Of Wrasse and Rays

Sunday I went diving for the first time since February. Guests and other pursuits have kept me above water lately, but it was time to return to the depths. I went with local dive guide and frisbee extraordinaire Keith. He was taking out a group of locals, including LB's son Ryan. The last few times diving LB has had trouble with her sinuses, so she decided not to join us. I knew just about everyone on the boat, so it was a good diving group. Once we boarded, we headed down the east side and through the islands. The wind was fairly calm and it was a smooth ride. With partly cloudy skies it was a gorgeous day to be on the water. We were in no hurry and took a nice scenic path.

Our first dive was Blue Corner. The high tourist season has ended leaving the dive sites less crowded, and we got lucky because there was no other dive boats around and we had the corner to ourselves. There was a nice gentle current to help us along, but not too strong. Once submerged, we swam along the reef wall until Keith alerted us to a large school of barracuda just off the reef. We swam out to the school to get a good look. The visibility at the corner was extraordinarily clear and I could see for hundreds and hundreds of feet. While that kind of clarity is great when looking at the fish, it can also be disorienting unless you have a good reference point. Out away from the wall looking at the barracuda was interesting, but I was happy to return to the wall. We moved up and over to the edge of the reef and hooked in to watch the show.

We saw the usual complement of sharks and many other types of fish. The noteworthy event was a curious napoleon wrasse that spent some time right next to us. It is a sizable fish and it just lazily treaded water right up close and personal. It was frequently less than three feet away and easily within my reach. Totally nonplused, it stared at me while I stared at it. It also moved around to other members of the group, at one point inadvertently bumping into one of our divers a couple of times. The napoleon wrasse is a beautiful fish and it was really great to spend so much time with it, especially after reading how rare they are in other countries in a recent NY Times article. The intake hose on my bcd had developed a small leak causing me to lose air a little faster than usual, so Keith gave me his alternate regulator to use as we swam across the reef. The wrasses followed us and stuck with us at the buoy where we did our safety stop before surfacing.

For our lunch break, we tied up at New Drop-off and relaxed. A sudden shower passed through, but it soon cleared. Our second dive of the day was German Channel. One of the group had never done German so it was her choice. The terrain of German Channel is nothing special so whether or not it is a good dive depends on the marine life. Last time I had been there we didn't see much, but this time there was plenty to see. After getting to the bottom we swam along until we found a stingray resting on the bottom. Keith wrote on his board that it was a stingray and at first I didn't believe him because it had a large fat head and almost looked like coral. As I got closer it definitely was a stingray and we spread out to get a good view. It stirred and swam away so we continued along until Keith pointed out some small shrimps on sea cucumbers. Then, off in the distance we saw a spotted eagle ray glide past. They are very beautiful and great to see in motion.

Next, we found a cuttlefish. These are an absolutely odd looking fish that look like a cross between an octopus and a fish. They look like something out of a science fiction movie. It was feeding on the coral and was not scared so we got a long look from many angles. It is just an odd and interesting fish. As we were watching the cuttlefish, one of our group began gesturing wildly and pointing off into the distance. Swooping down hear us was an ornate eagle ray. Larger and with a longer trail and different markings than a spotted eagle ray, the ornate is much more rare. It was an embarrassment of riches with the cuttlefish to my left and the ornate eagle ray to my right.

After that show we continued along and found one and then a second turtle. Even after all we had seen, it was really fun to see the turtles and watch them swim along. Keith, Ryan, and I reached the buoy where the boat would pick us up, but the rest of the group had found a third turtle feeding on coral nearby so we swam over to them. While I was watching the turtle, a few members of the group saw a black manta ray. I have seen mantas from the boat but not while diving and I missed seeing it because I was looking at the turtle. I'm not one to complain because the turtle was interesting. After all that, it was time to surface. We had two long dives with a lot of great marine life. As usual, the trip home was gorgeous. It was a really fun day of diving and another grand underwater experience in Palau.