What a week! The liveaboard adventure came to a close this morning as we disembarked Palau Aggressor II one last time.
Yesterday we did our final two dives of the trip then got ready to leave. The first dive was our only wreck dive of the trip. We visited the Iro, a Japanese oil tanker sunk in 1944. Wrecks, like night dives, are often haunting and this was no exception. We had fun exploring the 471 foot (143 meter) long ship, checking out the remains and all the corals growing along the ship.
Our final dive was to Chandelier Cave, a small cave that’s easy to dive and not too deep. The cave was beautiful and featured stalactites and stalagmites that glittered with crystals; an effect pronounced by the shimmering light of our dive lights reflecting off the water. There were four chambers to explore each with different geological features. As we left the final cavern, we were encouraged to dive out without our dive lights on. It was easy enough to do as you could see the light from the entrance of the cave which silhouetted and illuminated the way out.
We had the afternoon to pack, get some final group shots, and enjoy some time ashore before returning to the boat for a cocktail hour hosted by our amazing crew.
That night the crew was off duty so we were brought ashore for dinner. A group of us went to The Taj, an indian restaurant in Koror. The food there was very tasty and we had a lot of it!
This morning, we were able to sleep in a bit before we had to get up for a final breakfast, pack our things, and then get shuttled into shore. It was a bittersweet end; I’m sad to be leaving such a fun group of divers but I am grateful for the friends I have made. Now, I am ready and excited for the next adventures as well as a bit of a rest after such a packed week.
