I will be traveling to Yap in 2008, and I am looking for some info/ experiences of others. We will be a small group, on rebreathers. Thanks.
Yap
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I've been there and stayed at Manta Ray Bay Hotel...FABULOUS! Yap is a wonderfully "untouched" island paradise. Manta Ray Bay Hotel is owned and operated by Bill Acker (an American who grew up and was educated in Texas, but has lived in Yap for decades). He runs a great resort and dive operation. There is another nice hotel (can't remember the name), but it's up on the hill and not on the water. It may not matter to you, but I like to be on the water when I'm on vacation. Manta Ray Bay is one of those institutions...if you go to Yap, then Manta Ray Bay Hotel is the place to be.
The dock is right there on site and there's rinse tanks and storage lockers right there. This is a resort "built by divers for divers" so all of the things you want in a dive resort are there.
I'm not really sure what info you want, but Yap is a great place! The mantas are magical, but don't miss the other dives! Yap Caverns is a gorgeous dive and Lionfish Wall is amazing! Be sure to get enough people together to do the shark dive...it's not to be missed! Be sure to go to Rainbow Reef (very shallow) to see the Mandarin fish...beautiful little guys!
Be sure to take capris or a long skirt...you can't walk around town (you can at the resort) with your knees showing...it's considered "obscene". The people of Yap are friendly, happy, and wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed my holiday there and will return to Manta Ray Bay Hotel!
Thanks,
Cynthia
The dock is right there on site and there's rinse tanks and storage lockers right there. This is a resort "built by divers for divers" so all of the things you want in a dive resort are there.
I'm not really sure what info you want, but Yap is a great place! The mantas are magical, but don't miss the other dives! Yap Caverns is a gorgeous dive and Lionfish Wall is amazing! Be sure to get enough people together to do the shark dive...it's not to be missed! Be sure to go to Rainbow Reef (very shallow) to see the Mandarin fish...beautiful little guys!
Be sure to take capris or a long skirt...you can't walk around town (you can at the resort) with your knees showing...it's considered "obscene". The people of Yap are friendly, happy, and wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed my holiday there and will return to Manta Ray Bay Hotel!
Thanks,
Cynthia
CCRDiverDave
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oops
Damselfish
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I think you mean "Traders Ridge"?CCRDiverDave:
CCRDiverDave
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The thing about not showing knees is lore.....I saw many women in short pants, and that included many Yapese teen girls and some Yapese women....Some of the older Yapese women walk around topless and the cultural tour has Yapese teen girls topless in their traditional dance with traditional costumes made from organic products, so they don't have the unhealthy Western "issues" of attaching shame or something negative to breasts.
The cultural tour thing is fun, when I talked privately to the kids about the traditional dance and costumes, they privately told me that even though it is a traditional custom being performed by kids who look to the west for style and culture and like all kids, try to reject everything their parents like, the kids were actually proud of their traditional costumes and dance, so they said they have great fun doing it, and they make a small stipend when doing so that by the time they are ready, their college is significantly paid for, so by going and seeing the cultural tour, your helping the Yapese kids with their education fund, a win win situation.
The hotel you speak of up the hill is called "Tradewinds" or Traders Ridge and is a traditional wood siding HUGE British house hotel. They have a nice dinner outdoor restaurant arrangement that we ate at several times for a chance of pace. You can rent mountain bikes from that hotel also. They do have a dive operation, but Manta Ray Bay Hotel seem set up way more seriously for divers. They may be done by now building their new dive building.
The boat pilots and guides at Manta Ray Bay Hotel are a total blast, we all had a good time and got along well with them.....I am always worried guides can be control freaks and this no glove policy I hear about at some places that is rediculous when 30 huge bumphead parrot wrasse startle you 20 feet away when they spit out huge plumes of live coral they just munched, but we got along really well with the Yapese boat guides......they were always helpful, always competent and humorous.
I am not an eco-freak as some contact with coral is unavoidable, BUT.....I would have liked to see an orientation about getting people up to speed on techniques to reduce bumping into live coral and proper hand placement techniques by touching dead coral to steady yourself instead of live coral.
They did look at us quietly as we dragged around all around Inspiration and Prism kits as they just dive with basic equimpment and a computer with no wetsuit.. I teased them once with a smile and said: "You probably are wondering what the hell we are thinking with all our crap and all our money, thinking: crazy westeners! Go on admit it!" They all laughed, as we knew I had them pegged but they are too polite to say such a thing. The Yapese guys were all fun and good natured.
Ask them about shipping in some lime and they can get in a bottle of 02 for you to decant from. I don'tknow about a 02 booster, we took a baby booster, but with 100 bars or 1500 psi of 02, that will last you the day anyway.
There is also a hotel up the street that is more quaint traditional construction with rope and wood gangplanks that looked kind of fun.....
The cultural tour thing is fun, when I talked privately to the kids about the traditional dance and costumes, they privately told me that even though it is a traditional custom being performed by kids who look to the west for style and culture and like all kids, try to reject everything their parents like, the kids were actually proud of their traditional costumes and dance, so they said they have great fun doing it, and they make a small stipend when doing so that by the time they are ready, their college is significantly paid for, so by going and seeing the cultural tour, your helping the Yapese kids with their education fund, a win win situation.
The hotel you speak of up the hill is called "Tradewinds" or Traders Ridge and is a traditional wood siding HUGE British house hotel. They have a nice dinner outdoor restaurant arrangement that we ate at several times for a chance of pace. You can rent mountain bikes from that hotel also. They do have a dive operation, but Manta Ray Bay Hotel seem set up way more seriously for divers. They may be done by now building their new dive building.
The boat pilots and guides at Manta Ray Bay Hotel are a total blast, we all had a good time and got along well with them.....I am always worried guides can be control freaks and this no glove policy I hear about at some places that is rediculous when 30 huge bumphead parrot wrasse startle you 20 feet away when they spit out huge plumes of live coral they just munched, but we got along really well with the Yapese boat guides......they were always helpful, always competent and humorous.
I am not an eco-freak as some contact with coral is unavoidable, BUT.....I would have liked to see an orientation about getting people up to speed on techniques to reduce bumping into live coral and proper hand placement techniques by touching dead coral to steady yourself instead of live coral.
They did look at us quietly as we dragged around all around Inspiration and Prism kits as they just dive with basic equimpment and a computer with no wetsuit.. I teased them once with a smile and said: "You probably are wondering what the hell we are thinking with all our crap and all our money, thinking: crazy westeners! Go on admit it!" They all laughed, as we knew I had them pegged but they are too polite to say such a thing. The Yapese guys were all fun and good natured.
Ask them about shipping in some lime and they can get in a bottle of 02 for you to decant from. I don'tknow about a 02 booster, we took a baby booster, but with 100 bars or 1500 psi of 02, that will last you the day anyway.
There is also a hotel up the street that is more quaint traditional construction with rope and wood gangplanks that looked kind of fun.....
OP
Thanks much for the info. We are looking at Pathways hotel (the thatch hut one). Also, since I see Yap is part of the US Postal system getting sorb there shouldn't be too difficult.
homo maris
Contributor
I agree with what others have said.
The Pathways is very nice as an eco-resort. Very sustainable and great food.
Yapese are very nice people with a deep rooted culture. I recommend a visit to a village to see their traditions.
I also stayed at Manta Bay with Bill (my wife wrote an article about them in a NY magazine). Finished my OW with Freddy Gull. Pathways, Traders and Manta are all nice lodgings with different themes. Pathways=eco theme, manta=beach theme, trader=colonial theme.
I was there for Yap day (first week of March) and it is a spectacular. feast and I highly recommend it. Ask if you can see a Yapese dance otherwise. It's worth it.
Topless is socially acceptable but showing your thighs in public is not, However, tourists are accepted the way they are anyway.
Beware that betel nuts (local chewing gum) are narcotic so chewing betel does not mix with diving well.
If you want to contribute to Yap please consider making a donation to the YAP Community Action Program (YAPCAP). It is their development and conservation program. They build schools as well as protect the reefs. PM me for more info.
Unlike other areas around FSM, the reefs of Yap are protected from bleaching by the Yap trench. It is 15 miles off the eastern shore of Yap and 28,000 feet deep. This is also why you can see so many pelagics in Yap.
Yap has good but slow telecommunications.
I hope you enjoy your trip and let us know about it.
JL
The Pathways is very nice as an eco-resort. Very sustainable and great food.
Yapese are very nice people with a deep rooted culture. I recommend a visit to a village to see their traditions.
I also stayed at Manta Bay with Bill (my wife wrote an article about them in a NY magazine). Finished my OW with Freddy Gull. Pathways, Traders and Manta are all nice lodgings with different themes. Pathways=eco theme, manta=beach theme, trader=colonial theme.
I was there for Yap day (first week of March) and it is a spectacular. feast and I highly recommend it. Ask if you can see a Yapese dance otherwise. It's worth it.
Topless is socially acceptable but showing your thighs in public is not, However, tourists are accepted the way they are anyway.
Beware that betel nuts (local chewing gum) are narcotic so chewing betel does not mix with diving well.
If you want to contribute to Yap please consider making a donation to the YAP Community Action Program (YAPCAP). It is their development and conservation program. They build schools as well as protect the reefs. PM me for more info.
Unlike other areas around FSM, the reefs of Yap are protected from bleaching by the Yap trench. It is 15 miles off the eastern shore of Yap and 28,000 feet deep. This is also why you can see so many pelagics in Yap.
Yap has good but slow telecommunications.
I hope you enjoy your trip and let us know about it.
JL
Damselfish
Contributor
when I saw the kids dancing, I noticed things like bikini tan lines and Nike shorts under the skirts. An interesting contrast.CCRDiverDave:
almitywife
Vegemite Mod
you might want to ask Mike Veitch, a photographer pro who lives in Yap (who most prob will pop onto this thread at some point) about mail to Yap.chickdiver:
otherwise you might want to find/send a sorb supply in Guam and take it over to Yap yourself.
i will be in Yap next week and staying at Manta Bay Hotel!!!
donnyb
Contributor
You are correct Yap is in the US postal system. I shipped home a wood carving from there & it beat me home! I prefer Traders Ridge for accommodation & food, but be sure to eat once at all the others (spread it around). Hopefully, by now you can get a beer at Okeefe's Pub thats NOT Budweiser... Who you dive with will depend on your cost packaging options. I dove with Beyond the Reef (all 4 times) and I really enjoy the personal service they gave me. But I have heard good things about them all.
Other than diving, its very slow & quiet there, so bring some books to read. Definitely book a cultural village tour/visit to see stone money & dancing.
There was a local art school/gallery with some very talented aritsans too.
link to 3 village pics here:
http://www.wantphoto.com/portfolio/travel/trv05.html#image
http://www.wantphoto.com/portfolio/travel/trv01_h.html#image
http://www.wantphoto.com/portfolio/travel/trv02_h.html#image
Other than diving, its very slow & quiet there, so bring some books to read. Definitely book a cultural village tour/visit to see stone money & dancing.
There was a local art school/gallery with some very talented aritsans too.
link to 3 village pics here:
http://www.wantphoto.com/portfolio/travel/trv05.html#image
http://www.wantphoto.com/portfolio/travel/trv01_h.html#image
http://www.wantphoto.com/portfolio/travel/trv02_h.html#image
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