George is getting angry

On this past Sunday George the eel from Wing Beach bit Harry Blalock and came flush out of his hole and chased me down the canyon for a while. Harry and I weren't diving together, but we saw each other at the dive site and these events came about 30 minutes apart. It was actually a very stange experience. Other than some nutty triggerfish, I've never seen an aggressive underwater species. Maybe he just thought I was Harry, or perhaps George has a problem with bald divers. I can see a suspended sentence in George's future.

Living in the limelight, the universal dream

A bunch of us took a trip aiming to hit Spotlight Cave and Bonzai Cliff. The latter almost never works out because the conditions are usually too rough, as was the case yet again on Sunday. Spotlight is quite unique with that beam of light. It doesn't rivet me for a full 50 minutes of diving, but I still like this site. Here is my revised top twenty list for CNMI diving. Sport Diver chose two dives I rank last on the top 20 list as must do dives in the CNMI. It might be easier to see here. To each his own I guess. I'm big on caves and grottos and places with cool landscapes and contrasts of light and dark.

Here is a thought that might ruffle a feather or two, and this is from someone who loves diving and has done it alot: Sometimes the pictures are even more impressive than seeing these things in person. The macro in particular brings out the contrasts in the subject and intensifies the experience -- kind of like reducing a sauce. For instance, I've looked at the nudibranches Harry Blalock is so enamored with. They're reasonably cool, but to me, they look much cooler in Harry's photos. Now, there's more to diving than the visual landscape. It's also a mindset -- enhanced by the adventure and the feeling of escape from the humdrum nature of daily life. Some of the dives stick with you a long time. For me, the long, deep descent into the Blue Hole in Palau, left, really sticks out. You make this long, slow descent through this wide, deep hole with the sun shining in and along the wall are these rich sea fans and the normal bevy of fish Palau is noted for. Beyond that, you can do this on the same dive as the renowned Blue Corner.

These Spotlight Cave pictures here in Saipan come courtesy of Mark Robertson, who captures a diver deep in prayer in the lower pic. I'm merely ascending to heaven in the pic up top. I only got part of the way. Apparently, Hendrix isn't touring this summer.

On a completely unrelated note, there is a great story on blogging in the Sunday New York Times. Completely unrelated not number two: The burgers at Java Joes are shockingly good.

Wing Beach diving and other things

Let it not be said that I never changed a diaper. My five year old found this extremely amusing:

I am starting to get more into shore diving. The price at least can't be beat, and it's good exercise. I dove Wing Beach today with Mark Robertson, who took this picture. It was clear, calm and perfectly pleasant today. There isn't a permanent rope there yet, but Mark brought one. There are some triggerfish that are a bit territorial hanging out over there, so be mindful of those SOBS.

I'm also getting over my Grotto worries, as I did three dives there this week, the last with Saipan Bev, who is heading to Palau and then heading home for good. I also did a Lau Lau dive during the week - a place I'm a bit tired of diving. Scott Eck is going on vacation in late May and taking the Aquajet out of the water for several weeks, so I'm hoping to get in a Bonzai/Spotlight dive next weekend May 10 or 11 before he takes off. Leave a comment or send an email if interested in getting on that trip. There is also a lecture at American Memorial Park Monday night at 6:00 pm on Underwater Archaeology that looks fascinating.
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There is a new gourmet shop next to Coffee Care where the old Wine Shop was located. I got some good quality Jasmine Tea over there, as well as some pate. They have some nice cheeses as well, and deli meat is said to be on the horizon. The place is worth checking out.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon/why I live here

I did two Grotto dives this afternoon -- the first ones in a very long time. Marty Dalsaso captured it with his wide angle lens. It was definitely not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and at a cost of only $4 bucks for tanks and probably three days of sore muscles from those stairs.

CNMI dive sites re-ranked

I'm re-ranking my list of my favorite dives in the CNMI to reflect my Rota experiences. This list can and will change over time and with my own further experience. I haven't done multiple dives at all these sites, so I might have caught a bad day in certain circumstances. The two sites I really want to do that I haven't yet are Goat Island and Forbidden Island. Of the three islands, I would say Saipan, Rota and Tinian are the islands I would dive in order. If seeking out an English speaking dive guide, I would recommend Richard Sikkel. For a Korean dive shop, and as a place to rent tanks, I recommend Mr. Lee at Dive Saipan/All American Divers.

1. The Grotto
2. Bonzai Cliff
3. Rota Hole
4. Wing Beach
5. Bird Island
6. Chinsen Mauru
7. Wing Arch
8. Spotlight Cave
9. Tinian Grotto
10. Lau Lau Bay
11. Emily the wreck formerly known as B-29
12. Ice Cream
13. Shoen Maru Rota
14. Fleming Wall Tinian
15. Twin Coral Tinian
16. Senhanom Wall Rota
17. Naftan
18. Dimple
19. Eagle Ray City
20. Tinian Dump Cove

Rota is a great place to chill out, MV 16

Seasoned travelers often cite a lack of other travelers as the standard of purity and desirability in a location. So talk like "Bali was great before all the tourists arrived" becomes typical travel boilerplate. If people really mean it when they cite unspoiled as a draw, then they'd do well to spend time in tranquil Rota as I recently did.
Rota felt calm and relaxing from a Saipan resident's chilled out mindset. For someone from Tokyo or Seoul, it must be an oasis of uniminaginable peacefulness. I've lived, worked or traveled in those bustling cities and firmly believe those overworked people would relish the opportunity to be somewhere without any pollution or traffic lights, and more importantly, few people and beaches all to themselves. To get to the East Coast Korean beaches from Seoul in summer involves hours of traffic to get to a wildly crowded beach where you have enough room to lay out and relax if you fit on a book of postage stamps. Korean beaches in high season are about as comfortable as a intercontinental flight in coach between two flatulent Sumo wrestlers. To our core travel market, Rota should feel like a VIP pass to the Playboy Mansion, not the 200 meter crawl over glass shards they’re used to undergoing in order to cool off and relax.

My friends and I pretty much had the whole Coconut Village to ourselves, which was a clean, nice and reasonably priced lodging site near the Rota swimming hole where I took a late night swim and saw a small meteor shower over a night sky that redefined spectacular.

My primary draw to Rota was the clear, pristine underwater environment, so I hauled my dive gear over and did a few dives and saw what sure looked like the world's largest moray eel. The Rota Hole, the best of the four dives, offered a spectacular backdrop of light and dark through underwater cracks in the earth. The reefs appeared healthy and lightly taxed given the small population and the water warm with its famous visibility indeed a reality. As a diving location, Rota offers three wrecks, as well as walls, drift dives and the aforementioned Rota Hole. If nearby Rota doesn't get some spillover from the lousy yet burgeoning Guam diving market, as well as general Guam tourism, there is a major marketing and advertising debacle going on in a place that seems to be extremely poorly marketed. The recently passed Rota Casino Initiative hopefully won't harm Rota’s prime virtue -- its calmness.

Sandra Atalig, an administrative specialist at the Rota branch of Marianas Visitors Administration, said that island serenity is still the main lure to the island. "We want to promote the tranquility. We want people to enjoy the relaxation. It's about coming here and just relaxing. Tourists are really into exploring the beach side and the friendliness of the people, as well as the peacefulness and lack of traffic. Tourists are not worried about being robbed -- they feel safe." Atalig noted that arrivals have been up slightly of late with the Rota fiesta and triathlon. However, it is hard not to notice that business in Rota is suffering terribly. Abandoned houses and businesses are prevalent. Downtown Songsong makes the Paseo de Marianas look like a Hong Kong shopping district.

I made one other trip to Rota a few years ago when the Attorney General's Cup was held there, and thought the place had a distinct cultural feel to it. All the public events were conducted in both Chamorro and English, which makes the place feel a lot different from Saipan. Rota probably isn't going to attract bacchanalian twentysomethings, but for older travelers who want a place to relax, read, swim, fish, golf and explore the underwater world, Rota is a wonder.

After sitting idle for nearly 18 years, the revolving 360 Restaurant at the Marianas Business Plaza is now operational. I visited Friday night and thought it pretty good. They are also now open for lunch. Associate Manager Rick Jones said the restaurant has gotten good support so far and jogged the memories of patrons who remember going there in the 80s. Jones described the food as "American style with an international flair" and said the investors thought it was a unique business opportunity, noting the 360 Saipan panorama offered to diners. "The view during the day is fantastic. At night you don't see the ocean, but the atmosphere is stylish,” Jones said.

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This column, not necessarily this blog, will go on Christmas break for two weeks. I wish all my readers Happy Holidays.

Jeffrey C. Turbitt is the language arts department chairman at Saipan Southern High School, as well as an avid scuba diver and traveler. He offers more thoughts in his blog Hypercritical Thought at: www.turbittj.blogspot.com/ He welcomes feedback, tips and story ideas at turbittj@yahoo.com. His column appears regularly on Wednesdays.

Gear up and get wet already, MV 8

Editor's Note: All underwater photos are courtesy of Harry Blalock, who has thousands of amazing underwater photographs available here. Marianas Variety column 8.

By Jeffrey C. Turbitt

You meet at the dock in the sleepy haze of morning feeling that slow, inexorable march of the tropical sun warming the Earth. Stepping onto the boat you hear the buzzing of plans solidified between buddies, tanks clanking, gear being loaded and motors roaring. You soon find yourself gliding over slightly bumpy, luminescent tropical waters of azure. The birds are hovering – out on the prowl for their fish breakfast. A school of dolphins might on occasion be your escort to the day’s chosen reef. Land becomes more distant over the horizon. You prepare yourself mentally to make that transformation from land dwelling mammal to sea exploring adventurer. The John Stockton like assist of modern underwater gear makes this act simple, reliable and above all else: possible. There is a tenor of anticipation for that first moment below water -- that contrasting explosion of color, light and water coupled with that indelible feeling of water eradicating summer's constant companion -- sweat. This is a morning that doesn't happen in Brooklyn, Beijing or Berlin, it is a morning unique to the tropics on a dive boat -- a unique joy of living here in Saipan that allows a brief escape from all life's stress above water. Scuba diving is a pleasure that far too many people exclude themselves from due to simple intimidation and misplaced fears.

Sea Fans are perhaps my favorite coral. They grow on walls, which are a common place to go diving.

The typical dive boat lures a crowd of people who approach life with a certain zest for living, a “je voie de vivre” as the French say. Divers are generally more compelling people who typically don't while away their days in some neon vestibule doing some mind numbing drudgery before capping off their day with whatever bad television is on tap. These are people who generally have been places, seen and done things and have something to say. Being around other divers, particularly in an exotic diving Mecca like Palau but certainly here in Saipan as well, is invigorating and life affirming. A day on the water brings a certain relaxation and peace of mind that is hard to find elsewhere. There are no cell phone calls underwater, no honking horns, no interruptions – just pure tranquility of mind and spirit.

It doesn't take too long for divers to break the chops of other divers, which I consider a good sign. Bo, who I met on the dive boat in Palau, gives me the horns the day I met him during a surface interval.

To the unitiated, diving probably looks complicated with all that dive gear. That apprehension is iced with an irrational fear of sharks inspired by one too many Jaws movies. Scuba diving is shockingly uncomplicated actually. A dive course can be completed in a week, and while that doesn't make you a crackerjack diver just yet, it gets you started. There are only a few inviolate rules to diving such as make a slow, controlled ascent from the deep, do not hold your breath underwater and keep a close watch on your air supply and depth, which is limited to 130 feet for the recreational diver. There are only three pieces of gear the diver needs over the snorkeler, a regulator that ensures the right air supply, a buoyancy control device that helps hold the tank in place and helps provide proper buoyancy, particularly useful at the surface, and a weight belt to help the diver sink upon entry, which is sometimes integrated with the BCD. Diving opens a lot more opportunity to explore the underwater world over snorkeling.
This coral is only seen at night. Night dives in particular open up a world unavailable or hiding during the day.

Saipan in particular has some especially good diving. I've traveled to many places throughout Asia largely with diving on my mind, and our very own Grotto is perhaps the most unique dive site I've ever explored -- including many in the rightfully exalted Palau . There is a sharp contrast between light and dark with that blue enclosed backdrop that blends together creating a staggering underwater seascape. That combination of light and dark works in a way far better together than it could alone -- much like McCartney and Lennon are better together than alone or crispy bacon is far better with a thin pancake drenched in Maple Syrup.

One of the holes at the Grotto. I love that contrast between light and dark. Few things above water look this cool.
Mike Tripp is a licensed pharmacist, an underwater videographer who released a DVD called the Underwater World of Saipan and president of the newly formed Marianas Dive Group. The underwater world is what lured Tripp to Saipan and away from a more lucrative day job.

“To me if you have to wait to go on a dive vacation for that feeling of peace that diving instantly brings, then you’re, or at least I am, in trouble. What's more soothing then being immersed in a big warm pool? Had a really stressful day? Go for a dive, there's one only 15 minutes tops away from anywhere on the island. Here we are lucky because if you miss the boat, you can still jump in and get wet.”

Crusing around on a dive boat in Palau is a heck of a lot of fun. There is some great scenery.

Tripp even goes to drastic measures to be underwater when back home in his native Canada. “I remember trips home to visit my family in Vancouver. One particular house my parents had came with a pool. Rather than gear up in a dry-suit and drive hours to the nearest doable site, I’d sit at the bottom of the pool just breathing. In the winter I'd even put on my dry-suit, that's how desperate I was. If a week goes by where I'm not in the water it starts to get ugly!”

As a scuba instructor Tripp deals with the anxieties of novices. “Dive gear can still feel a little heavy for some on land sometimes, but once you're in the water, you're weightless. That's right, it's like walking on the moon. Not that I've ever walked on the moon, but that’s what they, who have, say about SCUBA. So even if it looks a little complicated, which it really is not, it's a lot less complicated than jumping in the space shuttle.”

A turtle is always a welcome sight. This turtle, among others, appears at the Grotto from time to time.

Divers might also get more of that moon feeling here in Saipan because driving to the Obyan and Lau Lau dive sites is a lot like driving on the moon with all the craters in the road. But getting to those sites is indeed worth the trouble

The next major hang-up to entry to this sport tends to be fear of sharks; a fear that Tripp notes is not particular based in reality. “By and large the types of sharks we see in these waters are the reef sharks, white tip, black and gray reef sharks. They are unlikely to swim anywhere near you and if you are lucky enough to see them close up, you'll quickly see they are quite happy to look at you and then get the hell out of there if you look like you want to get too close. It's also important to note that when it comes to shark attacks, they get a lot of media attention, but in fact they are extremely rare and as I say, always involve someone on the surface. I cannot go on record to say that there has never been an attack on a scuba diver during a regular dive (i.e. not a shark feeding experience) but if there has been one, I have not heard about it. Either way, it is much more likely you will be hit by a car crossing beach road a hundred times than diving a lifetime in these waters. They are amazing to see and well worth overcoming a fear Hollywood has created!” These little reef sharks aren't all that scary. Most sharks really aren't. I've seen these sharks at the Grotto many times.

With some of the common fears allayed, there is one reaction I hope people now have, get trained, gear up and get wet already.

Jeffrey C. Turbitt is the language arts department chairman at Saipan Southern High School, as well as an avid scuba diver and traveler. He offers more thoughts in his blog Hypercritical Thought at: www.turbittj.blogspot.com/ He welcomes feedback, tips and story ideas at turbittj@yahoo.com. His column appears regularly on Wednesdays.

Saipan dive sites ranked

After diving more in Tinian and Rota, I updated this list. It will continue to get updated.

Strangely enough given how close and easy it is, I did my first dive at Obyan this weekend, and this dive completes my tour of all the major dive sites in Saipan, which I'm going to rank VH1 style. I pretty much did Grotto Dive after Grotto dive for a long while, but I've now made it most everywhere since May, and I'm glad to have done so. The diving is probably the thing that keeps me calm when school and my kids get too taxing, and even better are dive trips to other locales that really rejuvenate. I'm hoping to get a group to dive in Rota on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which I've been wanting to do for a while.

I have been diving a lot of late with Rose Callier, who apparently isn't sunbathing topless at Wing Beach anymore since news of this event hit this blog and her Midwest conservatism kicked in like a doctor's tap on the knee. Neither of us were that familar with Obyan, so I placed a call to Axe Murderer Tours President Harry Blalock and he led a bunch of us, Brad Derksen, Mary McGee, Rose and I to this dive site, which I really, really loved.

I found it much better than Lau Lau, the other nearby easy dive, and thought Obyan had an even simpler entry that was not bad at all to my boat diving tastes. Obyan has great visibility, lots of different landscapes, and best of all, I didn't see this SOB triggerfish that viciously attacked Rose and I last weekend at Naftan. I've never seen an aggressive fish on the probably 300 dives I've done, but this sucker was hell bent on an Italian meal nipping Rose good, then me, then going for Bev's fin, though Bruce Bateman was apparently far too sour tasting as he was the only one completely unscathed in that group. During our surface interval Rose was joking about getting a fish std, but I informed her that lunch with Bruce Ruszala was probably a greater threat than this fish. Sorry Brad, I do break your chops even when you're not around. I know you're not too surprised



Naftan last week, also a first on my tour, was thoroughly lame in my opinion. Boyscout, the second dive was far more impressive with a coral bed that stretched almost endlessly, though there were shockingly few fish considering the massive amount of coral out there.

So, while I haven't done all these dives numerous times, I'm ranking them as I see them. I place a high value on visibility, strange and unusual sightings, and I'm not talking about Bateman hitting the water sans fins, I am talking about atypical sea life and an occasional change up by seeing something different like a turtle or an octopus. I am big on clear, blue water and cool and unusual underwater seascapes.

Here is my list of preferred Saipan dive locations in order:

1. The Grotto
2. Bonzai Cliff
3. Obyan
4. Wing Beach
5. Bird Island
6. Chinsen Mauru
7. Lau Lau
8. Spotlight Cave
9. Emily the wreck formerly known as B-29
10. Boy Scout
11. Ice Cream
12. Dimple
13. Naftan
14. Eagle Ray City

Taste of India folks doing better in Guam, MV 4

By Jeffrey C. Turbitt

If anyone wants to know where all our Japanese tourists have gone I can reveal the obvious answer and waive the $200,000 MVA consulting fee: They are in Guam -- in droves. A convenience store at 11:30 pm on a Thursday night had a line twenty deep in booming Tumon.

That we're being taken to the woodshed by Guam isn't shocking news, but after a weekend there I am stunned by the contrasts between Guam and here. Guam has more and better restaurants, shopping and hotels, yet not near the beauty of the Marianas Islands. Guam scuba diving was slightly more exciting than sticking your face underwater in the bath tub, yet the dive boats were packed, and I had to call a friend to find a contact to help get me on a boat. That we're losing to this, and not just losing, but getting spanked with Chicago Cubs style abandon befuddles.

I talked to a lot of tourists, Guam residents and former Saipan folks and everyone without exception said Saipan is more beautiful. They happen to be right. The Brown Tree Snake has killed off their King Fischer birds and other birds apparently, though they do not have wild dogs all over. The downtown tourist district though has a life to it that sits in stark contrast to Garapan, which is typically emptier than the space between George W. Bush's ears. That ghost town feel in Garapan, like a lifeless night club, gives that unhappening vibe that doesn't draw repeat business or good memories.

There aren't all that many fish underwater in Guam, and the coral isn't very colorful. Several tourists told me they'd rather go to Saipan, but it is just too inconvenient to get there. I spoke with Japanese divers and they also noticed the absurd prices Saipan dive shops charge, upwards of fifty percent higher than Guam, and they are annoyed by that. When people from Japan, where a gumball purchase practically requires a loan shark or a mortgage broker, think things are expensive, you know you're probably pushing things too much.

In some regards, Guam is making the same mistake as us by putting the strip clubs and karaoke bars in the heart of its tourist district. Naked, writhing women have their place don't get me wrong, when I was single I had a strong recommendation on that place, but it's not in the tourist district where families congregate.

In visiting the Maharani, which is owned and staffed by the same people from the Taste of India in Garapan, the contrasts are even more amazing. The old Taste of India had delicious, exotic food with a very friendly staff at reasonable prices, and they were rewarded with virtually no business. In Guam it's packed every night.

Tom Kallingal is the owner of the Maharani, and after years in Saipan he now has a bustling business with his Indian restaurant. "Back in 89 things were good. The Japanese market gradually came down. Chinese and Koreans go to Chinese or Korean restaurants. Eighty percent of our customers were so called haoles. This island has more support from the community as a whole. We're full every night so far. I expect to see more when the military comes in."

Kallingal said federalization and the minimum wage were no issue for him, and in fact he said federalization is the answer to Saipan's troubles because he feels the current wages don't provide a living. "They won't like it, but federalization is the answer. People can't live on those wages and they will continue to leave." Kallingal didn't blame the CNMI government for his businesses problems, but noted they were not helpful, either. "The government did nothing to help us, but they didn't cause harm, either. The parking issue was a problem for us. The night clubs took over the clean businesses. It hurt us. The families hated to come. Saipan is so much more physically beautiful (than Guam) with its Flame Trees. I really like Saipan, but they are two different markets.”

Joji Cherian, one of the famously friendly waiters now in Guam, says his life has changed for the better because he's getting a lot more pay. He says he is not the only one doing better in Guam. "I really miss Saipan. We had time to talk to customers. We see a lot of people from Saipan, maybe 100, who live here now. Many others have visited us and I'm so happy to see them."

Pauly Vettiyadan, the second half of the dynamic duo from the Old Taste of India, has had similar experiences. "It was easy and sometimes boring. We had a big reputation. We had a lot of mainland customers, but not much else. Here they are more adventurous eaters and the whole community is supportive.”

There really is no reason for Guam to be eating our lunch the way they are right now. The first, second and third solution is going to revolve around more direct flights to these islands. This will lead to better shopping and better restaurants. We certainly have the raw materials to turn this place around as a tourist destination.

BCD's, regulators and paralegals

I'm seeking consumer advice on BCD's, hopefully those under $300. If you have one you are especially happy with, please advise of the brand and model.

On that topic, I had my regulator serviced at MDA in Guam and those guys did a great job and seem to really know their stuff. It was reasonably priced as well, and done quickly.

And on a somewhat similar note, the Green Card adventure is all but complete now for my wife after our interview. I did this whole task on my own, and hired a paralegal here in Saipan named Lina A. Santos-Magofna to look it over, and she was extremely helpful at a very fair price. She pointed out the two or three things I did wrong, and answered the few questions that come up afterward. She works at the law offices of Mailman & Kara, and her email is lasantos@saipan.com

If you are doing the whole green card process for a spouse on your own, which recently had a dramatic cost increase, she is highly recommended.

We shouldn't be losing to Guam

I just spent a couple days in Guam on business and pleasure. Guam has very good shopping, some very good restaurants and lots of choices, really liked the Jamaican Grill, but the diving is absolutely atrocious. The shop I went with was very professional, friendly and did their best, Sapphire Diving, but Guam, from what I saw, offers very little diving wise -- it doesn't hold a candle to Saipan diving. The island as a whole also doesn't have near the aesthetics we have. What it has is more life, more shopping and bigger and better hotels, and the ability to get there. I talked to a lot of people, and that was the essential comment, Saipan is nicer, but it is too inconvenient to get there. They also notice how we jack the prices up on them more than Guam and to the point of absurdity. The diving example is a case in point. $80 two tanks with lunch and gear. From what I was told, we are charging more along the lines of $120, which is 50 percent more.

I also visited the new Maharani in Guam, run and staffed by our Taste of India folks, and it is doing fantastically well. I had a lot more fun in Guam than I expected, but we shouldn't be getting our asses handed to us by Guam, which is happening. More on these things later.

Diving Bird Island is way cool

I moved to this island four plus years ago for a few reasons. High on that list was the ability to go diving whenever I wanted. When I first got here, I dove quite a bit with a friend -- usually for free. He soon left and I stopped diving. I never, for no particularly good reason, bought my own gear until last year, and that is when I really started diving a lot more. I've been diving pretty much every weekend for a while now. I'm not quite Harry Blalock yet, my wife won't let me grow a goatee, but I totally understand the joy and stress relief the underwater world brings to Harry. I'm now in bad shape because I have my second busted BCD in six months, so I might be grounded this upcoming weekend.

This school year is especially stressful. I have four fully packed classes of freshmen, no prep time, and while academic motivation was a big challenge for seniors near graduation, it is a challenge of Sisyphean proportions with freshmen. The net result is I really need to be in the water on the weekend to decompress, and I'm not talking about avoiding the bends. This weekend a group of crackerjack divers such as Mark Robertson, Dale Carhill, Rose Callier (who revealed she is occasionally sort of topless sunbathing at Wingbeach, man am I dead now), Shahnda, Bob and Darlene, (new to me, think of them like Sting, Bono and Madonna) headed out to Bird Island to explore that environment. None of us had been diving there before, and we all ended up thinking it was pretty cool. There are a lot of clams, several large nudibranchs, (we know where Harry will be next weekend), a very cool landscape and crystal waters. Brady Barrineau told me he discovered a cave there today on his own dive, and he was excited by Bird Island as well. See Brady for more on that one. These photos are by Dr. Mark Robertson, who besides being a great eye doctor, is an extremely knowledgeable diver. He guided me on my first Lau Lau dive in a long time on Saturday, and I was very impressed with that dive -- much more than expected, and appreciated Mark's guidance.


This above captures what we all thought to be a pretty cool landscape.


I met Rose Callier, next to me in the above pic (I'm the only one with the sense not to have a wetsuit on), at the girl's night out at Melissa's house on Thursday night, which was quite the educational experience to say the least. Here is how Saipan works: I met Rose on Thursday for the first time and had some laughs at Melissa's party. She's visiting Melissa, who is my neighbor, the next night on some PAWS work and we start chatting as my wife is taking her pregnancy test, which comes up positive. Lots of screaming erupts. Rose thinks we're fighting, but soon she becomes the first person on island to learn that Cynthia is with child -- about ten seconds after I did. Sunday we go out diving as part of a celebrity diving day. Gotta love this place.

As I've explained before, my kind of entry is backwards off a boat, no steps, no jungle hikes with scuba tanks, no leaps through cracks in the Earth and fighting through tides, a simple roll into the water and I'm happy. I work overtime to enjoy this luxury and it's worth it to me. I also enjoy being on a boat on the Saipan waters, so that is part of the joy as well. Here I am kicking it on the Aquajet heading out to Bird Island.

Diving, federal jobs and Phil Rizzuto

Harry and Mike and others are putting together this Marianas Dive website, as they have a point that diving has not been properly marketed here in the CNMI. This little example hardly revitalizes the economy, but taken further, it helps just a bit. I bought Mike's Underwater World of Saipan just as soon as it came out. Of all the dives on the DVD, the one that looked the best, I thought, was Bonzai Cliff. I had never been there. Sure enough yesterday I dropped $45 and hopped on the Aquajet to head to Bonzai and Spotlight Cave, and reality is just as good as the video. There is an incredible diversity of corals at Bonzai with an amazing explosion of colors. Seeing the cliff from the water was cool all by itself. Bonzai is probably now my favorite dive in all of Saipan other than the Grotto. After the dive, I bought myself a new dive bag at a local dive shop, another $45, as I figure I'll continue to dive a lot. Two small examples, but they could go further, and I think those guys have a point on the opportunities in diving here left untouted.

This picture to the right is of the first dive, Spotlight Cave. This picture is by Dr. Mark Robertson. It wasn't as spectacular for me when I went as this day was for Mark, who says the best time to go is on a cloudless day around noon to get this type of spectacular spotlight view. This picture makes me want to do Spotlight again I must say. Great picture Mark.

To the left is the land view of Banzai Cliff of World War II infamy where mass suicides of Japanese soldiers and civilian personnel took place, including women and children. They jumped to their deaths rather than face capture by advancing American forces in 1945. The Japanese on the dive boat with me were seen praying as we passed over the spot.
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SSHS has a federal grant that allows for afterschool tutoring. The pay is actually pretty meager, but I'm instituting an afterschool ESL program at SSHS, which we otherwise don't have the money to create. I took a graduate ESL course last year, and I remain in contact with the professor, had lunch with him in New York City this summer, and he has given me plenty of good advice on the most effective ways to proceed. The principal attendees based on sign ups will be Korean students, who I "supposedly" am racist against.
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I talked to a friend in the business community, someway who keeps his finger on the pulse of these things, and he says federalization should be done by October, and there will be a lot of federal jobs out here soon thereafter. He also speculated it might be hard to fill them, and that these jobs would be based on merit, via education and test scores, not who you voted for or how many friends you have in government. He said CPA would be gone, as well as labor and immigration, and more jobs would be coming in to the islands.
***
The Yankees have a look in their eye I didn't expect to see, with a lot of young players performing well, and a lot of veterans turning it around. They are now in the thick of the pennant race.

On that subject, this week Phil Rizzuto died. He was an institution as a broadcaster, and his shtick was a staple of my Yankee obsessed teenage years. He does the play by play in Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell, which was just fantastic.

Here is a list of his greatest on air quotes. He barely paid attention to the game, and would routinely leave early, very early, to beat traffic. I met him once and got his autograph. He was great with the fans.

'And that ball is out of here. No, it's not. Yes, it is. No, it's not. What
happened?'

'Well, that kind of puts the damper on even a Yankee win.'
(After hearing Pope Paul VI had died in 1978)

Rizzuto: 'Reggie's home run has gone clear out of the ballpark.'
Bill White: 'Actually, Scooter, the ball landed in the seats.'
Rizzuto: 'It doesn't matter. They can't see it anyway at home.'

'If Don Mattingly isn't the American League MVP, nothing's kosher in
China.'

'Oh, deep to left center, nobody's gonna get that one. ... Holy Cow,
somebody got it.'

Rizzuto (after foul ball is hit into dugout): 'Boy, I hope that's not (Ron)
Guidry who got in the way.'
Frank Messer: 'Scooter, uh, Guidry is on the mound.'
Rizzuto: 'You know, Frank, you're right.'

'I gotta tell you what I did. You won't believe it, Bill White, but it's
something I've wanted to do my whole life and finally today I got nerve enough
to do it. I had a facial... No wonder women go. It took two and a half hours.
Oh, they massage your face with oil, and then cream, rub your eyeballs...'

'Okay, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker going here, two down,
nobody on, no score, bottom of the ninth...' 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light'

Guided by Harry Blalock's Ass

A bolt broke on the steering column on Bruce Bateman's boat. Bruce spent a lot of time trying to fix it, but the right part wasn't available, so Bruce's boat was navigated by Harry's ass. I mean this literally. The steering wheel was completely useless. It spun around without consequence. Our entire navigation system was Harry leaning his ass on the motors in one direction or another. So the two man operation was Bruce powering the motors from up front, Harry steering with his ass in the back (no pun intended), and me on the side making fun of them both. Before I commence the scorn and ridicule this situation begs for, it should be noted I knew this plan going in, and I still took this trip. I really like diving, but I love making fun of these guy even more. I'm going to offer my own best caption contest for the pics below. The winner for each gets a free drink at Porky's for the next blogger drinking session --hopefully on Bruce, aka Captain Useless. Here are my entries.

1. Q. How is your first night at Attica Prison and a trip on Bruce Bateman's boat similar? A. Both give your ass a workout?

2. And he said Gov. Babauta was the ass steering us in the wrong direction?

3. "I know I just admitted to ballroom dancing and I look like I'm really enjoying this, but I swear I'm not gay Bruce. Ask Kelli."

1. Q. What's more ineffective than the Saipan bureaucracy? A. Captain Useless and his spin wheel?

2. Harry likes it when we go full throttle. I didn't even give the order and I think he's "hard to starboard."

3. This wheel gives better spin than Richard A. Pierce.

Jeff Turbitt and the Temple of Doom

I went to the Grotto today, where I saw nudibranch Harry doing his thing that blows all of our blogs out to Yap, and then I made my first venture to the Grotto's Temple of Doom at 137 feet deep.

It started with a surface snorkel swim outside the Grotto to get to the right spot. It was said to be calm by normal standards, but it still wasn't too much fun -- choppy and rough to my senses. The most exciting thing about this disappointing dive was that this was the first time I was narced. The buzz didn't last too long, and it wasn't too hard to handle. I kind of liked the buzz to be honest. Being aware that you were narced helped. There were very few fish there today -- I mean shockingly few. Fewer than I've ever seen. I love the Grotto, but I have to say, it's too taxing between the steps and getting across, I really fret a lot about getting in and out of there, and then there is the fear of having a hose bust scraping something in those little caves you go explore. To me, it is dangerous and I seriously thought I was going to die there once when I got knocked into the wash machine. My dive buddy Marty Dalsaso, who took the picture below, helps with that considerably, as he knows the place like the back of his hand, so I'm very confident in his guidance. The guy is Aquaman for real. I have three days of leg pain after every trip from climbing up those steps at the end. This pic below tells you why people do it and put themselves through that effort. Fan corals are cool.

I've had a few unpleasant experiences with shore dives here. I had one difficult experience at Wing Beach, with someone who didn't quite explain to me what I was getting into with that current pulling you out, nothing bad happened but it was taxing as hell, and I got coral scraped a bit at Lau Lau once as well. Unlike most everyone on the island, I would much rather pay and do a boat dive, which I find much more fun and relaxing, and where I've never had any of the unpleasantness I just described.

I like Bruce Bateman's boat in particular. I'm learning about boating from Bruce. I didn't know anything about it before, and it is always cool to learn something new. I've got the anchoring down pat now I think. Bruce and I went to the B-29 Saturday and that was pretty damn cool. Bruce is now claiming on his blog it is not a B-29. See what he says. I don't have a clue myself on that one. That propeller under the water is quite a site, as is the whole plane. These pictures are courtesy of Mike Tripp, who has a great DVD out on Saipan Diving. The plane looks way bigger underwater. I should make the investment in an underwater camera. Not only could I get some great pics, I could make some headway on Harry.

Bruce and I talked about going out to Naftan Sunday the 12th, which sounds great to me. Mike Tripp talked about how great Naftan is yesterday.

***
I've gotten into podcasts, not making them, but downloading them. I was over at the Itunes site and there is a lot of cool stuff for free. It is great to have while traveling, or when I do my walk on the Oleai path. Speaking of Itunes, I can't set up an account there because the NMI isn't a credit card address option, and we aren't a "country" either. Many places aren't countries, either. Very annoying.
***
I read in a book full of culinary tips that cloves will keep ants away. I've tested that claim, and it's true. They won't go near them, and I have no shortage of extremely annoying ants in the house to test this out.
***
On Saturday the 11th at 1:30 pm I am planning to paint my classroom at SSHS if I can get some helpers. I'm funding this project, not PSS of course, but I need help in the form of painters. I won't be so glib as to call painting a party, but if you want to help the school with this project, it would be deeply appreciated by me and I'm sure a few hundred students. I'm dropping well over $100 to Beautify A-102 at SSHS, and these things get thrust upon the teachers financially. I just dropped $50 on blinds so we can use the powerpoint technology without massive glare. I can deal with that, I'm fortunate enough to be doing ok compared to a lot of people on this island, but I really need painters, and please bring rollers and trays. I have some, but will need more. I need the classroom to look right to set the right learning mood. I painted this room three years ago, but it needs it again. I had the floors professionally waxed this weekend, and painting is what needs to happen next. I've spent more time dealing with the rat droppings and classroom cleaning than lesson planning this week, but this needs to be taken care of first. We don't have custodians for the classrooms. Cleaning and maintenance is a teacher and student activity. Leave a comment if you can help, please.

A great day of diving

To echo what Harry wrote, yesterday was a fantastic day. Boni, Angelo and I went on Harry's show early in the morning to discuss blogging. This was the earliest I've been up since school ended, but that is ok. The audio will surface soon since Angelo has the disc Harry burned. I went off to Bobby Cadillac's later on and had pizza with Harry, Bruce, Ej and Angelo. Then we headed out to Ice Cream and Shipwreck on Bruce Bateman's boat. Bruce proves that you can be friends with people you don't agree with on anything politically. He is a good guy who really enjoys Saipan life like a lot of us.

I never dove shipwreck before, and it is one mangled ship with a lot of fish. It is so shallow, that it was probably the longest dive I've ever done at nearly 80 minutes. It could have been longer, but that was enough. Harry lugged along the largest tank in the world, and could have been out there until my hair grows back. Yesterday was one of those great Saipan days that make you appreciate what you have here, and forget about what you don't. The day wasn't even completely ruined by the brief site of Angelo on the deck of Bruce's boat wearing a Speedo -- the memory of which I will be attempting to delete from my neural hard drive. I just want to know how that Japanese tourist missing his Speedo is going to swim today.

Exploring Ice Cream and looking Kind of Blue like Miles.
I was getting splashed like crazy, so I had to put my mask on in the boat while cruising out to Shipwreck.

I did something I rarely do, and touched something underwater, and Nemo over here bit my finger like a protective mother. I get it, I deserved it.

This shipwreck is one mangled bunch of metal with a lot of fish. Photos courtesy of Eagle Eye Harry, who spotted the Eagle Rays off in the distance. See his blog for more.

Inspired by Bev's post, I dove again

I don't know if it is because school is out and I'm leading a life of leisure right now, the Yankees have won nine in a row, the restorative power of travel, becoming a legal father or what, but I'm feeling good about Saipan right now -- as good as I ever have.

Inspired by this post by Bev, which has great pics and captures one gigantic, unique, positive aspect of Saipan life, I jumped on Aqua Jet yesterday and dove Ice Cream and Dimple. Not to belabor the point, but if I didn't live here already, nothing would draw me to Saipan quite like that post by Bev. I know not everyone dives, sadly, but what can be better than getting out of work early on a Friday and being able to frolic on crystal blue waters and see that explosion of underwater colors -- and do so for a very reasonable price as a resident.

One thing I noticed yesterday is that Saipan might not have the colorful coral it once had, but it has beautiful, colorful fish -- and a lot of them. Beyond that, this was the first dive I was the lead on. In all 200 plus dives I was essentially following someone -- completely lacking confidence in my navigation ability. Yesterday that changed, and I realize navigation wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was. I'm glad I got over that fear. It was a very easy first navigation. I've been very comfortable in the water always, and I've been diving about seven years and have quite a few dives under my belt, but I finally feel completely at home under water now and it feels good. There are lots of people who know more and have done more than me, so I'm humble about it, but I feel distinctly more independent now underwater, and as is my nature as a teacher, I'd like to spread the joy.

I know a lot of divers and a lot of non-divers. If you aren't comfortable in the water, then you probably shouldn't dive, but if you enjoy swimming and feel confident doing so, diving is much, much easier than you probably think. It can be done very safely and very conservatively, and living in Saipan is a great place to enjoy diving. Your biggest danger is yourself -- specifically panicking and rocketing to the surface. If you stay relatively shallow, keep a watch on your air, and dive with a conscientious dive guide, there really is minimal risk. You are extremely unlikely to get attacked by a shark or something, and even if you run low on air, you have dive buddies that should have an octopus so you can breath off their extra regulator. You should simply pay attention so that doesn't happen. I'm heading to the states a week from today, but I'd love to do a blogger dive one day next week. Leave a comment if interested.
***
One thing I love about travel, especially to more authentic places and less processed places , is the opportunity to meet interesting people. Generally speaking, people who come to Palau to dive the rock islands are friendly folks who have lived a life full of rich experiences and have something to say. I met one guy who was on the research vessel that was on the news examining the reef health throughout the Marianas. I saw the report on this on KSPN and found it fascinating. They dove spots no one else has been to. He was more positive than I expected, noting that only the southern part of Saipan has especially unhealthy reefs. The less populated areas were doing well. He went to most all the Mariana Islands, and he went to school at Duke and Michigan, so he was a smart guy. I met another couple from California diving all the Micronesian Islands extensively, and some Palau expats also doing environmental work and leading a traveling, nomadic existence. They gave me some tips on places to go in Palau.

Summer plans

Northwest finally announced their usual summer sale, so I'll be going away this summer thank God. I was starting to worry I'd be stuck here. I hate Saipan in the summer with the passion of a thousand white hot suns, which is what Saipan feels like in July. Actually, it isn't that bad, I just need a break from this little island in the Summer. I also used miles and will be going to Palau to dive and dive some more. I'm leaving for Palau the day after school ends. Teachers are every bit as fried by the end of the year as students, and I'm really looking forward to Palau and the States. I've been to Palau already, but I always wanted to go back. Last time I swam in that famous milky river with the rejuvenating mud, which I slathered all over my head. Alas, I'm still bald. Maybe a second treatment solves the problem.

There are many things I want to do. I'm going to see Rush in New Jersey. I saw them three years ago, and many other times. I snapped this photo of one of the world's great bass players, Geddy Lee, on that trip. Rush has a new album out that I'm still getting the feel for. On that note, Amazon is shipping through DHL, so stuff gets here from the states via Amazon like rapid fire now. I got the new Rush album two days after it was released. No, I won't just download it. This will be like my 12th time seeing Rush.
I'll see the Dave Matthews Band in Chicago, where I'll meet my newborn niece and hopefully make it to Wrigley Field as well. I'm going to be in Charlotte and Asheville, NC to meet up with one of my old college professors that I hang with for a weekend every year. I'll definitely hit up a few comedy clubs in New York City, as well as all the restaurants featuring cuisine I like but can't get here -- Portuguese and French especially. I'll probably make it to Yankee Stadium. I took a tour of the stadium last time, and it was way cool. I literally had chills walking on that field. I can't even slightly imagine what it must be like to play there. There was no one there, and it still felt like being in an immaculate place. It was more impressive in its own way than when I went to the Sistine Chapel, but I've been a baseball fan a long time. After the Yankees won the series in 1996, I jumped in my car, drove from central Jersey and just hung out and partied with everyone there at the Stadium. That was by far my favorite Yankee team and season. When Leyritz hit that home run off Mark Wohlers in Atlanta in Game Four of the World Series, wow. Well, memories are all I have right now considering this current Yankee team.

If luck holds out, I'll also get to meet up with Arin Greenwood, who departed Saipan only Saturday, but I already miss and hope to see in NYC. There is a newish band called the Secret Machines, I'd love to see, but nothing is scheduled for the moment. I'd love to catch Doug Stanhope as well, but he doesn't have any shows scheduled. I'm similarly hopeful of seeing Bill Maher, who rules the bleeping planet.

Short Takes on failed youth, fish, blogs, ipods and diving

I had a smart yet very lazy student last year who simply stopped showing up for a while, and then would suddenly appear for a few days and then the process would repeat. Unlike most of the students who pull this, and there are about 10 per year even among seniors near graduation, he was above his peers in capability and brightness. Like I often do with these 17 and 18-year-old-students who need it, I painted a stark picture of where life was headed if he kept it up in this haphazard fashion. I give at least 10 of these talks a year and no punches are pulled. I make a point of mentioning the difficulty in finding an appealing woman (it is almost always boys of course) as an adult high school dropout making the meager wages dropouts tend to make. Sometimes these talks really work. Sometimes they don't. This one got the talk, and it obviously didn't take. I read in the paper today that this person, 18, was charged with felony armed robbery and is in jail on $100,000 bail. If convicted, and even if given the usual island slap on the wrist, will still have a felony conviction that will put the career Scarlet Letter on him in perpetuity -- even if he gets it together later on. All of this was for $4,000 in stolen poker room money presumably split among him and his alleged three accomplices.
***
One of the great things about living here, and there are plenty of them, is the fresh fish. Fresh tuna is $1.00 a pound island-wide right now, and I grilled up Cajun tuna steaks with Fettuccine Alfredo tonight. It rocked. The Miracle Blaze charcoal makes grilling very easy as well. It costs more than standard charcoal, but it is well worth it for a small grill used for a family of four.

***
I'm late to the party on lots of popular things, but as far as inventions go, the Ipod simply rules. I used to haul 600 plus cds around the world in three of those caseless flip binders, and when I wanted to hear something specific, I had to dig it out -- assuming I could remember where it was, and then drop it in the CD player. Often that hassle meant I never put the disc on. Now I just click the wheel and have access to 600 plus cds, and I run it through my AV amplifier so it isn't just for headphone use. The Ipod was really nice on vacation as well, as I could put on a lecture, or comedy act or more likely, something from my prodigious Dave Matthews Band collection on the endless bus, boat and plane rides -- or when my Tagalog relatives had enough English or me of Tagalog, which usually doesn't take long in either case.
***
I read Grant in Saipan's blog, and that guy has done some major exploring on this island and seen all kinds of natural and historical sites off the beaten path. I did some of these things at one point when I was friendly with some explorers, but as is common on this island, good friends move away and I've done little exploration missions since. Grant details all this in a very cool blog. I found myself next to him at the post office, having never met him in person, struck up a conversation and he was astonished that I knew of him in specifics. We forget how much we say on these blogs.
***
I'm jonesing to go diving in Rota. In fact, I'm trying to put together a trip June 8-10 after school gets out to Dive in Rota. The more people that go, the better the deal I'm sure that could be had. I've got about four interested parties right now. Email me if you are interested in going. I heard from Mark Michael at the defunct Dive Rota that June is the best time to dive the Rota Hole (to the left). These pics from the Dive Rota site look cool, and Rota is reputed to have spectacular visibility.

Diving around and about

I dove the Grotto again yesterday. The Grotto is still just about my favorite on the planet. It is more unique with those contrasts between light and dark than most anywhere else, and so much can be explored here. Those steps are rough, though. I'm still in pain.

I moved to Saipan in large part for the ability to dive whenever I wanted to. In year one and now in year four I've done fair bit of diving. I almost bit it at the Grotto in year one, which didn't spook me on diving, but it spooked me on the Grotto. Crossing that rock still scares the shit out of me. I have a very healthy respect for the dangers of that place, as everyone should, but doesn't. I've seen some people standing around with waves crashing and generally oblivious to the danger. I found this island by coming here on a dive vacation from Korea and was told there was a large demand for English teachers. I contemplated if I could live in such a small place "for a year," decided yes, and here I am four years later. I'd probably be out here for the longer haul if I could buy a house and the government wasn't so "fly by night," but it isn't and that isn't the purpose of this post.

Since I got certified in 2001, I've been diving in the following places in order of dive trip: Cheju Island Korea (Open Water), Boracay Philippines (Advanced Open Water), Phuket Thailand, Koh Tao Thailand, Saipan CNMI, Puerto Gallera Philippines, Palawan Philippines, Palau, Gili Trawangan Indonesia and Bohol Philippines. I have a real interest in doing a liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia one day and another trip to Palau before I leave this area. Eventually I'd like to dive the Red Sea as well, which would allow me to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx and all that stuff everyone should see.

Cheju Island is between Korea and Japan. It is the Korean honeymoon spot. I'd never even been snorkeling at this point, let alone diving, and then I did my first dive here. I thought it was amazing, but anything would have been amazing on dive one. The first dive is like the first sexual experience: awkward, nerve wracking, amazing and very short with that little voice saying, "everyone should know about this, wow." I doubt this is a must see spot for serious divers, but is good if you are in Korea.

Boracay, Philippines. This place has a great beach, good restaurants and a cool atmosphere overall. I just went for like the fourth time a few weeks ago. The diving here is fairly lame, but it is a great place to learn to dive because the water is warm, clear and there is no current. This is not a place for experienced divers. I did a drift dive that was cool, and there is a deep dive called Yap Bak or Yap Yak or something like that, which is ok.

Phuket is a bit of a tourist hell along the main tourist areas with the relentless commercial assault, but there is really no place like Thailand. There are lots of cool day trips to take to caves, elephant rides and ancient cave drawings. It is legitimately gorgeous here, the food is great and the diving is spectacular. The diving is also not cheap for Thailand, or anywhere else, as you have to go out pretty far to get to the good spots, but there is tons to see here. I dove with Sunrise Divers and recommend them.

Koh Tao has a great reputation for diving, and I thought it was pretty good, but not great. You get there by ferry from the Koh Samui area, and it is a small island with a good vibe, good food and good, but not great diving. The whole focus is on diving here, unlike nearby Koh Phangan, the stoner "full moon party" island. The diving is cheap, though. $20 bucks with gear when I was there. It doesn't have the commercial assault so evident elsewhere and the bungalows are like $5 per night. There is no power during the day for the most part, but everyone is out diving anyway.

Saipan, CNMI. We are lucky to have such great visibility here, but it certainly appears to me that the coral is getting bleached out. I watched the Mike Tripp video and this was especially evident. The Grotto is still a staggering dive, and I like Naftan and Ice Cream as well. I'd like to do Bonzai when the time is right, but I've never done so thus far. I wish I could do more boat dives here without breaking the bank. I only spent more money on diving in Palau than Saipan -- at least when I came here as a tourist. It's good here, but not amazing. I'm eager to dive Rota as well, but have not thus far.

Puerto Gallera, Philippines was utterly lame in my view. I was not there during optimal season (Christmas), which I'm sure is a factor, but it was cold, poor visibility and generally seedy. This is the closest dive resort to Manila, but was not a place I'd return to at all.

Palawan, Phillipines on the other hand was a great place. This is a great place to dive WWII wrecks. It is a lot like Chuuk for a fraction of the cost -- maybe $25 or so. In terms of natural beauty this place is great. The town of Coron is pretty loud and polluted and not very memorable. I got a referral from a buddy for Discovery Divers and I'd recommend them highly. This is a place I'd visit again for sure. The visibilty isn't much here because they have pearl farms in the water, but the water is so nutrient rich that it is just so full of life.

I suppose it has all been said about Palau, so I won't add much more other than it doesn't disappoint even with all the buildup and expectation. They have everything in Palau: wrecks, caves, drift dives (most of them). big fish, weird fish and it is just a staggering place to visit with a great vibe. I dove with Sam's, and while it wasn't cheap, it was first class all the way. I dove with Keith Santillo specifically, who was about the best dive master I've ever encountered. He worked with Sam's at the time, and he might be independent now, not sure. Blue Corner is completely amazing -- one of the great experiences of my life. I was there when a typhoon recently hit Yap, so conditions weren't optimal, but it was still a good trip.

Gili Trawangan is this cool little hangout near Bali on nieghboring Lombok. It is a party island with at best ok diving. The currents there are strong, the viz limited and there was nothing about the one dive I did there that was memorable, which is why it was only one dive. I've heard there are places in the Bali area, Lovina I believe, that are pretty good, but I never made it there. I wouldn't go to Gili T for the diving.

Bohol, Philippines has some damn good diving. There are lots of small little critters around and about and very good visibility. They have lots of walls that are worth checking out, and the dives are between 25 and 35.