Sedona’s sandstone cliffs peak through the juniper and alligator pines that surround the rustic cottage I’ve been attempting to sleep at the past two nights.  I’m in Arizona visiting family and getting all of my old-lady check ups (medical stuff is expensive and just plain difficult in Guam).

For whatever reason, insomnia has been a constant since I got here a little less than two weeks ago.  If I’m not popping Benadryl, I’m not sleeping no matter how tired I am.  Argh.  I do all the counting and breathing tricks to no avail, but it’s all good because it usually, eventually, brings me back to the waters of Palau.  So, I give up on sleep and embrace the current of underwater memories —- until something else rudely interrupts the flow and reminds me that I need to get some effing sleep. 

There is rarely a week that goes by on Guam where diving isn’t part of my routine.  What I see underwater and the bond I share with the friends I do this with brings me so much awe, peace and connection.  I do not take it for granted, and I thank the powers that be for the wonder of this life.

Palau is diving on a whole other level.  I was not prepared for the magnitude of its magic —- despite so many telling me it was special and amazing. 

For starters the people of Palau protect its wildlife.  Eighty percent of its water is a no-take zone, banning commercial fishing; leaving the rest for local fishing and sustenance.  It also established the first national shark sanctuary providing a country-sized patch of water off limits to anyone wanting to harm these terrifying (above water), magnificent (underwater) creatures.  While tourism (I imagine mostly from scuba divers) is vital to its economy, Palau puts conservation and local interests first.

It’s an archipelago of more than 500 islands, including the Rock Islands, in the Western Pacific.  Thanks to its location and conservation efforts, the underwater world is full of life and color.  It’s not without its horrors —- colonial expansion and war have left their marks, but nature manages to rebuild around its scars when given the chance.  This comforts me, especially since we too are nature.  

Picture taken from https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/0a/d5/47/5a/palau-caroline-islands.jpg?w=700&h=-1&s=1

I spent the week there on the Aggressor 2 live aboard, a yacht designed for dive vacations (and it was fabulous —- the crew spoiled us).  There are a few other charters that are allowed to also bring tourists, and there are day-trip boats that bring divers and snorkelers, but it’s not as many as I’ve seen in other diving areas I’ve been to.  Most of the time it felt like we were the only humans underwater — not to say that our presence isn’t an interruption, but the fish seemed to be as intrigued by us as we them.  

We had the opportunity to do four dives a day with three 45-minute night dives.  I did all but one night dive (my sinuses begged me for a break).   There were wrecks (two ship and one plane), caves, walls, channels and holy-hell-hold-on-to-your-hook corner dives.  Some of the top diving spots in the world are also Palau’s most famous dive sites:  German Channel, Ulong Channel, Blue Corner, Chandelier Cave and Pelilui (we didn’t get to do this because of bad weather).  All the other places we dove were calm, easy dives and just as full of life and wonder where I got to see (to name just a few) lots of turtles, colorful fish, crocodile fish, huge lobsters, a leopard shark, and bump head parrot fish spawning (um, the water was quite cloudy; whew! I didn’t get pregnant).   

Hundreds of Bump Head Parrot fish gather during the new moon. A female will shoot up, release her eggs, the males chase after her, releasing their goodies. It’s a volcanic eruption of fishily fluids. Images taken from https://unique-ocean-expeditions.com/palau-new-moon-expeditions

Blue Corner

I was really nervous to do this dive because it’s famous for its strong current.  You hook onto reef and fly like a kite watching all the big things (several varieties of sharks, Napoleon Wrasse, Wahoo, Barracuda, you name it) float by you.  You look at them; they look at you. It feels like you’re The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy in the tornado, and the water is rushing by you so fast it sounds like wind.  When it’s time to unhook, you Peter Pan fly over the reef, sometimes into schools of fish (we just happened to get thrown into a large school of barracuda where they simply shimmied over a bit to give you space).  Nothing reminds you more of your mortality than flying eyeball to eyeball with large fish that could eat you.  And, it was freaking amazing.

German Channel

This was the dive I was looking most forward to because it’s famous for its Manta Ray cleaning station.  You sit on your knees in the sand and patiently wait for the manta to arrive, so the cleaner fish can get to work.  We did this three times and not once did a Manta fly above us.  We did, however, get to watch sharks go vertical (signaling they’re ready for their bath)  and other large fish come get a quick cleaning.  The first time we did this, I picked a bad spot because some ticked off cleaner fish kept bopping me in both ears —- at first I thought someone was throwing pebbles at me.  According to the diver behind me, one had a great time messing with my pony tail.  On another dive a Remora tried to attach itself to my leg while I was waiting my turn to get back on the boat, so apparently I’m a barnacle bitch in desperate need of cleaning. 

While we didn’t get to see mantas where we expected to see them, I did have a huge one swim right under me during our safety stop.  I thought I was hallucinating.  I tried to swim after it, like the younger divers were doing, but the current was too strong.  It’s all good because when our little dive boat brought us back to the yacht, two mantas (one big, one small) and two lemon sharks (they’re quite large) were circling the ship.  The mantas were snacking while the sharks just circled (perhaps the chef threw them scraps every now and then).  I learned on this trip that mantas are actually part of the shark family — who knew?

Ulong Channel

Oh my goodness, this area is loaded with all kinds of coral (soft and rugged).  There were rows and rows of lettuce coral; it looked like Poseidon’s vegetable garden.  Along the walls of all of our dives were fragile red and purple fan coral.  Much of our corral in Guam is dead or dying, so this was such a treat.  It must be where Disney got its vision of Ariel and Nemo’s world.  Again, Palau protects its marine life, so this garden was also loaded with Goliath Grouper —- including many feisty males bumping heads, trying to impress the ladies because their spawning period was right around the corner.  lol there were so many massive fish, one of the guides rubbed his belly reminding us of just how yummy these amorous bullies are when dressed in butter and lemon. 

All of above taken from Internet. Forgive me, I lost track of urls.

Chandelier Cave

Because I’m not trained or certified, I don’t do cave diving, but we are allowed to enter cave-like areas that have large openings.  The rule is if you can see light and an exit, you can carefully go in.  So, we also got to do a few tunnels and holes that were fun.  Chandelier Cave has a large entrance and within it four chambers you can raise up, remove your regulator and breathe air, so we non-cave divers are allowed to pop in and get treated to a glimpse of the underwater cave world.  It was really cool, but my favorite part was leaving the cave.  We shut off our lights and swam to the light of the entrance.  It was enchanting.

image taken from https://fishnfins.com/images/dive-palau/Koror-Sites/chand-long.webp

The coral garden outside the cave is also home to a gorgeous, elusive tiny fish:  the mandarin fish.  It’s really hard to spot them, but thanks to our guide, I got to see two.  Since I don’t take pics, I hovered and just enjoyed watching this little beauty dart in and out of the coral.  

Pic taken from https://forthefishes.org/tankwatch/fish/blue-green-mandarinfish/

I could go on for days telling you more about the dives, but I’m sure you’re tired of seeing links to other people’s pictures. Plus, I’ve got to get back to time with my own school of amazing offspring while breathing in another remarkably beautiful part of our world.  

I’ll end this post with some more pics taken by either a crew member, a fellow diver, or Susan. As you can tell, we had a great time above and below water. Thank you Palau for all your gems.