ontvangst daarvan. =============================================================================== The information contained in this communication is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and others authorised to receive it. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking any action in reliance of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. KPMG is neither liable for the proper and complete transmission of the information contained in this communication nor for any delay in its receipt. ===============================================================================