Pictures from our first Dive

Our first dive in Palau was a drift dive on at The Big Drop Off. Basically if you walked 10 yards from the shore, the ocean floor drops off to depths ranging between 10-900 feet. The concept is to roll off the boat, descend together to a set level and allow the current to carry you along the wall where you can look at different coral and fish. We were drifting at about 60-75 feet in a very light current. It allowed us to hold in place with little effort and take pictures

Keep in mind the deeper you go, the less red light waves reach the subject of the photograph. In the case of the clown fish and the anemone, I was 6-9 inches from the fish using a flash. He is lining up to charge at me in defense of his home.




The second picture is of a school of butterfly fish with Ron, Leslie's brother in the background. During both dives this day we encountered many schools of fish including Barracuda, Bump Nosed Parrot, and Grouper.






Our Second dive was at the famous Blue Corner. It is two walls of rock and coral that come together in a "V" shape--the base of which points out to sea. The current here is often strong and the best way to enjoy this dive is using a reef hook. A device invented here in Palau. It is a simple hook and at 6 foot long line. You find a dead piece of coral, hook on to it, let your line out, and add air to your BCD. Then you just hang in the current as the fish swim back and forth in front of you and sometimes by you. We have some great video of a Napoleon fish, groupers, and sharks. They will have to wait until we get a faster internet connection.

Finally the last picture--Leslie got to see her first turtle! Me too for that matter. The video of the turtle is better than the picture. It is most likely a Green Sea Turtle or it could be a Hawks Bill Sea Turtle.

After two dives and a couple of side trips on the way out and back, we arrive back at Sam's Tours (the dive shop) exhausted but excited about the day. We quaffed a few locally brewed beers and had a Japanese dinner before passing out as soon as our heads hit the pillows.