Adventures in the Life of MES

Skydiving!

2010-06-22T22:34:00.014-04:00

On Sunday, June 13th, my boss treated me and a few other staff members to our first skydiving adventure! My sisters BF joined us as well. We met up at Orange, VA around 2pm and filled out a pamphlet of paperwork, signed our lives away and went through a quick class on tandem jumping. There were a lot of people jumping that day so we had to wait around for a few hours before it was our turn. It was a very hot day but fun to see everyone else jumping and then landing with huge smiles on their faces.
My boss, Tom, his flight instructor Mark, and two of my coworkers, Bobby and Matt, were the first of our group to gear up, board the plane and make that leap of faith. I watched from the ground with the rest of our group and waited to see their expressions once they landed...then it was our turn! I was paired up with a nice guy named John and my photo/videographer was Grayson. I was fitted with my harness and did a quick little interview for my video. Kevin, my sisters BF, and my coworker Steve and I then boarded the plane around 6pm. As we climbed higher and higher my nerves were starting to hit me more. There were a few solo jumpers at the plane door and one of the instructors had to communicate with the pilot to help find a clear spot to jump. The skys were getting fuller with clouds and FAA regulations do not allow you to jump through the clouds. We were told we might not be able to jump then. I was not happy about that. I did not wait around all day in the heat and then get my nerves all under control all day to come back down in the plane instead of hanging from a parachute. But we were able to find a decent gap and the instructor started yelling, "GO! GO! GO!" The solo jumpers hurled themselves out and within seconds my tandem partner and i were at the open door of the plane.
INTENSE! AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! I could go on, yet can still not entirely describe the feeling of freefalling from 14,000ft at 120 mph for almost a minute! I had also practiced on the ground how to pull my chute so John, my tandem instructor, signaled me when it was time to pull. It was so amazing floating in silence, with the exception of me screaming words of joy, as we slowly made our way down to the ground. I even got to steer the parachute and do some corkscrews in the air. What a feeling! Then we landed and i had a mile-wide smile. I was so ready to do it again! And i will do it again!

http://www.skydiveorange.com/

Kevin and Me getting ready

my tandem instructor, John

boarding the plane

that first steps a doozy

Thanks Skydive Orange crew!

Diving Florida Keys - June 3 - 6

2010-06-15T22:12:00.027-04:00

06/03 - 06/04

My dive instructor Joe, Andy, Andy’s wife Kathy and I planned a dive trip to Florida Keys the first week of June. Andy and Kathy have an awesome RV so they drove down a few days before us to take their time and get things set up. I got picked up by Joe from my house at 8:45 am on Wed., June 2nd and got on the road soon after. We drove down 95 S. all the way to Boca Raton, Florida which took 15 hours! We did stop a few times along the way for gas, food and to stretch our legs, otherwise it was a fairly straight drive down 95. Hit minor traffic in N Carolina for a short bit and then a quick heavy rainstorm in S. Carolina. We decided to get a couple rooms at a hotel in Boca Raton just after 12am and finish the drive in the morning. Whew! We got up early, grabbed some continental breakfast then hit the road again. Along the way we stopped at Joe’s favorite landmark, Robert Is Here fruit and shake stand. It was a fruit store filled with all kinds of fresh fruits and they even made some delicious shakes and smoothies. I had the Banana Passion, it was soooo good! We finished our shakes along the way to Divers Direct in Key Largo where we met up with Andy and had drinks at Mrs. Mac‘s Kitchen. It was so nice to drink a cold beer!

After a drink we drove to Conch Republic Dive Shop to check in and schedule for some dives for the next three days then drove down to Marathon where Kathy was waiting at the RV lot. We were right on the water and we had a great view. After hanging out for a bit, going lizard hunting and getting some sun, we decided to get dinner at the Cracked Conch. I believe we all got the Conch Basket which was so yummy! Then drove back to the RV and hung out before getting a nice nights sleep…wake up was at 5:45am…ugh

So first time in a while I’ve woken up before the sun in a long time but so worth it! Andy made us bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast and then we got all our gear together and drove about an hour up to Key Largo to Conch Republic and set up our gear before heading out to sea. Our first stop was Snapper Reef. It was a nice shallow reef where we were scheduled to dive about one hour. I got to see huge schools of Snappers, tons of Lobsters, a few Eels, Flame Scallops and so many other pretty fish and coral. I got some pics and even a short video. After a nice hour dive we got back on board and headed to Conch Reef. This reef was covered with tons of Queen Conchs, more Lobsters, and spotted a couple Flounder camouflaged in the sand. Another nice hour long dive with half a tank of air left…so could have stayed in the water for another hour! After the dive we headed back to the shop to drop off some divers and pick up others then headed back out to the Spiegle Grove wreck dive. This was a deeper dive down to 130 feet but I only went down about 90 feet. Still much to see along the wreck and even had a Chromis hang along with me attacking my fins and even my fingers! It was so neat to see the flags still flying, even though they were covered in silt and some coral. We were scheduled to do two dives on the Spiegle Grove but my left ear was having trouble clearing so I decided to pass on the second dive and just layed out on the boat and got some much needed sun. I didn’t want to hurt my ear on my first day of diving when I had two more days of diving to do. So once the second divers were back on board and we got back to the dive shop, Joe, Andy and I hopped in the truck and drove back to the RV to get cleaned up for dinner. I was STARVING!

For dinner we went to ________. I enjoyed the blackened Wahoo with a side of Michelob Ultra…well a few sides J. It was a nice dinner with great conversation and great company. Then back to the RV lot and escaped the mosquitos, well almost escaped them, I got bit half a dozen times! I backed up my photos and showed them to Kathy since she doesn’t dive then we all decided to get some sleep…another early morning ahead of us.

Andy made us breakfast again then on the road for a couple morning dives along the Duane wreck. It was a nice double dip where we saw a few Nurse Sharks in the distant, a few Rays and some enormous Goliath Groupers! The wreck was covered with Sun Corals, oysters, Christmas Tree Worms, and sponges. Lots of beautiful fish were making the wreck their homes, it was a good two dives! We didn’t do any afternoon dives so went back to the RV, cleaned up and took a drive down the Key West. We walked around for a while, checked out some shops and landmarks then made our way to have some dinner and drinks…and man did we had some drinks! I had a couple yummy margaritas and then Andy, Joe and I had some coupons for free rum samplers. They were double shots of four different types of rum and they were strong! So we were feeling pretty good but continued to walk around for a bit after dinner then got in the car and drove to the Southern Most Point for some pics then back “home”. A long day of heat so we were all ready to relax with some TV then bed. The last day of diving was ahead of us.

The morning came too soon but we had another good day ahead of us. Unfortunately Andy was not able to join Joe and I on our last dives as he had hit his head on his RV and got a nice gash. Nothing serious but he didn’t want to risk infection…I wanted him to bait the water with his blood to attract the sharks but he wasn’t going for that :o) Joe and I arrived at Conch Republic Dive Shop and set up for a couple shallow reef dives. The first was a dive along Davis Crocker Reef. The sun was out again and it made for some great photos. Lots of beautiful fish swimming all around and even came across some Sergeant Major Damselfish spawning and protecting their egg patches. It was very cool but these damselfish are quite feisty for their size! We even came across a Volitan Lionfish. Too bad they are invasive to the Atlantic so we had to tell the crew where we spotted it so they could go back and either capture it or kill it. Unfortunate but it has to be done because they are becoming a real problem since they were introduced to an ocean they are not indigenous to. Well after a nice hour long dive we got back on the boat and headed out to our next site. It was nice to get a bit of sun before getting back in the water. Our next dive site was Davey Reef. Again a beautiful reef with tons of fish and even a few large Moray Eels. Got some nice photos of them. And again we came across not only one but two more Lionfish.

After the dives we got all our gear together, checked out then drove back to the RV to clean up and enjoy the rest of the day checking out some sites of Key Largo. We stopped at the Turtle Hospital and walked around a bit. We didn’t take the tour but got a lot of info on turtle rehabilitation and causes of turtle deaths. We continued on to the Dolphin Rehabilitation Center which again did not take a tour but walked around the gift and information shop. Then onto a sporting good store then dinner at Joe’s favorite place, Little Italy. I had the seafood lasagna which was so good! It was stuffed with scallops, fish, shrimp and lobster…mmm mmm good! After dinner we went back to the RV and Joe and I got all our stuff packed up. We were planning on leaving for the drive home at 7 am. So early but with a 17 hour drive ahead of us, we needed sleep.

Thanks Andy and Kathy for all your hospitality and company! I had a wonderful time, can’t wait to do it again sometime!

And thank you Joe for all the driving and being a great dive buddy! I always have fun diving with you!

Back to Life, Back to Reality - Home bound

2009-06-19T21:21:00.002-04:00

Well i made it safely, not comfortably, back home. I had a wonderful time in Palau and hope to go back yet again sometime. I do have to admit that last year's trip was better but i think it was mainly because of the weather this year. We got a lot more rain, heavier seas and limited dive sites. All-in-all i had a great time and added 22 more dives to my log book. It is good to be home but still working on getting back into the groove of things. Went back to work the day after getting home, gotta jump back in at some point so just as well the next day. Jet lag didn't hit me too hard, got as much sleep as i could on the plane and made sure i stayed up till my regular late bedtime hour once home so that i could get back in gear faster. Our flight felt like time travel because we left at 1:45 am on the 15th and arrived home at about 2:00 pm on the 15th. Stopped in Honolulu and said good buy to Andy, Jim and Melanie as they were staying in Hawaii meeting up with Andy's wife and Jim and Melanies daughters for an extended vacation. I wished them good weather and lots of sun so hopefully they are getting some! Joe was not staying in Hawaii so we got our bags, rechecked them in and headed to our gate for the final boarding call of our flight, that was a close one. Onto Houston on another 8 hour flight then our final flight home.

Joe - I want to thank you for giving my arm that final twist into commiting to the dive trip. I had a great time and am excited to further my SCUBA training. Thank you as well for all the assistance with the planning and bookings.

Andy - It is always a pleasure diving with you. You make the waters feel very comfortable and enjoyable. I look forward to helping you with furthering your DAN certifications in any way that I can be of assistance. Glad to be concidered a niece to you :) Enjoy Hawaii with your wife!

Jim and Melanie - It has been great getting to know you throughout this trip. I look forward to diving with you again in the future. May you have a wonderful time in Hawaii and hope the sun warms you up Mel :)

Kayaking on Our Final Day - Day 8

2009-06-19T21:19:00.002-04:00

Sunday, June 14, 2009

So i didn't get much sleep last night. I think it was because it was our last night and I had a lot on my mind about making sure things were getting dried and packed. We had another early morning pickup since we were going on the Kayak tour so we all met for breakfast at 6:30. It was another gloomy, rainy day. At breakfast Joe and Andy asked if I had heard the rain last night. The AC unit in my room is so loud, never shuts off unless you turn it off so I can't hear anything but that. Apparently it got really bad out there. We were in for another rainy day.

The group of us got picked up by Lalii at about 7:45am. Joe and Andy were not joining Mel, Jim and I on the kayak tour as they were spending their time with Nick taking some lessons about underwater videography. So the three of us got our snorkel gear and were breifed my Lalii our kayak guide. Her and our boat captain, Jefferson, got our kayaks ready and we headed out about 15 minutes to Nikko Bay. It was looking like it was going to clear up but we soon realized after about 10 minutes of kayaking that we were going to get wet no matter what. We ducked under "Bugger Cave" while it downpored for about 15 minutes then continued to make our way along the rock islands to our first snorkel area. Lalii was chatting along about the birds, corals, rock islands and overall nature of Palau. She definitely liked to talk. It continued to rain off and on for the few hours we were kayaking and then took a break for our first snorkel area, Lettuce Wall. Because of the rain, the water had a lot of cold spots and very few warm spots so we didn't snorkle long. We finished up and got back on the boat for lunch. The storms were really rolling in so Jim, Mel and I decided to cut the tour short and head back. I was a bit bummed about the weather but still happy we got to get in some kayaking. We got back to Sam's and got a ride to the hotel so we could shower and change into some dry clothes. I got pretty much all of my packing done except for the stuff that got soaked earlier today. I left that out to dry and met up with the rest of the gang around 3pm to swing back to Sam's, have drinks and some dinner. I was hoping to see Siksei so he could sign my logbooks and i could say good buy but he didn't show up before we were ready to get back to the hotel and finish up anything we needed, get some rest and meet back up at 11pm for our ride to the airport. Only one flight leaves out of Koror, Palau which is at 1:45am. I am not looking forward to the trip home.

Jim and Melanie on our Kayak tour

Lalii giving us the tour in the rain

Pajama Cardinals schooling in a Porites coral

Lalii showing us a Dogface Pufferfish

a really pretty Nudibranch feeding off of Sponge

Melanie and Jim bracing the storm

Jason, our guide from last year, and myself

Great Last Day of Dives - Day 7

2009-06-19T21:13:00.003-04:00

Saturday, June 13, 2009

So today is the last day of diving, boo! Another good nights sleep then breakfast with the gang. The sun was shining and it was going to be a beautiful day. Needed to break out the suntan lotion, nice! We ate breakfast and got our stuff ready to head over to Sam's. Siksei got to the hotel early again for us so we took a ride and got our dive gear ready on the boat. Since we had rinsed all our gear and got everything ready from the night before, we got to hang out at Sam's for a short bit before heading out to our first dive, another wreck. We decided to stay a bit closer to Sam's as the water was still really rough and just wanted to have a relaxing day so we went about 15 minutes out to the Bouy 6 Wreck/Lighthouse Channel.

I got a few group pics while on our way out and even a couple of me with the crew, Siskei, J5 and Arson. The Bouy 6 Wreck which was a wreck of a fishing boat turned into a vessel during the war. There were lots of Sea Fans, Fromia Starfish, Tiger Cowries, interesting Nudibranchs, lots of pretty Basket Starfish, Tomato Clowns, Crown of Thorns Starfish etc. As we finished with the wreck and made our way along the Lighthouse Channel, we were greeted by a Remora in search for a host. It kept swimming up close to each of us checking us out and wondering why we didn't look like their usual hosts. I guess it didn't care too much as it attached itself to Andy's leg and really scared him since it got close to swimming right up his shorts! Melanie, Jim and I were watching the whole thing as Andy was checking out some coral and once Andy realized what was going on, he allowed the Remora to hang around for a bit. It then swam around again and I was trying to get it to attach to me but it found Melanie more appealing. It settled on her leg and stayed there for quite a bit, so cool! Finally it was time for us to surface so we said our goodbuys to the Remora and got back on the boat. Since we were so close to Sam's we just headed back there for our surface interval and layed out to finally take advantage of the sun as we weren't sure how long it was going to last. We took just over an hour surface interval then headed out to our second wreck, the Amatsu Maru.

a sunny morning

dive buddies: me, Andy, Melanie, Jim, Joe

the crew: Arson, me, Siksei, J5

Fromia Starfish

checking out the wrecka cool Nudibranch species

can you spot the Leaf Fish?

a Longnose Hawkfish on a Sea Fan

a Basket Stara curious Remora checking out Andy

now it's after Melanie

Clarkii Clowns in a Carpet Anemone

Crown of Thorns Starfisha rock full of Basket Stars

Amatsu Maru Wreck, also called the Black Coral Wreck, was a Japanese Navy fleet repair ship from the war. It is a huge ship and would take a few days of diving to safely examine the whole wreck. We only did a small portion on our dive. Not many corals are along this wreck but there were some very curious Batfish hanging around us. Saw lots of Sea Fans, Mushrooms, Goniopora, huge Lobophyllias, Bubble and Pearl Corals, some small Gobies and Blennies but mainly just checked out the structure of the wreck since it wasn't overgrown in coral. I didn't penetrate this wreck though i easily could have. I tried to stay shallower since we had done a deep dive on our first dive and this one got pretty deep. We got to the bow were Jim and Melanie stretched out like the scene from Titanic, "I'm the king of the world!" scene. Again since this wreck was only minutes from Sam's, we headed back there to get some lunch and more sun.

Our Daily Schedule

The Amatsu Maru

the sun came out for a short bit :)

Mel and Jim catching some rays

Bottom Time Bar & Grill

catching some raysgear

pool's open!

green Bubble Coral

Goniopora coralcurious Batfish

Lobophyllia coral

Hairy Mushrooms

Melanie and Jim, "I'm the king of the...Ocean!"

Jim and Melanie planned to dive Chandelier Caves since Melanie hasn't been here before. Jim has been here twice 10 yrs ago and 8 yrs ago so he as seen it plenty and I dove it last year and earlier this trip. Andy, Joe and I were going to sit out but then Andy decided to try out Joe's video camera. Joe and I then decided to come along and just hang out outside the cave entrance and search for macro-critters like Mandarins, Pipefish, Seahorses etc. I didn't come across much at all but some really beautiful Chalice and Pectinia coral. I even came across a tiny Filefish and some Green Linkia Stars. After about half an hour we got back on board and back again to Sam's but stayed all geared up to dive along the dock in search for more Mandarins since we didn't see any at Chandalier Caves. Sam's dock is the best place to see them and within minutes, they were all over the place. Lots of Pipefish, Mandarins, Urchins, Clams, Blennies, Damsels, Crocodilefish and some Butterflies. I came across the same Long Spine Urchin in pretty much the same spot as I did last year. It looked exactly the same except there were no Cardinalfish schooling in its spines, just a couple Damsels. I spent about 20 minutes along the dock wall then got out, rinsed off and started drying while enjoying a Mai Tai and some popcorn.

Nitrox Rocks!

a Linkia Star

Pectinia Coral

Filefish

Blue Linkia Starfish

Fromia Starfish

Close up of a Deresa Clam

Little Spotted Sharpnose Puffer

Pipefish and Mandarin Dragonet

Joe and I had planned to do a night dive so i could finish up my specialty but Jim, Mel and Andy all were done so they got all their gear rinsed and hung up to dry before packing. I just left mine on the boat since I was going out again in a few hours. Arson, Siksei and J5 met us at about 6:45pm to head out to the Chuyo Maru for our night dive. We were not going to go down to the whole wreck, just stay up on the two masts which were down about 50'. I have to admit i was slightly nervous but much more comfortable now that i have done a couple night dives and Siksei is a great guide. So we made our way down the line and on to the furthest mast. I got to see the same Clownfish sleeping in their anemones, lots of huge Banded Coral Shrimp, Arrow Crabs and other big crabs, lots of smaller Cleaner (Paracleminies) Shrimps, sleeping Groupers and Angels and corals with their feeding tentacles out. The Sun Corals were neat to finally see all open up and bright beautiful yellows. We decided to move on to the closer mast that we had passed when we first got in off the boat. Just makes for a better profile dive to start further and make our way back. Again i saw lots of large and small shrimps and cool crabs. I was pointing a few critters out to Siksei when he started flashing his light over one spot and "whoo whooing" through his regulator. He grabbed my shoulders and gave me that excited shake and took my hand to give me a high five. It took me a few seconds to become as excited as he was when i realized what he had pointed out was a huge gorgeous Frogfish! I even almost went to hold on to it as i was pointing some critters out to him. Siksei was extremely excited as that same Frogfish was found there about 2 yrs ago during the day and hasn't been seen since. I got a lot of pictures and wish i could have gotten some of Siksei's face as you could tell he was just beside himself on such a great find! We decided to dive the Chuyo Maru over the Helmut Wreck since both Joe and I already did the Helmut Wreck as our night dive last year and Siksei had never dove the Chuyo at night before, so it would be a first for each of us. An awesome choice it was and a great find to end our diving on. Once we got back on the boat Siksei was still all excided and shouting out to J5 who did not dive with us and Arson our captain that we saw the Frogfish. I showed them the pics and they were so excited. Word quickly got around and i showed quite a few people some pics once we got back to Sam's and even the next day. Jim, Mel and Andy were still there waiting on us and helped us get all our gear out of the boat, rinsed and hung up since it was getting late. Melanie and Jim went back to the hotel while Andy, Joe, Siksei and I had beer. I then, packed all my gear up got a ride back to the hotel and started packing. I hung up my wet diving gear to dry overnight and the next day before packing it, showered and went to bed! What a great but exhausting day!

a large Arrow Crab

Sun Coral opened up to feed

Cinnamon Clowns sleeping (saw them on the day dive)

tiny Cleaner Shrimp

a Banded Coral Shrimp

a really cool crab

another big Arrow Crab

a large Banded Coral Shrimp

the awesome find, a Frogfish!

Rough Seas and Fun Surges - Day 6

2009-06-19T21:10:00.002-04:00

Friday, June 12, 2009

Good morning! I woke up refreshed and hoping to open the curtains to some sun but alas, more rain. At least it looked a bit clearer than it had been and didn't rain too much at all, just lots of overcast and humidity. I met everyone down at Palm Bay for breakfast and i switched it up and had some french toast and bacon. I still haven't really felt hungry since we got here, i guess i have been eating more properly and on a regular schedule. The food has also been quite good. So had a nice breakfast then went back to the rooms to get ready for another day of diving.

We got picked up by Siksei and made sure all our gear was ready which was already on the boat. We decided to head out to open waters and try out Blue Corner. We headed out to Blue Corner but the currents were really strong, it was raining heavy and we had anywheres from 4 to 12 foot swells and even some white water, Arson our boat captain was even taking pics with his cellphone. If the captain is taking pics of the water, you know it's an unusual sight! So veered off and did Big Drop Off instead. The water wasn't the clearest but was still fun diving. Got to see lots of turtles, anemones, corals, Humphead Parrotfish, sharks, etc. Andy had lots of fun with the turtles as he would swim up to them while they were head deep in some rock eating sponge and algeas. He would stick his head right up next to theirs and check out what they were doing. He said they would look at him and just keep on chowing down. I kept my distance and got some OK pics. As we slowly made our way up the wall we could feel the surges under water. Andy got a reading of 6' with a steady buoyancy and just being moved along with the swells. I don't think i've felt like i was on steady ground since i have been here and that really did me in! I loved it, don't get me wrong, it was a feeling like being on the boat but weightless under water. We finally started our safety stop and had to swim out to blue water since the boat would not be safe right on top of the reef in those conditions, it was interesting to look out around you and see nothing but open waters waiting for the boat to pick us up. So we surfaced and Arson drove us to Babloomkang Island for some calmer lunch conditions.

J5 cruisin on top

Milkyway

the sea's are getting big

saw my first Euphyllia on the reef wall

Sea Turtle!a huge anemone with Pink Skunks and Domino Damsels

We took about an hour and a half surface interval which the sun came out a bit which was nice. I walked along the beach and picked out some more shells and found yet another sharks tooth! I guess i just have the eye for it as they look just like a broken snail shell. Since the waters calmed down a bit we decided to try again for Blue Corner. Siksei said we probably would not be able to hook in but we would see once we got in the water. Blue Corner dive started with the outgoing tide along the wall. The visibility was again not that great but schools of fish were all around us and even the sharks were coming in a bit closer. Lots of White Tips and Reef Greys, it was awesome. We continued along the wall to the corner into incoming and it wasn't safe for hooking but got to ride along some fun surges and as we got on top of the wall we were able to see even more anemones and clowns, huge Napoleon Wrasse, lots more turtles, Needlefish, Niger Triggers, Barracuda, Vlamingi Tangs, Jacks and Joe even came across a Moray Eel curled up in a rock! Another great dive to add to the log book! Since the seas were so rough, we decided to make it an early day and head back to Sams to dry off and relax. I of course am always up for more dives but we are in the hands of our guides and it just wasn't looking all that safe above the water and below. All-in-all it was a fun day and i have to admit, it was nice to get back, rinse and dry off. We hung out at Sam's for a little bit then headed back to the hotel to clean up and get some rest for our last day of dives.

History Day at Peleliu - Day 5

2009-06-13T03:50:00.004-04:00

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Another early morning for us as we were really going to Peleliu this time, and of course the rain did not stop. After breakfast we started walking to Sam's when Siksei drove up to us in the bus. I guess he realized we were early-birds so decided to drive out early to see if he could beat us. Since we did the night dive last night, all our gear was already rinsed and set up on the boat. We finished getting ready pretty quick since the boat ride was about an hour and a half out. The five of us had the boat to ourselves with Siksei, J5 and Arson our captain. It was a very rainy, bumpy ride. We had about 2 to 4 foot swells but i enjoyed it. I do not get motion sickness and Arson is the best captain at Sam's so we were in good hands. I was able to see some Gunards (flying fish) and once we got close to our first dive site we came across some mating Turtles! I got some decent video while Joe got some stills! It was such an exciting sight to see! A couple more minutes and we were at our first dive area, Yellow Wall.

Yellow Wall was a new experience for all of us, a nice drift current but with a bit of surge which made keeping bouyancy a little bit harder, but good practice for me. We drifted along the wall for a bit but the surge wanted to take us up along the top of the wall so we didn't fight it. I enjoyed the top wall as the light was clearer, even with the rain, and there was lots to see! Great corals, lots of clownfish, a few nudibranchs, starfish, clams and finally some really tiny Hippo Tangs! I only got to see one up close last year and this time there was an Acropora table coral full of them hovering in it! It was great and i even got a little video clip along with some pics. We took an hour surface interval at the little harbor into Peleliu Island since the sea's were getting pretty rough out there. A little puppy came and greeted us at the shoreline and we played with her for a bit. We told her to wait there for when we come back because we would have lunch and treat her to some scraps. In the meantime, she helped as we collected some shells and i came across a shark's tooth. It was a bit chipped but a great find! Now off to Orange Beach/Coral Garden for our second dive.

Pink Skunk Clowns hosting in their Ritteri Anemone

Clarkii Clowns in a giant Carpet Anemone

Andy swimming along with a Sea Turtlea school of baby Hippo Tangs and Chromis

a grazing turtle

a beautiful Maxima Clam

Orange Beach/Coral Garden was a great shallower dive full of neat stuff to see. Completely filled with corals and other ocean life. I was hoping the currents were not as strong so i could take more time in one area to look for the macro critters like Pipefish, Cleaner Gobies, Blennies and even Seahorses but it was pretty rough out there and i didn't want to be bumping into the corals and damaging them so i kept my distance. I was still able to get some good shots of little Linkia Starfish, Nudibranchs, Firefish, lots more clownfish and even some wreckage from the war including some bomb shells, an anchor, tire and large bullet casings. Another good new dive to check off my list! Now time to head back for lunch and get ready for the land tour. I had the Sushi Bento for lunch which was very good, too bad no scraps for the puppy, but she got lots from Melanie, Jim, Andy and Joe.

12 ft seas! Sweet!

greeted by a cute little pup at Peleliu for a surface interval

a cool Linkia Starfish

a HUGE table coral with school of Chromis

a really cool Nudibranchan anchor off an old WWII ship

an old bomb shell from WWII

a Firefish Goby

an old tire

The land tour was slightly different this time. We waited on another group that was coming in from their second dive so we could all do the tour together. We started by seeing the Army Memorial and Orange Beach. I didn't take too many pictures as i have them all from last year. We headed out to see the airstrip, some tank wreckage, the large gun at the top of a hill and then the Japan and Marine memorials at the top of a beautiful view. This time we got a quick tour of the village on the North side of Peleliu. Only 600 people live there so they all know each other, there is one police and no crime other than the youngsters getting drunk. We stopped at the 1000 Man Caves and i went in a short way but didn't have a flashlight and it got very dark. The tour took just over two hours and then headed back to our boat to head home. At least on our way home it wasn't raining but it was still a very bumpy ride. Arson veered off from the other boat that was following us and took us on the scenic route which was very beautiful and much calmer waters. We got back to Sam's, rinsed our gear and just left it on the boat again since we were taking that one out the next day. It makes it easier for all of us, including our crew, in the mornings so we can get a head start on the day.

Orange Beach, Peleliu

almost walked into this spider in the cave

the Marine Memorial looking at Bloody Nose Ridge

Marine Memorial

the town of Peleliu, occupation 600

looking into the 1000 man caves

tight quarters

We all sat around and had some appetizers, (calamari, fish fingers, onion rings) and some beer. Everyone decided to order some dinner but i wasn't hungry so just snacked on some calamari, i am not used to eating this much every day! Finally decided it was a good time to head back to the hotel and get a good nights sleep, this time sleeping in an extra hour. Good night!

Four-Dive Day of Fun - Day 4

2009-06-13T03:49:00.004-04:00

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

An early morning meet up for breakfast at 6:30am. We were to have a 7:45am pickup in preparation for a long boat ride to Peleliu. It was a rainy morning and looked like it was going to be throughout the day. We chatted at breakfast about possibly scheduling the Peleliu trip another day when it would possibly be a bit dryer but we needed to check with the staff at Sam's. Even though it was raining, we decided to just walk the 5-10 min. over to Sam's and check about the schedules. It wasn't a problem to push it off a day so we planned to do some fun wreck dives. I did a bit of shopping at the SCUBA shop while we figured thigns out. It was just going to be the five of us and Siksei, J5 and Arson again. I saw Dave while waiting in the morning and he was deciding going on the Kayak Tour or staying at Sam's and getting some work done. We swapped information in case i didn't see him before he left to go back to the Philapines later that evening. I told him I wanted to see the pictures he got while diving together and that I would send him one's that I took of him.

a rainy morning

Sam's Tours

The decision was made to go on the Chuyo Maru as our first wreck dive. I saw that one last time but not the whole thing. We drove out for about 15 min., suited up and headed on down to the wreck. The Chuyo Maru is a deep ship wreck from WWII. It was nice and relaxing as we made our way along the wreck. I had my eyes peeled for Lionfish, Cleaner Shrimp, small Gobies and Blennies and other macro critters as they are my favorites. The best areas for the macro critters were along the stacks and I was very lucky to come across multiple shrimp, lots of Trimma and Evoita Gobies, Blennies, small Pipefish and even a Lionfish! I also saw huge Clams, Oysters, a colony of Bubble Tip Anemones with hosting Cinnamon Clowns, lots of Eyphyllia ancora (Hammer Coral), Acros, Zoanthids etc. While getting up close to the Cleaner Shrimp, I slowly put my hand out and a couple checked it out and started cleaning my hands! It was so neat! What a great dive! We surfaced and headed back to Sam's for a little bit to take a surface interval and unload some tanks. The rain still hasn't really stopped much at all, but whatever, we are underwater through most of it so getting wet anyways!

Siksei going over the Chuyo Maru wreck

a small Cleaner Shrimp

Hammer Coral, Euphyllia ancoraVolitan Lionfish

very small Banded Cleaner Shrimp species

Cinnamon Clown in Bubble Tip Anemone

getting cleaned by a little Shrimp

a small Pipefish

After about an hour and a half surface interval we made our way out to our next site, the Teshiu Maru. The anchor buoy was gone but the captain got us pretty much right over it so Siksei free dived with a line to the top of the wreck and tied us off. We made our way down to another huge ship wreck which was lying on it's side. There were a few nice spots to penetrate this one so I made my way through parts of it. I felt much more comfortable now that I am getting used to how big my gear is and the size holes I can swim through. We came across a lot of neat critters on this wreck as well. Lots more Euphyllia (yoo-fil-e-ah), Pectinia, Chalice, Toadstool Leathers, Acros, Brains, and other corals. Siksei pointed out a gorgeous Nudibranch which I got some amazing shots of. I saw a couple more small Nudibranchs, a Red Marbled Fromia Starfish, Signal Gobies, Rainfordi Gobies and other Gobies, curious little Blenies, but unfortunately no more Lionfish. All in all it was a good, fun dive. After close to an hour, we got back on the boat, headed back to Sam's to have lunch. It was a nice lunch as the sun decided to show itself for a short bit so we enjoyed our time out warming up in the sun. Well, Andy sure did, he took a chair out to to the dock area and did some relaxing :). I had the Chicken Bento which wasn't the best but still good. We got those jelly rice noodles which i really don't like but the veggies and the chicken was OK. Since the next dive was a much shallower dive, we only surfaced for just about an hour and then headed back out to the Jake's Sea Plane.

Hammer Coral

Toadstool Leather, Sarcophyton

part of the Teshiu Maru wreck

Fromia Star species

a beautiful Nudibranch species

more Sake?

another pretty Nudibranch

I had dove the wreck of the Jake's Sea Plane before but it was still fun to do again. This time i didn't spend too much time playing around in the plane but enjoyed taking my time looking closely at the life around me. I found a pretty Fromia Star right in the window area of the plane, another gorgeous Nudibranch under the wing, Siksei showed me a really neat black Sea Slug which i found more of later on, Medusa Worms, a Bubble Tip Anemone with Cinnamon Clowns and even some flatworms eating away at the coral. I do have to say that i have seen much more algaes, flatworms and coral destruction than i did last year. Not sure if it is because of the storms lately, more frequently dove areas, paying more attention this time or just happen to be in that time of the season. It still was pretty and I was happy to see no Crown of Thorns (COT) although Jim said him and Melanie saw one and they turned it over. Crown of Thorns are a type of starfish that are devastating to the coral as they eat the tissue and leave the skeleton to just grow algaes. They are also poisonous so it is wise not to touch them at all, but if you can turn them over using something, they are not able to right themselves like other starfish. You can also stab them with a knife, piece of dead coral, shell or whatever but it is best when there is some type of hungry fish around such as the triggers since the COT's have their reproductive organs in their arms, which there are many of. They are a very pretty starfish but too devastating to the reef and are in much higher population than needed. So pretty much open season on the COT's! I was finally ready to surface as air was getting low and noticed we were all corralling by the anchor line so did my safety stop and Siksei pointed out a little baby Triggerfish hanging out in some sponge that had grown on the line. It was a bit shy but I was still able to snap a few shots of it along with the little Fangblennies that I always see along the anchor line. After my 3 min. safety stop i started heading up the line and was amazed to see two small Squid just hanging out in front of me. I of course already turned off the camera and as i was trying to get it ready to get some pics, they started moving away very quickly so the pic i did get of them is quite blurry. I finally saw my first Squid on a dive, very cool!

Melanie warming up

Andy enjoying the sites

me just cruisin'

Lunch, Sushi bentogetting ready for my back roll into the blue

Jake's Sea Plane

Nudibranch
a really cool Sea Slug
a little baby Triggerfish

It was a good day full of wrecks and i am enjoying them more now. It is nice to see these wrecks that have become homes for many sea life and sometimes you can't even tell it is a wreck because it is so overgrown with coral, clams, oysters, algaes etc. I also like that the wrecks are in much calmer waters so i get to see different types of coral and lots more of the small macro critters. We decided that today would be a good day for a night dive so we hung out at Sam's, had a few drinks and some appetizers and waited for dark. We suited up and got in the water right there at Sam's dock. It was a relaxing night dive because we were only about 20 feet max depth right near the shore so no worries about getting lost. I got to see pretty much the same things i saw during the day, lots of Pipefish, starfish, clams, needlefish, shrimp, crabs, small nudibranchs, a cute little juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips and a Dogface Puffer. We didn't dive for long, rinsed off and headed back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep.

Good Dives & Good Company - Day 3

2009-06-13T03:47:00.003-04:00

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Woke up this morning quite early. I was hoping i would get a good nights sleep but apparently had some stuff on my mind so looking forward to a good sleep tonight. It was a cooler, rainy morning so pretty much guessed it would be overcast all day. We are getting wet anyways so what does it matter. I met up with everyone for breakfast at our regular spot then went back to our rooms to get ready for the day. Even though it was raining we decided to just walk to Sam's, a good thing i brought a light raincoat this year. We checked out the schedule and we were on a different boat this time, the SilverTip with Siksei, J5 (becoming a Dive Master for Sam's who was in training for boat captain last year) Arson the boat captain, and Dave was along for the day. It was nice to have a small group and made for a nice day despite the rain. We were scheduled for three dives without coming back to Sam's inbetween so we each had our three tanks. First dive was the Iro Maru Wreck.

The Iro Maru is a vessel over 400 ft long with a large gun on the stern and bow. Since I am working towards getting my Wreck Specialty, Joe checked with Siksei about penetrating the wreck. There were a few nice spots to penetrate so i got my dive light and gloves ready. We anchored right off the stern of the wreck and dropped down to about 65 feet. It was a bit murky but there was lots to see. Our first penetration was a long narrow hallway between the stern and the deck. I followed Joe who followed Siksei. We also had J5 with us who was actually with us last year in training to be a boat captain and dive master. We had to be very careful not to fin too much or else we would kick up a lot of silt inside the wreck making it very difficult to see. All in all it was a neat experience. I checked out a bunch of coral along the dock and enjoyed seeing some of the larger polyped stony corals that we don't see out on the reef walls due to the current. Lots of Heliofungia or Long Tentacle Plates, Plegrogyra or Bubble, Goniopora of Flower Pot coral, a few Euphyllia ancora or Hammer coral, lots of razor oysters, small Gobies, curious Batfish and Spadefish, and even an old Sake bottle. I was hoping to see some Lionfish so cross your fingers for me (along with seeing a Tiger or Zebra Shark, Whale Shark, more Manta's etc.). We made our way along the wreck to where we were about 85 feet down. Went through another long hallway and Siksei pulled me into a side room where there was a bathtub and a toilet. Very neat to see. Joe was behind me and pointed out a Banded Coral Shrimp! Didn't get the best of pictures, but that's OK. Wrecks don't get a lot of current through them so the tend to build up with silt, kinda like if you don't dust your furniture for a long time. Kicked up silt makes it hard to get good pictures because the flash magnifies the silt particles and blurs the pictures, plus we were in a dark, enclosed area. We swam around for a bit then Joe and I did a deepstop before heading back up the length of the boat then making our mandatory safety stop along the line. It was a fun, comfortable dive and now I am one more wreck penetration away from getting my specialty.

Bundled up on a rainy morning

Free boat anyone?

Iro Maru

yum, Sake

the Coral Banded Shrimp Joe found in the Iro Maru bathrooma huge Hammer Coral

We took about an hour surface interval while headed to our next dive spot, Siaes Tunnel. I did this dive site last year but it was still a great dive. I got to see some clownfish, Pyramid Butterflys, Clams, huge Acropora corals and other small polyped stonys, sharks, Angels, Tangs and all sorts of other cool fish and coral. It was a nice calm drift along the wall after coming out through the tunnel. I tried to stay somewhat shallow as we did a deep dive before and I went a bit deeper while going through the tunnel so was just being on the safe side. Plus, the shallower you are, the colors are more vibrant so made for some nice pictures. We drifted along the wall a bit and I noticed we passed our boat above. Pretty much all the dives in Palau are drift dives so the boat just comes and picks you up because you could be a good distance away. This dive we were able to drift with the current and then it changed so we drifted back in the direction of the boat just in time for our safety stop and right onto the boat. We weren't far at all from Ulong Island so we drove there, anchored out, had lunch, Chicken Bento for me, and took almost a 2 hour surface interval. I was on the lookout for some landlife but would really have to go hiking through the islands which I didn't have enough time for. So took a dip off shore and did some snorkeling. Not as nice as last year but the tide was out a bit and there had been some heavy storms. Still fun and got to see lots of coral and baby tangs, damsels, angels, triggers, wrasse, hermit crabs and even a small jellyfish, and not the stingless kind. I got a bit scared when i came across the jelly because it was only about the size of a quarter, very clear and usually where there is one, there are more. I quickly glanced around to make sure i wasn't getting myself into trouble, but that was the only one i saw. So kept my distance yet still got some OK shots and admired it's beauty. It was time to head out to our final dive site, Ulong Channel again.

Pyramid Butterfly's along the Sais Tunnel Wall

a Hawksbill Turtle coming to check out Dave

Clarkii Clownfish

Lunch

Ulong Channel is easily becoming my favorite Palau dive. It is a favorite among many of the Sam's Tours crew and I totally understand why. When you dive during incoming current, you get an awesome ride! We went along the wall for a good bit, I stayed towards the end of the group as i wanted to take my time and get some good pictures without holding anyone up or causing a "traffic jam". I was able to see lots of Carpet Anemones with Clownfish, even some extremely tiny babies, Nudibranchs, Tilefish, Scissortail Gobies, Starfish and all sorts of amazing stuff. We came to the opening of the channel where we were going to hook in like last time. Before i got ready to hook in i spotted a large Ritteri Anemone with some Pink Skunk Clowns. Got a few shots of them then went to hook in. I ended up hooking in on the same exact spot as the first day of the week. Siksei came up to me and motioned that he was going to move me closer to the edge so I could get a better view and be closer to the sharks! It was great! The current wasn't as storng but I had a great view of the anemone and saw dozens of sharks which came quite close. We stayed hooked in for a little bit then unhooked and drifted along through the channel. Oh so much fun! I was even able to get a nice shot of a Green Moray Eel.

Pink Skunks in a Ritteri Anemone

Blue Linkia Starfish

School of Scuds

a Nudibranch species

more Pink Skunks

Andy hooked on Ulong Channel watching the Gray Reef Sharks

Melanie, Jim and Joe hooked on Ulong Channel

Andy floating along Ulong Channel, great drift dive!

We made our way back to Sam's and on the way, Dave and I tried more betel nut, this time wiht some tobacco. Other than the not so great taste and constant spitting it's not that bad. Some people have different reactions to it but it just made my gums a bit numb for a little while. This is definitely not a habit i am picking up, but it's something cultural I wanted to try. I will leave the rest of the betel nut with Siksei. We got back to Sam's and decided to catch a ride back to the hotel to shower and clean up. It was a good decision and after about half an hour we met back in the lobby to walk back and have dinner and drinks. Joe, Andy and I brought our laptops with us in hopes of getting an internet connection which was successful, very slow, but successful nonetheless. I was able to update this blog online but the pictures would have taken forever so sorry, but you have to be patient. Soon enough, just keep those fingers crossed the hotel gets a network available that i can access. But for now, it is bedtime! Peleliu land tour and dives tomorrow so need a good nights sleep!

Three Day Dive - Day 2

2009-06-09T06:53:00.005-04:00

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Today was a great day! Woke up around 5am since the ac in my room automatically turned off and it got about 80 or so degrees and stuffy. Turned it back on and got a good hour of sleep before waking up and taking my time getting ready to meet Joe, Andy, Jim and Mel for breakfast at the Palm Bay Inn. It was a quick breakfast then got my gear out of the room and walked down to Sam's to set up for our dives. While walking around Sam's i noticed a familiar face, it was Jason, our Dive Master and guide from last year! I was so good to see him and we chatted for a bit. I told him he needed to come out with us on a dive with us before we left. He doesn't work at Sam's anymore as he got a nice job on the Aggressor which is a liverboard. He was on his week off so he comes to hang out with the staff at Sam's. Joe and Andy were also excited to see him and as well told him he needed to come for a fun dive with us. We also saw Nick finally. He is the videographer for Sam's and came out with us on a few dives last year and got some great footage.

So the five of us were all on the Hammerhead with Siksei, a Japanese couple who did their first dive separate from us, and Dave, a young guy taking a week break from work in Manila. It was a gorgeous day, a bit of overcast but nice nonetheless. We took a quick tour to the Milkyway which is a beautiful lagoon area where the water runoff creates a calcium carbonate substrate. I have seen pictures of it off Sam's website and had wanted to go so was very excited to find out that was our first stop today! Dave and I coated ourselves with the exfoliating sand and just had fun. Mel and Jim played around and enjoyed a relaxing dip while we coaxed Andy and Joe to just jump in. Finally they did and I got a big chunk of the sand on Andys head and Joe brought up a handfull for me to lather myself with. It was so amazing. After a short bit we were on our way to our first dive site...Blue Holes.

Heading out to Milkway Lagoon

Me, Melanie and Jim at Milkyway

Siksei

Dave

Me and MelanieJim, Melanie and me

me and Andy

another boat

Siksei and meexfoliating

Rock Islands heading to Blue Holes

Blue Holes is a set of holes along the reef wall which you can dive into and once down, as you look up it is an amazing sight to see. I was able to get some decent shots, see Flame Scallops and enjoy the beauty. We swam through a hole to the wall of Blue Corner and drifted along a nice steady current. There was much to see such as Humphead Parrotfish, Clown Triggerfish, Clarkii Clowns, Sharks, Vlamingi Tangs, and the list goes on. I rememberd much of it from last year but it is still a new experience as you see so much you didn't see before. We did a nice long dive of about an hour then surfaced and anchored along Babloomkang Island.

Blue Holes

a Moray Eel in the Blue Holes

Blue Holes

Melanie and Jim heading out through a blue hole

Siksei and a curious Juv. Napoleon Wrasse

a school of Humphead Parrotfish

Siksei pointing out some Clown Fish

a White Tip Shark and Clown Triggerfish

Siksei

Clarkii Clownfish

Niger Triggerfish

Dave in a school of Niger Triggers

our friend Mr. Napoleon Wrasse!

It was the same island Andy had fun with the crabs last year. We did an hour and 45 min surface interval where i had the mix bentobox which is sticky rice, beef, chicken, california rolls and a brownie. The lunch was very tasty and filling. I walked along the shore and checked out the hermits, snails, found some baby flounder, cucumbers and picked up shells while unknowingly getting a bit too much sun. Have to remember to reapply the sunscreen after diving - a lesson learned :). I took in the beauty of the island and waters around me, even saw a small Black Tip Shark close to shore hunting for food. We boarded and drove a short distance to our second dive spot, the German Channel. I decided after the first dive to just wear my boardshorts and a rash guard top as the water temp at 70+ feet is 86 degrees so switched out some weights and backrolled in the water. The German Channel is a cleaning station for many fish, palagics and some nice coral. We were of course hoping to see a Manta Ray again and for more than just a split second. We made our way down the channel and came across a big school of Scud which stayed right above us a short distance away. Almost immediately we saw an Eagle Ray off in the distance, not close enough to get a good picture. The visibility was good except for a bit of sand in the water column from all the fish getting cleaned and another group of divers up ahead of us. Dave and I were buddies on this dive as well as the first and we stayed towards the front of the group following Siksei. All of a sudden Siksei is signaling to us to move ahead quickly, he grabs Dave and sits him low by a rockbed of coral which i follow behind and situate myself only to be taken back by the huge Manta Ray being cleaned right in front of us and the group that was ahead of us. It was incredable! It stayed around for a good 5 minutes which i was able to get some decent pics of. Joe had his video camera with him this dive so i knew he would get some nice video so i focused on the still shots. We hung around the edge of the channel hoping to see more Rays and other palagics but not much came around other than a few sharks. Still amazing to see as i am a big fan of sharks but they are all around so i wanted to see something a bit more rare. Still on the lookout for a whaleshark so cross your fingers that i may end up seeing at least one this time around. It was a nice drift back as we did our safety stop, boarded the boat and headed back to Sam's to do our third dive at Chandalier Caves.

Welcome to Babloomkang Island

Andy searching for crabs

he found a nice large molting of a crabMelanie checking out something in the sand

Andy found a live Shameface Crab

Peppertree leaf, Betel nut and lime

a view of Babloomkang Beach

relaxing in some shade after lunch

Siksei surprised by the crab molt
Andy hid under the trash bag

a Black Tip Shark in search for food at the shore

greeted by a huge school of Scuds at German Channel

a beautiful Manta Ray at the

cleaning station in German Channel

a pair of Raccoon Butterflyfish
a small white Nudibranch

a gorgeous Nudibranch species

Dave getting some snaps of a Table AcroporaBeautiful Maxima Clams

fixin up to try out Betel Nut again

Dave and I with a cheek full of Betel Nut

Jim, Mel and Joe decided to sit that one out but Andy, Dave and I were ready to go. The Japanese couple got off with the others at Sam's and we turned around and headed just a few minutes away and enjoyed the caves. Once back at Sam's we did a fun relaxing dock dive in search for the Mandarins - which were not hard to spot at all. I saw dozens of Mandarins, Pipefish, Damsels, Clams, Filefish, Blennies, Gobies, a Moray Eel, Urchins, Feather Dusters, and some others before my camera batteries finally died. So i climbed back on the boat, rinsed my gear and went to join the others for some dinner and drinks at Sam's Bottom Time Bar & Grill. I had the chicken sandwich with a couple Red Rooster lights. Dave joined us and Jason came over and hung out with us for a bit. It was about 6pm when everyone decided to head back to the hotel, i was not ready to head back so stayed and had another beer with Dave. We went up to the bar and chatted with a crew from a yacht taking a few days off and enjoying some diving.
I had a great time and finally headed back to the hotel around 8pm...yeah, late night huh?! I'll tell you what, diving sure does wear you out! A full days worth of diving ahead of us tomorrow so goodnight!

Chandelier Caves

AndySikseiDave, Andy and me

an Urchin at Sam's Dock

a curious little Blenny

a Mandarin Dragonet

a Pipefish

a Filefish

a Moray Eel

The sunset at Sam's Dock

First Day of Dives in Palau - Day 1

2009-06-09T06:43:00.008-04:00

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

I met up with Joe and Andy in the hotel lobby to go for breakfast at the Palm Bay Inn where we had had breakfast each morning last year. This time we have breakfast vouchers since we booked through Sam's Tours. Jim and Melanie met us a few minutes later and we all got the
American Breakfast, yum! Now off to our first dives of the day!

Our breakfast view at Palm Bay

Wow! What a great first day! We boarded the Hammerhead at Sam's with Jim and Siksei, our Dive Masters/Guides, a family of Japanese and two girls, Sunny and Megan, which were on a college research trip studying cyst-eating Gobies. Andy, Joe and I were diving together while Melanie and Jim were getting comfortable towards the dock of Sam's. Our first dive was Sais Corner so we drove about 45 minutes to Ulong island where we let a couple of the Japanese divers off so they could go through some training. The rest of us then went back out about 10 minutes, donned our gear and backrolled into the open water. There was a nice current, good visability and lots of amazing corals and fish. We dove for about 55 min. then got back on the boat and headed back to Ulong for lunch.

Jim our dive guide and Arson the boat captain

Ulong Beach

A Grouper along Sais Corner

Some coral at Sais Corner

Corals along Sais Corner

Siksei guiding us along Sais Corner

It was a long surface interval of about 2hrs 30min as we were waiting for the incoming tide to be able to have a nice dive along Ulong Channel, and boy was that wait worth it! But while waiting, i walked along the beach and got some sun, did a little bit of snorkling which was decent and captured some beautiful pictures of the beauty of Ulong Island. Back on the boat for some great diving, backrolled into the blue and was just in awe of the beauty of this ocean that surounds us. The currents were strong and we barely had to fin at all. We drifted along the wall for a little bit when we came along the cut which we then hooked in and were graced with the presence of a huge Marlin swimming along the surface about 40 feet above us. While hooked in i saw lots of Grey Reef Sharks, Whitetip Sharks, Napoleon Wrasse, lots of Tangs, Triggers, Wrasse, Butterflies, Angels, Damsels and hundreds others. There was a bit of silt due to the strong currents but i went ahead and got some video of what it was like from my view. We stayed hooked in for about 10 min or so and then drifted through the channel at amazing speed. All i had to do was keep my buoyancy and just make sure not to knock into any coral or other divers. Somehow i got towards the back of the divers with Joe and one of our guides Jim and were separated from the rest of the group. I was OK until i noticed Jim just take off in front of me leaving me and Joe with his bubbles. So i of course got my legs in gear and hauled ass after him keeping an eye that Joe was still behind me. Apparently Sunny got a bit separated as well ahead of us so he wanted to make sure she was OK and let her know we were around. We all met back up at the end of the channel, did our safety stop and got back on the boat. What a rush!

Yup! that's right, me on Survivors Ulong Island!
Ulong Beach
Ulong Island
The beautiful views of Ulong Beach
Ulong Beach

Ulong Beach

Lunch at Ulong Beach

Ulong Beach

If you look closely you can spot the Marlin swiming at the
surface within minutes of our backrolls into the deep blue!
Hooked on the mouth of Ulong ChannelAndy with his mask and regulator offwatching the Gray Reef Sharks while hooked on Ulong Channel

racing the Whaleshark back to Sam's, we're on the Hammerhead

Once back at Sam's Tours we met up with Melanie and Jim who decided to not go on the third dive. Joe, Andy and I decided to stay at Sam's with them as it was already 5pm and a late wreck dive just didn't seem too appealing at that time...for me, a beer and some food sounded better :) So we sat around and had a beer, some sandwiches and got all our gear rinsed and hung in the locker room for the next day. Now it's 9:00pm and i am in my hotel room writing this in word in hopes to get to a computer with internet access. Getting a bit sleepy though - a bit of sun and a lot of diving will really wear you out. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures!

A Long Flight...Saturday, June 6th, 2009

2009-06-09T05:37:00.001-04:00

Finally landed in Palau with no problems. Had a slightly different flight plan than last year but we all made it in one piece and none of our luggage went missing (exceptional for changing planes 4 times). We hit the roads of VA at about 3:00am on the 5th and boarded our first flight in Washington National to Houston at about 6:00am and landed in Houston about 3 hours later. We had about a 1 hour layover and then boarded a flight to Honolulu which took a long 8 hours. I tried to pass the time with little naps inbetween listening to my iPod or watching the complimentary personal video system that each seatback had. As Jim had said, "once you see the Pink Panther twice you know you are in for a long flight". We finally landed in Honolulu and
deboarded to reboard about an hour later. Back in the same seats with the same repeating shows. We were in for another 8 hours flight. We landed in Guam and had a layover for about an hour then boarded a smaller plane which went to Yap and Koror. We had to stop in Yap, deboard and wait in a very tiny airport terminal for about 45 minutes just to reboard the same plane. About 1 hour more and we landed in Palau, met up with Sam's Tours bus driver, loaded our baggage and got to the hotel. First thing i did was take a long shower and brush my teeth, then unpacked and got all my dive gear together for our first dive the next morning. I got to bed about midnight and slept well until i woke up at about 5am. Remember, Palau is 13 hours ahead of current VA time so we pretty much lost two days with all the flying and time zones.

My SCUBA Training

2009-06-04T14:58:00.003-04:00

So I thought I would update my certification and education status as of last year. Last year I had completed my Advanced Open Water course with Joe and started working on some Specialty courses. I currently have my Nitrox, Deep, Drift, Digital Photography and Dry Suit Specialtys along with the Blue Corner Specialty from my first trip to Palau.

I have been training with Joe and have even had a few friends start to show interest. I got my brother, Gordon, Open Water Certified back in October of 2008 and am hoping to get him out on his first ocean dive soon. Too bad he couldn't make it out to Palau with me, another time though. My good friend Sandy just got his Open Water cert. and Nitrox specialty through Joe while I was getting my Dry Suit and Nitrox. Sandy will be going to Australia in the next month so I got him in touch with Joe to get his training started. I'm excited for his first ocean dive experience being the Great Barrier Reef, he is going to have a blast! He tried to see about coming to Palau with our group but couldn't get out of the pre-planned trip to Australia. Oh well, we'll do a dive trip together someday.

So once I finish the last of my Wreck Specialty and get back to the states, I will need to go through CPR classes and a few more quarry dives to get my Rescue Diver certification and then onto Dive Master! It is very exciting. I didn't think I would ever venture past just the Open Water level but now I am hooked...friends don't call me Fish for just any reason :)
(Yes, that's a shout-out to my LKA peeps! Cross your fingers that I may get to wakeboard at least once this time).

Time for Vacation...again!

2009-06-01T22:34:00.003-04:00

So it has been almost an entire year and i am onto my last 4 days of stress packing and making sure things are covered at work and home before boarding that plane back to PALAU! I have been planning this trip with fellow divers Joe and Andy who i went with last year and Joe's brother Jim and his wife Melanie are also joining us. It has been a few months of excitement waiting for this vacation as going back to this amazing place was a dream. After last year, my first time in Palau, i was thrilled and content if i was not able to return again some day. But it has now been a year and i am going back! Bags are packed finally...(yes Jess, I pack, unpack, and repack :) thanx for bearing with me).
The flight is the only thing i am not looking forward to. Flying from here to Houston which is about 3 hours then from Houston straight to Guam which is going to take forever! We leave Houston at about 9:30am on the 5th and get to Guam at about 6:00pm on the 6th...ouch! Oh well, it's so worth it. Then last but not least we take a 3 hour puddle jumper from Guam to Koror, get to our hotel and rest up for a bright and early first day of diving...see, worth it!
So until then, cross your fingers the flights go well and i don't end up in some time travel episode of Lost - well, actually that would be pretty cool - and that i will have internet access that is halfway decent so i can update my adventures!

The Long Flight Home

2008-06-23T22:51:00.002-04:00

Thursday, June 19, 2008 – Friday, June 20, 2008

I just realized that I have been dating this wrong, or I think I have. Palau is 13 hours ahead of us here in Virginia so today technically is the 20^th. Oh well, whatever. I didn’t even know what day it was when I was there. I was on vacation and didn’t care if it was Wednesday or Saturday. Unfortunately I knew that it was the day to leave and I can tell you that after being here for only nine days, I am missing it already. We are being picked up from our hotel at 11:30 pm and taken to the airport. From the airport we are going through customs, which actually didn’t take long at all. Our first flight is from Koror to Guam, which is about three hours. We had a layover in Guam for about an hour then got on a 767 to Honolulu for just under eight hours. Once in Honolulu we have about an hour and 15 minutes to get our checked luggage and then go back through customs and catch our flight to Houston, another eight hours. In Houston we have a five hour layover then hop on a “puddle-jumper” to Dulles Airport, about another three hours. In all it took about 27 hours to get home.

The funny thing is, we leave Palau at 1:45 am on Friday the 20^th, and return in Virginia at 5:30 pm on Thursday the 19^th. Just crazy the way time works. I am glad to be home but know I could have stayed much longer in Palau. I will go back someday and this time, I am flying first class. Hopefully I will be able to update this more with another diving trip to some exotic place. Hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures. If so, leave a comment, would be nice to see what you have to say.

Tarzan Kayak Tour, Day Nine

2008-06-20T21:07:00.009-04:00

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I slept great last night and woke up bright and early to the sun and that damn rooster. Met up with Joe and Andy for our regular mornings’ breakfast but didn’t stay long since our morning pick up was at 7:45 am this time. I got back to the room and started organizing and packing a bit. I wanted to get a head start since I wasn’t sure how long we would be out kayaking and then what we were doing afterwards. The driver picked us up and all we had with us was our mask, fins and snorkel. Well cameras and dry stuff as well but that was the only gear we needed for today’s events.

We got to Sam’s and found out we were kayaking Tarzan Tour with guide TJ. Kelly joined us for that day since she has really enjoyed our company and we enjoyed her company as well. Another couple was also with us for the tour. We got on board a boat with all the kayaks loaded up and headed out to our starting point at the Natural Arch.

It was quite fun stepping off the boat into an unstable kayak but we all did it with ease and no one fell out. We kayaked around and through the arch, got some nice pictures and then headed along some of the Rock Islands into a beautiful lagoon area for our first snorkel of the day. The snorkeling was great and I got to see lots of enormous Crown of Thorns stars. Unfortunately I was not able to get as many nice pictures because I could not stay down long enough to get some good shots. I need to bring a weight belt with me next time to help me sink because I am very good at floating. After a bit of snorkeling we maneuvered ourselves back into our kayaks and paddled towards our next place where we had lunch and TJ gave us a short history lesson about the islands and the war. I listened but didn’t retain too much because I am just not into history that much…I wanted to get back into the water. After lunch we got back into the kayaks and paddled a long way through some nice current to another natural arch and snorkeled some more. This time I saw lots more Crown of Thorns stars, Linkia stars, tons of gorgeous Clams, lots of beautiful soft corals and huge Acropora corals. It was TJ’s favorite free-diving spot on Tarzan Tour. After a good 20 minutes we got back into the kayaks, this time with a little more experience and ease. Before we got too far, TJ took out some betel nut and Kelly and I decided to try it out. Betel Nut is actually a drupe which is the seed of a Betel Palm. The betel nut is chewed for their effects as a mildly euphoric stimulant. It increases the capacity to work and has a similar but milder effect as drinking a cup of coffee. Chewing it is an important and popular cultural activity in many Asian and Oceanic countries. The betel nut is bit in half and then sprinkled with lime (calcium hydroxide or ground up coral skeleton) then wrapped in a pepper leaf (betel leaf from the Piper betle plant). Some people also put chewing tobacco or tear a piece of a cigarette and chew it with the nut. As you chew, you spit out the fibrous residue which is a nice red color commonly seen on the streets of India and Pakistan, I know this because I lived in both countries for four years. If chewed with the tobacco you get the similar drug effect nicotine in cigarettes gives you. I did not chew it with the tobacco and kind of glad I didn’t since it tasted horrible enough without it. Kelly and I had some interesting faces when we first started chewing and continued to laugh at each other as we tried to spit out the red juices. We kept getting it all over our kayaks…gross. I have to say it was interesting to try and at least I know what it is and what it tastes like. I think we paddled our canoes twice as fast as everyone else after chewing it though…just kidding; we are just strong ladies.

We then paddled a shorter but still long distance through more Rock Islands to a cove where there was a boat wreck. It wasn’t a very big boat and it was on its side. Not much coral to see other than what was growing along the wreck but I had also noticed a faint stinging sensation every now and then. I thought it was probably just stuff floating in the water from the wreck. I was fine, no lasting stinging sensations after a while. From the wreck we paddled around the Rock Island to a cave leading into a beautiful shallow lagoon. It was a good thing it was low tide or we would have not been able to get in. Oh, by the way, I spit out the betel nut. We didn’t snorkel because jellyfish congregate in the lagoon because of the still waters so we paddled around for a short bit and checked out all the pretty soft corals and clams, and then headed out back through the cave. It was really neat and beautiful. From there we paddled back to the boat which was keeping up with us from way behind as to not get in the way. We got on board and TJ loaded up the kayaks to take us to our final snorkeling destination.

It started raining but we were all wet anyways. Joe, Andy and Kelly said they were going to sit out this last free-dive but after we got there TJ went over that it was going to be a snorkel through a small cave then we were going to climb up the rock island through the cave and come out higher up for a nice jump back into the ocean. Andy and Kelly found that pretty interesting and decided to come along. TJ was going to first jump in and make sure the tide didn’t come in too much to not be able to make it through the cave. He jumped in the water and within a few seconds hollered at us not to jump in behind him. He managed to make it into a small school of small jelly’s. We all decided to skip that tour and just head back. On our way back the rain was coming down so hard you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you. Well at least our last day started out nice and allowed for some good kayaking. We all got a nice bit of sun too.

We got back to the dock and showered and dried off to sit around and watch the crazy rainstorm and have some drinks and a light dinner. Joe, Andy and I decided that it was time to head back to the hotel to pack and try and rest up for our pick up at 11:30 pm for our 1:45 am flight home.

A Fantastic Last Day of Diving

2008-06-19T21:58:00.011-04:00

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Another early morning but a good nights sleep. The morning seemed like it was going to be nice but the water seemed a bit rough and there were clouds forming so we knew it was going to be a rainy day. Joe, Andy and I had breakfast again at Palm Bay. It’s a nice little restaurant and being right next to our hotel makes it easy to get an early start on digesting. We got back to our rooms to prepare for our last three dives.

Again we got to Sam’s before everyone else so got our gear ready and situated on the boat. It is nice to get things done early so we can relax and not get in anyone else’s way. Our first destination was Blue Corner again. It is such a great dive and the hooking is so awesome! It took about an hour to boat out there and man were the seas rough. Andy said they were about 4-5 foot swells. We were all already wet by the time we got to our dive spot. Jason went over the dive profile, checked the currents and then we were in the water and straight down so we didn’t get swept away in the surface currents. The currents were also quite strong at about 40-60 feet but it was a nice drift. We made our way along the wall and then made our way up to a hooking spot. We all got our hooks ready and as we approached the top of the wall, the currents really picked up. I had to kick hard against the current to stay in the group and then find a good spot to hook in. I inflated my BC and then relaxed and watched the view into the blue waters. There were dozens of sharks, lots of Barracuda, Jacks, Grunts, Triggers and many more struggling with the currents. It was our best Blue Corner dive yet! Jason signaled us to unhook and then swim down a bit and re-hook in. I am glad he did because the action was more intense farther down. Unfortunately within minutes after our first hook in, my camera battery died. I forgot to replace the batteries before hand and really was quite irked. Oh well, it was nice to just chill and enjoy the dive. We did our safety stop and waited for the boat to pick us up. When I surfaced the currents were so intense but so fun. I held on to the rope of the boat and waited to get on the ladder and climb up as the swells took us up and down. What a ride!

Once all on board we made our way over to a spot to relax and have our surface interval. We didn’t have lunch then because we planned on doing all three dives before even going back to Sam’s. The area we anchored in at had a nice shallow snorkeling spot so I of course got wet again. I saw lots of Boxfish, more than I had seen the whole time we had been there. I didn’t stay in long b/c I was getting tired and cold. After about an hour we made our way over to our next dive spot, Bid Drop Off.

The waters had calmed down a bit so the ride wasn’t so rough this time. Once we arrived at Big Drop Off Jason instructed us to still go straight down and wait about 30 feet since the surface currents were still quite strong. The wall was a nice relaxing drift dive and I saw many more anemones with Clownfish, lots of huge beautiful Sea Fans, enormous soft corals, lots of Acroporas, Anthias, Nudibranchs, Basket Stars and so much more! I was able to get some pictures because during out SI, I swapped out the batteries from my small dive light to use in my camera. I just wish I had thought of that before Blue Corner. Oh, and even a great video of a Green Sea Turtle very close up!

Jason took us to Bablomekang Island where we had lunch and Andy played with huge sand crabs. I had seen him walking away from out lunch table in a hurry towards the beach and then walk back with a curious demeanor about him. He got back to the table and placed a big sand crab that he had caught onto the table. The crab danced its way down the center towards us all. We all scurried just as fast as the crab to get out of its way. It was quite a funny event. We hung out on the island for a bit then headed back out to sea! Our next destination, Iro Maru Wreck.

We arrived at Iro Maru a short bit after leaving the island still with rough seas. This was a nice stationary dive so we just went down the line, checked out the wreck for about 30 minutes then headed back up. I saw huge Bubbles corals, Pearl corals, lots of Heliofungias, Rhodactus Mushrooms, Goniopora coral, and even a Hammer coral. It’s amazing to see what lives in certain areas where the water is murkier. Since I was diving on air and everyone else on Nitrox, Jason wanted to keep us in a group so we came up when my computer said it was time for me to surface. No one minded as it was getting chilly and as we were at our surface interval, we could look up and see that it was raining. Such a neat sight to look up from below the surface and you can tell what the weather is like above. We got back on board and took a short ride back to Sam’s.

Once back at Sam’s, we rinsed our gear really well and hung it out to dry. Since we are leaving late tomorrow night, we wanted to make sure all our gear was nice and dry so we didn’t have water weight in our luggage. Andy went ahead and ordered us drinks and munchies. Joe, Andy, Kelly and I sat around eating and drinking at Bottom Time Bar and Grill and enjoyed the evening after a long day of diving. We watched the rain come down and the staff at Sam’s move out the boats from the dock. They moved the boats to offshore anchors so they didn’t get banged around too much. Like I had mentioned before, Sam’s Tours Dive Shop has a great setup and great staff. We got all our gear together and finally decided to head out and get some sleep. I got to my hotel room and hung all my stuff out in the bathroom, it looked like a mini SCUBA shop in there. I was crossing my fingers for nice weather since tomorrow is our off-gas day and we are taking a kayak tour around the islands.

A Full Day of Diving on our Seventh Day

2008-06-19T21:26:00.008-04:00

Monday, June 16, 2008

Yet another amazing day! I was able to sleep in a bit which was nice but still managed to get up in time to meet the early birds for breakfast. It was a nice and relaxing morning but looked like we may be in for some rough water. I came back to the room to prep for our days’ worth of diving. We had three dives planned again, so exciting!

We got to Sam’s before our other boat divers so we geared up and got ready so we had some time to relax and check out the shop some more. I had already bought a couple shirts but wanted to take another look around while I had some time. Sam’s Tours has a great setup, I have heard that other divers say it is the best out of any other dive center they have been to. Sam’s has a nice dive shop, a video center, Bottom Time Bar and Grill, a compressor room, all the shore diving you want, and boats right there to take you to the dive destination. There is also a great schedule board set up so you can just look and find what boat you are on and the other divers that are coming along. They try not to put more than 8 divers on a boat so it makes it much more comfortable. The staff is also extraordinary. Everyone is so polite and friendly, they love what they do! I have also met so many that are there as interns or just working for a year or two before moving on. To do what they do would be awesome. I have learned so much and met so many incredible people, I don’t want to leave.

Well it is time for diving. Our first dive was Turtle Cove again. This time we started through a Blue Hole and just worked our way around and along the wall. I saw so many turtles and anemones, and Anthias, Triggers, Sea Fans, etc, etc, etc. I could have stayed for hours just looking at all the amazing life, but of course you can’t L. We also had a father/daughter couple who seemed quite unexperienced so they got in the way quite a bit. It made for a not so enjoyable dive if you got too close to them or vice-versa. I stayed my distance and just gazed at the beautiful wall ahead until it was time to surface. We got back on the boat and headed out for some lunch. We anchored at a nice shallow area where there was some great snorkeling. There were lots of huge cucumbers, cute little blennies, beautiful Acroporas, lots of Porites, very tiny Tangs, and I even spotted a Blue Velvet Nudibranch. Again I could ramble on and on about all the stuff I saw but I don’t want to bore you with reading it when I can show you some amazing pictures. Enjoy!

After lunch and some nice snorkeling (which I got a bit of sun), we headed out to our next destination, German Wall/Channel. We usually take the channel out on our boat rides to some other destinations so now we actually get to dive it. The wall leads into the channel where a lot of the larger fish come into. There is also a cleaning station that is somewhat protected and we were told that we were not allowed to swim through it. We were all really hoping to see a Manta Ray as that is the area where they are usually spotted. Fingers crossed throughout the whole dive. So we started along the wall which did not have a whole lot of life but was nice nonetheless. We made our way into the channel which was quite murky because of the cleaning station along sandy bottom. We saw a lionfish chilling along with all sorts of other smaller fish being cleaned my Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse. It was so amazing to see fish coming in to get cleaned and then continuing on our way. We found a spot along the bottom to settle and wait a few minutes to see if any larger fish would swim in for a clean but no luck. Also my computer started warning me that I was getting close to deco so I had to start ascending. I was a bit bummed. Along our way back through the channel I had turned to check the divers behind me since I was towards the front and when I looked back ahead of me I practically swallowed my regulator. There in front of us was a HUGE Manta Ray! It spotted us or got spooked by our bubbles but we finally got to see one of these big beauties, and I was able to get a couple pics of it before it completely was out of sight. You could just see the excitement of the other divers!

What famous TV cartoon does this remind you of?

It was time to head back to Sam’s dock since not all of us were doing three dives. We unloaded those not coming and then headed back out to our third dive of the day, a wreck dive called Jakes Sea Plane. It was a fairly shallow dive and I ended up diving Nitrox since my no deco time was getting a bit high on the scale....and we were doing one more dive afterwards. I stayed with the computer on air but with diving Nitrox, I was able to off-gas more. Jakes Sea Plane was awesome, I got to sit in both the back and the front seats and imagine what it was like to fly it, and crash it. Pretty neat I must say. So after a short dive, we headed back to Sam’s during some chilling rain and rough waters.

We got back to the dock not long after since the wreck was just around the corner. I sat with Joe and Andy and Kelly Joined us for a bit. We had some sodas and just relaxed since we would be going on our fourth dive, my first night dive! I was nervous and excited all at the same time. We discussed where we were going, the Helmet Wreck. It was nice since we had already dove that wreck earlier in the week so it was familiar. We headed out of Sam’s just before it got too dark and arrived at the Helmet Wreck. It’s a stationary dive so we started descending down the line. Once at the bottom of the line, we all turned out our dive lights. It wasn’t completely dark but dark enough. It was thrilling and exciting. We turned out lights back on and continued to check out the wreck and search out shrimps, cowries, sleeping fish and feeding corals. I have finally done a night dive!

We made our way back to the boat and we were all quite cold. Each dive you do your body temperature drops a bit and I was really feeling it today. It was also raining a bit so it was even colder. We got back to Sam’s, rinsed our gear and hung it up in the locker room. The three of us had some dinner and then went back to hotel to warm up and get some rest. What a day!

Sixth Day full of History and Excitement

2008-06-15T08:54:00.007-04:00

Sunday, June 15, 2008

What a day! It started for me at 6:00 am waking up to the sun. It was going to be another beautiful day for diving. We had our regular breakfast at our regular place. Our pick up was a bit earlier as we had lots planned for the day so we didn’t stay as long at the restaurant as we have done each previous day. We went back to our rooms for a short bit and got our stuff together. I made sure to pack my sneakers as we weren’t sure if we would need them or not. The driver picked us up at 7:45 am and once we got to Sam’s, we found our boat and geared up. Our plan was to drive out about 1.5 hours to Peleliu, an island of about 500 locals. It is also the island that the Battle of Peleliu was fought between the US and Japan in 1944. Our first dive was Peleliu Wall then to have lunch on the dock at Peleliu. After lunch, we were going to dive the other side of the wall then do a land tour of Peleliu.

We had a nice long choppy but fun ride out to Peleliu and I sat and chatted with Kelly about some of her journeys living in South America for almost two years and then traveling to Fiji, Honolulu, Yap and now Palau. She has done over 500 dives, hiked the Appalachian trails and just been through and seen so much in her two years as a “professional relaxer”. It was a good chat and I am going to get information about her blog that she has been keeping up with. We were also accompanied by a couple that had actually been working in Palau at Sam’s Tours for the past two years that were on their last day of diving. They just wanted to take it all in and I think Peleliu Wall was their favorite so they came with us.

So after our bumpy ride, we got t our dive spot and man was it choppy out. We were instructed by Jason to get in the water and head for the wall. Once we all grouped we would drift along the wall. If the currents changed, we would just turn around and drift the other way. The wall was incredible! There were tons of HUGE anemones with clownfish, enormous Sea Fans, Moray Eels, lots of Anthias, a couple sharks and huge Linkia Starfish. Each dive just keeps getting better! We drifted for about 45 minutes when I started feeling that urge. Being in the water with the currents and every now and then a slight cool current sweep in, it is not easy to not concentrate on that urge. Thankfully it was towards our dive and we stayed at our safety stop until the boat came to pick us up. You may ask why not just go in the water, well its because I was in a full wetsuit and there is a fine layer where the water gets trapped between the suit and your body to help keep you warm. Lets just say I didn’t want to get any warmer J. I hurried once on the boat to doff my gear, take off my wetsuit and then jump back in the water. Being that the current was strong I had to stay close to the boat and hang on the line, it is a very different experience relieving yourself right there in front of a boat load of people, but we all do it one time or another.

We made our way a very short distance to the dock of Peleliu Island and had lunch. I watched as a group of locals came around and seemed to have a session of some sort. There were children of all ages grouped together and being taught some thing. It was neat to see. We finished our lunch and then just relaxed while we did our surface interval for about an hour and a half before getting back on board for our second dive. This time we were starting at the other end of the wall. Jason called it the express way because the current just sweeps you along, and he was right. It was a fun lazy drift along, up and over the wall. We were only timed to dive for 45 minutes then did our safety stop over a sandy patch where I saw a few Hippo Tangs, or to you movie buffs, Dori from Finding Nemo. This time I didn’t have that urge and we got on the boat and headed back to Peleliu dock. We waited for about 10 minutes for our guide to arrive to give us the land tour of Peleliu Island.

The Battle of Peleliu, fought between US and Japan in 1944, when considering the number of men who fought, had the highest casualty rate of any Pacific side battle. Our first stop was the Monument dedicated to those men who died on the island. Approximately 1300 men died between September and November of ’44. We stopped to see the Landing Strip of the airfield, Bloody Nose Ridge, the Japanese Memorial and a few tanks and planes that were disabled on the island. We also sat many foxholes and housing structures. There was also a museum set up on the island that had lots of artifacts but we were not allowed to photograph so I unfortunately do not have pictures to share. I am not a history buff so I didn’t not absorb a lot but Andy and Joe seemed to really appreciate the tour being former Marines.

About 20 minutes on our way back, we spotted Dolphins! The boat captain looped around and we rode up along with the Dolphins and watched them swim along side the boat. I was up at the bow and there were just so many of them surfacing. They were Spinners but we didn’t see any jump out and spin, that would have been awesome but just seeing them up so close and watching them all was incredible! I got some video footage so enjoy.

Fantastic Hooking on our Fifth Day

2008-06-15T06:28:00.008-04:00

Saturday, June 14, 2008

This morning I actually slept in a bit and woke up at 6 am. Well, I guess I really didn’t sleep in, but more than the previous days. I met Joe and Andy for our regular breakfast place across the way to Palm Bay and we all had the American breakfast which came with eggs, choice of meat, fresh fruit, juice and coffee or tea. We checked out over the balcony and there were all sorts of fish swimming around. The day was beautiful and mostly sunny but definitely looked like rain. Oh well, we are getting wet anyways!

Once at Sam’s Tours, we geared up and were on a different boat this time. We had been on the Whale Shark the past couple days but this time we were on the Tiger Shark. A slightly different layout which made it a bit more cramped but we all managed. We took a ride about an hour out towards Blue Corner through German Channel. Our dive plan was to do Dexter’s Wall and then the south side, or up-coming side, of Blue Corner. Then back to Sam’s to drop off the divers only doing two dives and go back out to a Wreck Dive.

Our boat ride was about an hour and quite bumpy this time. We finally arrived at Dexter’s Wall and Jason briefed us about the dive. If there were changing currents, we were to just turn around and drift with the currents. I like the drifting b/c its lazy and by keeping your buoyancy you see all sorts of beautiful life along the wall. Joe, Andy and I were first in and once we descended we saw a turtle swimming ahead. I turned to Andy to make sure he saw it when I was face to face with a turtle just chilling on the wall. I got Andy’s attention and slowly approached the turtle. I got so close that as it started to look for an exit, I was able to pet its shell. Andy thinks he even got a nice shot of me with the turtle. I hope so. I was so excited and ready to explore more! I got to see lots of huge anemones with Pink Skunk Clowns as well as Domino Damsels living under the anemones, Puffers, Trumpetfish, Butterflies, Sharks, Christmas Tree Worms, Squirrelfish, beautiful schools of Purple Anthias, clams and so many more awesome things. We also came across another turtle grazing on the sponges along the wall. It spotted us all and slowly started to swim away, but not before I was able to pet this one too!

We had lunch on the boat and I did a bit more snorkeling but was a bit nervous as we were right above another drop off and I kept seeing these nice big fish in the distance that at first glance seemed like it could have been a shark. I know I was safe but to be extra safe, I got back in the boat. I am not afraid of sharks but statistically you are more likely to be attacked at the surface of the water snorkeling, surfing etc. than you are in their depths with all your scuba gear on. I had sushi again and did some sunbathing. After a good hour or so we drove a short distance back over to Blue Corner in hopes to finally be able to dive the up-coming side and hook in to get our specialty. Once in the water I could feel the currents were going to be strong. We drifted along for a bit and then Jason motioned for us to get our hooks ready and make our way up and over the wall. Once we started to get close to the top of the reef wall, the currents were extremely strong. I got hooked in, and my line was knotted but I was able to pull myself to it and get it undone. Then put some air in my BC and up like a balloon I went. Being hooked to the reef is so thrilling and with the currents this strong, I almost felt like I was going to loose my mask! We got to watch schools of Jacks and Barracuda fight the currents but he sharks seemed to make it look effortless. We were finally able to get our specialty done! We deflated our BC’s then unhooked and drifted along the top of the wall into a nice cut in the reef. A few Napoleon Wrasse joined us and we played around with them. I got to pet them all over and they seemed to like a little scratching. Jason even hugged one, wish I could have done that! We hung out for a bit with the wrasse, sharks and even a Moray Eel before ascending and heading back to Sam’s Tours dock.

As we were heading back the skies were getting darker and it started pouring. The rain would sting as it hit you since we were going quite fast in the boat. It died down a bit closer in and as we were getting ready to dock I mentioned to Joe and Andy that I was going to hold off on the next dive. Nothing was wrong, I was just tired and wanted to relax a bit since we have already done 14 dives and still have a good 9 more to go! Plus tomorrow is going to be a long day. We got some drinks at the bar in Sam’s dock, watched some of Nick’s videos that he taped with another group, filled out our specialty paperwork and got our pictures taken. I also went through my log book and had Jason sign off on my dives. We just sat and chatted then came back to the hotel to clean up and get some rest for tomorrow.

Fourth Day full of Great Diving

2008-06-14T06:24:00.006-04:00

Friday, June 13, 2008

Another early morning for me, woke up at about 4 and just couldn’t sleep any longer. I tried to just doze but didn’t do much of that either. I finally got up and got dressed and met up with Andy and Joe for breakfast again at Palm Bay. It is just so close and they do have good breakfast. We sit outside on the balcony looking over the bay. After we were done with breakfast we just hung around and checked out all the fish and clams that were living right under the restaurant. Moorish Idols, lots of Damsels, Triggers, Watchman Gobies, Puffers, and a few others were just forging for foods so I crumbled up some of my toast and gave them a snack. Andy even spotted a very tiny Sweetlips which was so cute. At first it took Joe and me a few minutes to figure out that it was a Sweetlips, but we finally got it. After a while we went back to our rooms to get our stuff and met back in the lobby for the driver. We ended up walking down to Sam’s Tours since the driver was a bit late but it’s a nice short walk. We got all our gear ready and got on our boat, the Whale Shark. Jason was our Dive Master again, which was good because he has been an excellent guide and has a great personality. Our dive plan was to dive along Ulong Channel again since we were not able to actually dive the channel the first time, then dive along Ulong Wall. We would then dock back at Sam’s to let those who were not doing a third dive off the boat then head back around the corner for another Wreck Dive.

After a short 30 minute boat ride we were at Ulong Channel. I loved this dive because it was quite shallow, my total depth was at 58 feet, the visibility was excellent and the sun really made for some great pictures! I have taken just over 900 pictures already and plan on taking many, many more! We dove along Ulong Channel for over an hour since we stayed so shallow; my average was about 40 feet. I got to see so many beautiful corals, clams, nudibranchs, Basket Stars, clownfish and anemones, tiny gobies, chromis, an Emperor Angel, sharks, huge cucumbers, and even a watchman/pistol pair. Oh, and we saw a couple enormous clams, and when I say enormous, I mean about 6-8 feet! It could totally swallow me! Such a great dive!

We went back to Ulong beach for lunch and I had some very good Sushi. We sat and chatted with Katrina and Eric, another dive couple on their honeymoon and Kelly. Kelly just arrived and this was her first day of diving in Palau. She is an amazing person, has sold her business so is now retired and is a professional vacationer! She lived in South America for a year and has now been traveling around doing diving. What a life! We hung out on the beach for about an hour and a half as our surface interval then went back out to dive Ulong Wall. We were going to drift with the currents and enjoy the dive. Along the wall were lots of Sea Fans, Carnation Corals, huge starfish, lots more nudibranchs, and on and on and on. We drifted for a bit then the currents changed so we just drifted back into the channel which was fine with me! Got to see so many more beautiful life and this time got a bit more up close and personal with a few. We dove for about an hour then headed back to Sam’s.

Our third dive, it was just Andy, Joe and I with Jason as our guide. I had mentioned before to Jason that I wanted to see cleaner shrimp so he took us to Chuyo Maru, a Wreck Dive. I was a bit high on my no decompression limit so I stayed a bit shallower than Joe and Jason. Andy buddied up with me and helped make sure I didn’t get too far off the no deco time. We just hung around a mast of the boat and checked out all sorts of cool little fish. Small gobies, barnacle blennies, fangblennies, cardinals and Andy even got up nice and close to a Green Sea Turtle grazing on sponges. It saw him and started to swim away but not before Andy got some great shots. Jason came over and pointed out some very small, clear Cleaner Shrimp and I tried to get some good shots but the visibility was a bit poor. I managed to get a decent shot though. We didn’t stay down long, about 30 minutes then headed back to Sam’s.

We rinsed all our gear then sat down for a nice cold drink and some dinner. I had a grilled chicken sandwich which was delicious. It hit the spot. With our full belly’s and a full days worth of diving, the three of us headed back to West Plaza hotel and called it a night…at about 8:30 pm. Diving really does tire you out!

An Exhausting Yet Fantastic Third Day in Palau

2008-06-13T06:15:00.009-04:00

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Another fantastic day! Woke up nice and early at about 4 am and watched the sun come up, and when the sun comes up early, we were told it is going to be a nice day. It wasn’t just a nice day, it was gorgeous. I finally really got to see the islands with bright blue, almost clear skies. I met up with Joe and Andy for breakfast again at Palm Bay and this time I had French Toast…yummy. We were then picked up and taken to Sam’s to get ready for our next dives. Jason was our Dive Master again and we were scheduled to dive Blue Corner, New Drop Off and Chandelier Cave. We are doing Blue Corner again to hopefully finish up our Specialty Dive as long as the currents allow us. There were another five divers with us again as well.

Blue Corner was different this time as we came in from the opposite side and were hoping to drift along the current and then find a place to hook in. The currents switched and we ended up taking a nice, exercising swim up current and over to where we started our dives yesterday. We were unfortunately not able to hook in so we were also not able to finish our specialty dive that visit. It was still a beautiful swim and I was able to see many sharks, barracudas, sea fans, clownfish with anemones, tangs, angels and we even had a smaller Napoleon Wrasse swimming along with us the entire way hoping for a snack. Towards the end of the dive I spotted a turtle hanging out in the reef and then was motioned at another one basking near it. I finally got to see Green Sea Turtles! So magnificent! We dove for about 45 minutes then got back on board to find a spot for lunch. I had Sushi and a chicken meal this time and it was so delicious. We had anchored in near an island where it was nice and shallow and right near a drop off so I decided after lunch to do some snorkeling. The things you can see while snorkeling don’t compare much to SCUBA because you can see so much more, closer with SCUBA, but the snorkeling was great anyways, and to top it off, I got to see more turtles!

After about an hour and a half we went off to our next dive site which was not too far from our lunch spot. We were briefed on our dive of New Drop Off. If the current was too strong we would just ride the current into Turtle Cove. We started off fine towards the drop off and after about 15 min. Jason motioned for us to turn around as we were starting to fight the currents. We rode the currents back into Turtle Cove and let me tell you, there were turtles almost everywhere, under you, above you to the side, resting in the coral. I was in ocean heaven! I was however becoming a bit nervous on this dive as the currents were quite strong and I ended up at the front of everyone else and with no one to watch and steady myself it became a little bit frightening. Andy has been such an amazing dive buddy because he keeps an eye on me and rode the currents out with me making sure I was OK and comfortable. I also had to keep repositioning myself because my feet tend to float a bit, so concentrating on staying close but not too close to the reef wall, checking my gauges, making sure that I wasn’t bumping into anyone else and trying to stay calm was getting a bit too much. But again, Andy was such a great help and continued to make me feel comfortable and relaxed so I could enjoy the rest of the dive. After about 50 minutes we surfaced and headed back to Sam’s to drop off three of the divers and take a very short boat ride to Chandelier Cave.

For anyone who is interested in caving and diving, I highly recommend you visit Palau for this dive. You start off not far at all from Sam’s at about 20 feet down and then into the first of four caves where you can surface and breathe the air. There are all sorts of stalactites and stalagmites which for the gorgeous caves. Anyone who took their dive computer on this dive had them constantly beeping as you go down for about 20 feet then back up into the next portion of the cave. We took our dive lights and Jason had us all turn them off at the surface of a cave. If you were to look through the water you can see the light at the entrance, the only way in and out of Chandelier Caves. I was almost not going to bring my camera due to the poor visibility and then darkness but I am glad I did because I got some really great pictures. Before we exited Jason explained to us that as we past the first cave coming in, he likes to turn his light off and follow the natural light out. He said we do not have to if we are scared but to cover the light as to not ruin the experience for everyone else. We all ended up turning out lights out which was awesome and even more exciting to swim out of the dark into beautiful sunlight rays. Once we exited we got back on board to dock at Sam’s and finish up some SCUBA right there at the dock under the boats since that is one of the best areas to watch the Mandarinfish explore for foods. I got to see Urchins, tons of Mandarins, aggressive Damsels, Cardinalfish, Pipefish, Filefish, Puffers, huge Clams, Butterflies, Starfish, crabs, limpets feather dusters, tiny blue damsels, and lots of other amazing life right there at the dock of Sam’s Tours. I had fun pointing out to the other couple these things and I think they really appreciated it and understood more how to look for things. I finally decided to surface and met Joe and Andy, who had already been surfaced, put their gear away and was enjoying a beer and fish sticks. I just didn’t want to get out of the water, and only being in about 8 feet, my tank could have lasted for hours. I got my gear all rinsed out and put away then relaxed for a bit.

Jason, our Dive Master, then drove us and another couple into town and dropped the couple off at their hotel. He then drove us through town to show us the good eating spots and some shopping places. It was quite a small town but things were always busy. Joe stopped at the Bank of Guam to use the ATM and then we headed back to our hotel. I ended up misplacing my room key and, fingers crossed; I am hoping it is just back at Sam’s. I am “borrowing” another room key so I can at least have power since the key holder needs to be in the key slot for any power to work. I am also hoping my AC works better, it started spitting ice at me after breakfast.

Once showered and dry clothed, Andy, Joe and I went around the corner, almost directly behind our hotel, to Kramers and had dinner. I had a grilled tuna salad and after only about a third of the way in, I was so full. The tuna was excellent and the salad fixings had a nice kick to them. It was only 8:30 pm when we decided to head back to the hotel and get some sleep. We are all exhausted from a fabulous day of diving! And I got a bit of sun too so that just adds to the exhaustion…at least I can come back with a tan nowJ.

An Exciting Second Day

2008-06-11T15:49:00.008-04:00

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Wow! What an amazing day. It started with me waking up at about 4 am. I just couldn’t sleep any longer so I hopped on my computer and started updating this blog. Joe and Andy knocked at about 6ish to see if I was up to go get some breakfast at Palm Bay. I got an Omelet and it was delicious. After lunch and going back to our rooms to gear up, we met back at the lobby to wait for the driver to take us back to Sam’s Tours to get our second day of diving started. It was a rainy day with overcast but the diving was great. It cleared up for a bit here and there but with diving, you are going to get wet so really doesn’t matter if it’s raining. I am hoping for some nice sunny weather though. I need to come home with a tan to really show that I was off in the islands!

Our first dive was going to be our Specialty Dive called Blue Corner. You can only get that specialty dive in Palau. We sat at a table and filled out our paperwork and signed our lives away, then were briefed by our Dive Master Joedyn. We went over our dive plan and the constant current changes. There are two ways to enter Blue Corner and one is through Blue Holes. We need to enter from both points to receive that Specialty Dive. We took a 45 minute boat ride to the dive site, geared up and hit the water. It was breathtaking to see these blue holes and then a complete drop-off. We went down into Blue Corner and swam around for a bit then swam along the reef wall and hooked in and watched all the life around us. I got to see Barracuda, Black Tip Reef Sharks, White Tip Reef Sharks, lots of Tangs, Angels, Butterflies, Damsels, Jacks, Napoleon Wrasse and even an enormous Napoleon Wrasse that is used to being fed so it came very close. I was hooked in near Joedyn and he was able to bring Napoleon up very, very close. I even got to pet him…so amazing! We then unhooked and went through the sandy channel and along the reef back to the boat where we ate lunch and did some snorkeling as our surface interval.

Our second dive was back to Blue Corner to check and see if the currents were any better to dive into the other side. It wasn’t so we went back through Blue Hole and into Blue Corner. Was very similar to our first visit to Blue Corner but we got to do more swimming along the reef wall. I got to see so much I can’t even take the time to describe it all. Napoleon visited us again after we hooked off again and I got to pet him again, this time with no gloves on! A short while longer we surfaced and got back on the boat. No third dive today, but almost more exciting, Jellyfish Lake.

We arrived at Jellyfish Lake and got our permits checked. We were briefed by our guide, Nick, who was also our Videographer for the days diving. We were only to take our fins, mask and snorkel and of course a camera. The Jellyfish are very delicate and SCUBA can damage them as well as the ocean/lake floor has anaerobic bacteria which is slightly poisonous so you don’t want to disturb the floor. One last thing about the Jellys, they do not sting as there are no natural predators, except us humans. We took a short hike up and then down into the lake. We hopped in the lake and slowly and carefully swam out to the center area. First there were a couple Brown Jellyfish then more, then hundreds of thousands! You had to be there to really appreciate being able to swim with these delicate creatures. I felt them bouncing off me and was able to hold them and just appreciate their beauty. We were able to snorkel around for about 30 minutes then hiked back to the boat for a long, bumpy ride back to Sam’s Tours.

Once at Sam’s, we got some lunch and drinks and was able to watch the footage that Nick took of us throughout the days dives and Jelly adventure. The footage was incredible. I can’t wait to show you all. In the meantime, I posted a couple videos I took with my digital camera...enjoy! Now time to get some rest for tomorrow’s dives, which we will hopefully be finishing up our Specialty Dive in Blue Corner.