Five dives today! Started out at a site called Ngerchong Outside which was outside of the cove we dove last night. It was a very pretty dive along a gently sloping wall. We saw (as always) lots of fish and coral. Even got to see some reef sharks drifting around. It was a pretty average dive for Palau which is still incredible diving in general.
After that, we steamed off to visit the German Channel again. We revisited the cleaning stations and were lucky enough to find the manta rays there again. They were pretty incredible as they soared overhead, practically showing off to the several groups of divers that had congregated there. While they were certainly the stars of the show, reef sharks would also make an appearance at the stations. After a while we continued on, spotting a thorny stingray partly buried in the sandy bottom as well as a crocodile fish perched on top of some coral.
After lunch we set back out to attempt the New Drop Off again. This time we had the dive site all to ourselves however we hit it at a slack current so instead of hooking in, we swam around the site. New Drop Off was certainly one of the most impressive walls I’ve seen. It’s a flat, sheer drop that disappears into the depths of the sea and is covered in beautiful corals and other sea life. On this dive, we got to see a couple turtles resting on a ledge in the wall.
The last daylight dive we did was a dive site called Ngemelis Wall. This wall was quite different from New Drop Off. It was much rougher terrain than New Drop Off; the wall would turn in and out as well as jut out from overhead. It also featured an old relic from the time the Germans were there; a ball and chain once used for mooring ships that were there. On this dive, I got to observe a turtle eating a jelly fish. I swam close and got a pretty awesome video of it. I also wanted to make sure the turtle wasn’t eating a plastic bag; they look pretty similar:
We returned to Ngemelis wall for our night dive. While I saw more turtles, the highlight of this dive for me was really just the atmosphere. The crooked walls made for some interesting vistas especially when other members of the dive team would swim around a bend in the wall with their dive lights on. The silhouettes looked incredible in the dark water. I also got to see some bioluminescence on the skiff ride back to the mother ship. The plankton would glow in little streaks in the wake off the skiff as it sped back towards the big boat.
It’s been a long, exhausting day and I get to do it all over again tomorrow. As exhausting as it is, I’m more than ready for it!