Palau Dive Diary Finale

This is going to be a good one...

Since I woke up with a view of a jet-skier from inside my room, allow me a moment of pure delusionary bliss. On to our last few hours before leaving the beautiful island that is Palau... It's been a crazy four days of diving, sharks, turtles, blue water, and delicious island food, and later on we'd be boarding a plane back to reality aka. Manila.

Palau Dive Diary Part Quattro

Back from my hiatus to continue the amazing experience that is the Palau Dive Trip. Since we have been doing this for four days already, it became almost routinary to receive amazing dive days, and so the we were expecting major finds for our final 3 dives.

As always, we had to load up on breakfast, note the overloading on dairy (chocomilk, Kraft Singles, Shmearrrr) and vitamins (fruits galore!)

Palau Dive Diary Part Tre'

Day three of our Palau Diving Expedition and it just keeps getting better. The past two days we were praying very hard for some sun and boy, did we get it! 

 

What's better than waking up from your bed to a view of the lagoon like this? Diving on warm water!!!

Naturally the dive group was happier than ever, showing a little more skin so we can get the tan that proves we were outdoors. Everyday, we pass by the numerous Palau islands on our way to the different dive sites. Here's us trying to catch some sun while enjoying the view.

Palau Dive Diary Part Due

,On to Day 2 of the Palau Dive Trip. We were wishing that the sun would come out on this day, but what info I got from the measly internet in connection in Palau told me that it would be thunder storming the whole trip through. Oh well, at least it was pretty underwater.

 That didn't stop me from slathering on the thick SPF70 JIC (just in case)

We went back to Sam's Tours to fix our gear. Because the trip would probably be choppy like the day before, we ended up on a bigger boat, the Whaleshark. Wishful thinking for me to see some!

Before leaving, we saw the Chef of Bottom Time (Pinoy, no less), with the catch of the day:  Fresh Yellowfin Tuna!

Palau Dive Diary Part Uno

I've semi-recovered from the shock and awe that is ZE Palau Dive Trip. Just enough for me to relive the madness to ToT and the readers who have a pretty good sense that, when it comes to scubadiving alongside travel, I go completely bonkers and stare all googly-eyed into the blue!

I started reading the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Poland during my Tubbataha Reef trip last year, and I'm still reading it during Palau. One of the best things I've read so far, and really want to soak in the words. What struck me was something he wrote (though not related to scuba as it is about the natural history of four meals") which is a close comparison to the high that scuba diving brings me  

 

He talks about his first time hunting for wild pig in the forest and reiterating the words of Ortega y Gasset, an author who was enamored with hunting and believes it offers a last best chance to escape history and return to a state of nature, albeit momentarily, for what he called a 'vacation from the human condition'. And then he writes the line which, for me, will best sum up the feeling that diving brings: The crystal stillness of the scene and the moment in time now exploded into a thousand shards of sense.

Exacto.

Anyway, enough contemplation. Let's begin reliving the moments of Palau!