From left: Ingrid, Enzo and Menno Walther just before leaving St. Eustatius.
- EUSTATIUS--Scubaqua Dive Center’s co-owners Menno and Ingrid Walther, their son Enzo and the family pet dog said adieu to St. Eustatius on Monday. The family left the island on board a chartered flight en route to Switzerland. Many of their friends were on hand to say goodbye and wish the family all the best with their new journey.
The Walthers arrived in Statia in August 2006 because they had a dream of running their own dive shop somewhere in the world in a warm climate.
“We found this fantastic island in 1998. We were here on vacation at that time, and finally in 2006 we arrived here and took over Scubaqua Dive Center from the previous owner Ronald Mettraux 14 years ago,” Menno said.
There have been a lot of changes for the duo as business owners since then, with the company witnessing significant growth.
Over the years the duo were joined by business partners on the entrepreneurial journey. The work kept the family very busy and there were many challenges, but throughout it all, Menno and Ingrid never lost their passion for their work, which they described as a “beautiful and great experience.”
Their son Enzo was born during their time on the island. “For him it is a big change to go back his parents’ home country Switzerland, but I think he is very excited about it,” Menno said.
One of the reasons for moving back to Switzerland is because they want to ensure Enzo’s educational opportunities are ensured, as well as the fact that they have family members in Switzerland whom they have not seen in a very long time. Now that they have to think of young Enzo’s education, life has taken on a different meaning for the entire family.
“It is time for us to go home, considering that we have reached our goals in what we wanted to do here in Statia. So, everything is now falling into place for us to go back to our home country,” Menno said.
