Monday – last day to dive and actually the first time I have gone on the morning two-tank dive, a usual staple of diving at a resort. Same group as the day before, we set sail for a three-hour tour…haha Again, I was perched on the bow, sprawled out with tunes in the ear, and drinking in the scenery around me: the calm, water, which isn’t the translucent turquoise color in most places (just close to the shore), but a deep navy; the palm tree-studded shores and cliffs of the island to my left, and the smaller ones that dot the horizon; the little rickety wooden fishing huts (?) that are floating in certain bays, some of which are also surrounded by nets held up with big black floating orbs. I’m told that these are little oyster farms. And then there are the fisherman who are out in their outrigger-type boats, with a single little propeller on the end of a long shaft for use when they’re reading to go home (no ancient paddling ways here!). About 30 minutes later, we arrive at our spot Busa Bora, which means grey banana, look at the site map and hear the usual: 18 meters for one hour. As usual, I am in the water first after the divemaster (ready quickly, and who wants to sit on the boat when you can be floating in 88 – 92 degree water?) and down we go. This turns out to be something like the Yosemite of coral gardens as far as I’m concerned because at one point, I’m midway down the wall and looking up and around at all the fish, soft and hard coral, sponges, etc etc etc and think I’m looking up El Capitan or something. It’s huge and it just keeps on going! And they do look like large granite boulders that have coral all over them. Visibility is pretty good, because the sun is out, up to about sixty feet. Never really reaches the incredible lengths I experienced in Palau. Could be due to the rain and currents, but likely also the crap (perhaps literally) floating everywhere in the water. Coral polyps? I can only hope the reef is regenerating like that! Awesome dive. I spend quite a bit of the time just trying to drink it all in and memorize for when I’m sitting at my desk or baking in the heat of summer. From time to time I swim away from the wall so I can get a real panoramic view of the whole scene. I could list all the fish I’m seeing, but can’t even remember; the important thing is the variety, health and abundance. Nikko did find a small shark sleeping under a large, table-top shaped coral. The first and only shark we saw, and no turtles! But that’s okay, saw so many things I could never see anywhere else. Several “national geographic” moments and I am definitely honing my skills as a first-class gaper!
