Long flights: From San Francisco to Honolulu, to Guam to Yap with long layovers at each stop took its toll on us. Flights were generally full. Fortunately, we reserved early enough to get window/aisle seats as the long flights were 2X5X2 seating.
We got to Yap early Wednesday morning and went right to bed. The Yap airport is pretty much a zoo. Arriving there is no baggage carousel, just a counter about 15 feet long. The baggage handlers plop everything on top of it and you have to navigate through a crowd to get your bag and carry it (not roll it) out of the masses. Departing it is even worse: Five separate stations where you have to stand in line to show your passport. No x-ray machines, so they have to search all of your luggage by hand.
Dieter and his helpers from Yap Pacific Dive Resort (formerly Traders Ridge) met us at the airport with buses and trucks to carry the luggage. Went to the hotel and they had our keys ready and went to bed. Beautiful hotel and spacious rooms with good air conditioning. Great service, and good food, although you need to plan plenty of time for your meals as the chef is very slow.
The dive operation was really great. Small boats with two powerful outboards and bimini tops for shade. We had 10 divers so they split us into two boats that went to the same dive sites. They picked up your gear at the hotel and took it down to the dive shop. You could walk down several flights of stairs to the shop, or they would take you down in a small bus. We walked. They would set up your gear, and rinse it and store it overnight for the next days dives. There was a rinse tank for your wetsuit and a drying room to hang it until the next day.
We did two dives the first afternoon and 3 dives the next two days. We did 2 manta dives, 4 dives outside the reef, a mandarin fish-mating dive in the twilight and a shark-feeding dive. The mantas were really close, but it was kind of murky because they feed on the plankton. Even so, some of our group got great pix because they were so close. One 82 minute dive because it was a maximum depth of 31 feet. Outside the reef at Vertigo and Yap Caverns was really clear water with lots to see, macro stuff and large pelagics. The coral seemed very healthy.
We left at 1:00 am Sunday morning for an hour flight to Palau. Arriving at 1:00 am because of the time difference we bussed to the Sea Passion hotel. They were very efficient and had envelopes for all the guests so we could go right to bed. Very large rooms with more than enough air conditioning and very comfortable beds. Extremely clean. We had a view of the beach and water. A breakfast buffet was included and scrumptious. We werent going to be picked up by the Aggressor staff until 5:00 pm so we walked over to Sams Tours and perused the dive shop and got a beer.
The Aggressor staff picked us up promptly that afternoon and we boarded the Aggressor shortly thereafter. They gave us a room briefing and took our bags to be unloaded. We had dinner on the boat and left for the dive sites early the next morning.
On the Aggressor, diving was from a skiff that loads hydraulically at the stern. You set up your dive gear on a tank and they load it on the skiff, not to be handled again until the end of the week. They fill the tanks right on the skiff after each dive. All you have to do to dive is get in your wet suit (if you wear one) and listen to the dive briefing and board the skiff. They put the skiff in the water and motor to the dive site usually from 5 to 15 minutes. The skiff is covered and unless it is raining (a possibility) very dry.
The first two dives were wreck dives inside the reef. Very low visibility and unless you wanted to see wrecks, not very interesting. The rest of the week was outstanding! My wife said it best: After this, the rest of our diving will seem like a desert.
Beautiful hard and soft corals, lots of fish life, from small stuff, to schools of jacks and barracuda, to huge sharks and Napoleon Wrasse. My favorite dive was at German channel. We started deep with huge schools of fish and many sharks. After a while, we started our drift through the channel over beautiful coral, huge clams and lots of fish. We hooked in at Blue Corner with lots of current and watched the show. Our last dive (on my birthday) was at Ulong Gardens and Channel. Sensory overload at the start of the dive and ended up drifting through the channel.
We ended the week with a snorkel at Jellyfish Lake. A must do activity, but not one I would go out of the way to do again. The crew cocktail party and slideshow was very nice, then out to dinner at the Taj for Indian food delicious.
The service and food on the Aggressor was first class! Everyone on the staff pitched in to make our stay perfect. I would go on the Palau Aggressor anytime. My group is lobbying me to set up a trip for next year for 2 weeks on the Aggressor.
We got to Yap early Wednesday morning and went right to bed. The Yap airport is pretty much a zoo. Arriving there is no baggage carousel, just a counter about 15 feet long. The baggage handlers plop everything on top of it and you have to navigate through a crowd to get your bag and carry it (not roll it) out of the masses. Departing it is even worse: Five separate stations where you have to stand in line to show your passport. No x-ray machines, so they have to search all of your luggage by hand.
Dieter and his helpers from Yap Pacific Dive Resort (formerly Traders Ridge) met us at the airport with buses and trucks to carry the luggage. Went to the hotel and they had our keys ready and went to bed. Beautiful hotel and spacious rooms with good air conditioning. Great service, and good food, although you need to plan plenty of time for your meals as the chef is very slow.
The dive operation was really great. Small boats with two powerful outboards and bimini tops for shade. We had 10 divers so they split us into two boats that went to the same dive sites. They picked up your gear at the hotel and took it down to the dive shop. You could walk down several flights of stairs to the shop, or they would take you down in a small bus. We walked. They would set up your gear, and rinse it and store it overnight for the next days dives. There was a rinse tank for your wetsuit and a drying room to hang it until the next day.
We did two dives the first afternoon and 3 dives the next two days. We did 2 manta dives, 4 dives outside the reef, a mandarin fish-mating dive in the twilight and a shark-feeding dive. The mantas were really close, but it was kind of murky because they feed on the plankton. Even so, some of our group got great pix because they were so close. One 82 minute dive because it was a maximum depth of 31 feet. Outside the reef at Vertigo and Yap Caverns was really clear water with lots to see, macro stuff and large pelagics. The coral seemed very healthy.
We left at 1:00 am Sunday morning for an hour flight to Palau. Arriving at 1:00 am because of the time difference we bussed to the Sea Passion hotel. They were very efficient and had envelopes for all the guests so we could go right to bed. Very large rooms with more than enough air conditioning and very comfortable beds. Extremely clean. We had a view of the beach and water. A breakfast buffet was included and scrumptious. We werent going to be picked up by the Aggressor staff until 5:00 pm so we walked over to Sams Tours and perused the dive shop and got a beer.
The Aggressor staff picked us up promptly that afternoon and we boarded the Aggressor shortly thereafter. They gave us a room briefing and took our bags to be unloaded. We had dinner on the boat and left for the dive sites early the next morning.
On the Aggressor, diving was from a skiff that loads hydraulically at the stern. You set up your dive gear on a tank and they load it on the skiff, not to be handled again until the end of the week. They fill the tanks right on the skiff after each dive. All you have to do to dive is get in your wet suit (if you wear one) and listen to the dive briefing and board the skiff. They put the skiff in the water and motor to the dive site usually from 5 to 15 minutes. The skiff is covered and unless it is raining (a possibility) very dry.
The first two dives were wreck dives inside the reef. Very low visibility and unless you wanted to see wrecks, not very interesting. The rest of the week was outstanding! My wife said it best: After this, the rest of our diving will seem like a desert.
Beautiful hard and soft corals, lots of fish life, from small stuff, to schools of jacks and barracuda, to huge sharks and Napoleon Wrasse. My favorite dive was at German channel. We started deep with huge schools of fish and many sharks. After a while, we started our drift through the channel over beautiful coral, huge clams and lots of fish. We hooked in at Blue Corner with lots of current and watched the show. Our last dive (on my birthday) was at Ulong Gardens and Channel. Sensory overload at the start of the dive and ended up drifting through the channel.
We ended the week with a snorkel at Jellyfish Lake. A must do activity, but not one I would go out of the way to do again. The crew cocktail party and slideshow was very nice, then out to dinner at the Taj for Indian food delicious.
The service and food on the Aggressor was first class! Everyone on the staff pitched in to make our stay perfect. I would go on the Palau Aggressor anytime. My group is lobbying me to set up a trip for next year for 2 weeks on the Aggressor.
