Project Pacific Islander

 

5/18/2022 - As we headed to Sam's the consensus was to try and do Blue Corner, a top dive site to see while in Palau. Actually, many people say that Blue Corner is one of the top 10 dives sites in the world for its visibility and viewing of the marine life. Upon arrival, we were pros at this point with getting our stuff and prepping for the day, Neil found us and said he would be joining us again today. We were super excited and he was amenable to trying Blue Corner assuming the water conditions were good, the site does see some really high currents depending on what time of the year it is. We got on the boat and headed out for our last day of diving.  Traveling out to blue corner once again was an amazing experience. The green tops of the islands right next to open seas was exhilarating to watch. In many ways, I would go back to Palau just to take a ride on the boat again, it was that relaxing and that beautiful. As we arrived at the mooring line for the dive site, Neil took a loo...

5/17/2022 - The covid protocols on Palau were setup such that on the morning of our 4th day we were required to be tested by the public health authority. This gave us a nice break in days of diving, our ears were getting tired from the pressure, as well as a chance to go see more of what this great island has to offer.  Post breakfast we headed straight to the Palau hospital for covid testing. The first image is going over a bridge from one island to the next to get to the hospital on Meyungs. Testing was outside of the main building, a long white tent was put up to protect the line of people from that strong direct sunlight. We are closer to the equator even from Guam. The line was close to 100 people long as we got there close to the end of the testing shift, very interesting mixing of cultures in such a small area. There were local Palauans helping with the service, tourists from the US, and missionary groups from the Philippines. We listened to the young man about our age that ...

5/16/2022 - Diving Day 2, I think this was my favorite day of diving, even with the famous blue corner to come. Huge shout out to our fearless photographer, Winifred. She is in the first two images in the element taking some great shots. The topwater perspective, post dive, is the first shot, love the angle, composition, a spot that normally you would not get photos. Winifred and Joan look very happy post surfacing of that first dive.  Ulong  Channel is as it sounds a coral channel that sits next to this small island called Ulong. This spot was  about 30 mins from our launch point, so much closer than day one, still far enough out though that you get this feeling of being in open water. A bit chilling the first time you think about it and see it. Today we had a different  scuba master, his name is Ray, also an awesome lead. Ray gave us the dive brief for the channel with advisement that this is a drift dive so be ready for underwater current as you go down, the ...

  5/15/2022 - Sunday morning started out very similar to our Saturday, we woke up to some amazing views, had an extraordinary breakfast, and by 8:30 am, Winifred, Joan and myself were being picked up by Sam's shuttle.  Actually, this deserves a comment, the shuttle service in Palau for dive companies, or restaurants was awesome. Everywhere we went, with the exception of touring the northern island by car, had a free shuttle. Yes, free! The more we thought about it, this makes total sense from a business model standpoint, wouldn't you stay for an extra desert or evening drink if you don't have to worry about driving home. Quite genius, and very much caters to that tourist appetite.  Once at Sam's dive shop we met our scuba master for the day, Neil. He greeted us first thing with a handshake and a welcome, really awesome guy and I owe Sam's and Neil a positive review on Google. This was something that is different from the dives we have done in Guam, Neil accompanied ...