Experience an Underwater World

I sat down on the edge of the boat, this was at least my 40th time, but I was still excited, I'd never done anything like this before. We were getting ready to dive the Blue Corner, one of Palau's most famous dive sites, and I couldn't wait to hit the water. It had been a long flight, and an exciting experience across the Island in the bouncy little car to get to our hotel, but we made it with no problems, and I was glad to be there.

I tiltied back, and hit the warm water of the Pacific ocean, checked in with my partner and our guide, and we were ready to dive, we gave each other the thumbs down symbol, meaning let's dive, and we were off. I'll never forget the first time I went diving in the ocean, it is perhpas the most surreal experience in the world - carrying all your oxygen right there with you, and feeling the odd, alien quiet, it is like nothing else in the world. We deflated our vests and went under, diving down to about sixty feet, there were fish all around us, and we were right next to a large rock wall, and floating in mid-water that could have easily gone hundreds of feet below us. Our guide led us around the corner and we began to drift with ocean current. I felt on my vest to make sure that my hook was there, Because when we got to the sight we had to hook in fast.

The spot came up very quickly, or more properly, we came to it. As we drifted closer we had a simple task, we had to swim out of the current and over towards the reef, which we did without a problem. Once we got there, we took the little hooks out of our dive vests(BCDs) and stuck them onto a piece of coral or rock there on the ledge. Only then did I turn around and realize the beauty and awe of the location. In front of me, in the channel, were hundreds if not thousands of fish swimming buy. Mixed in with the fish were also the real reason I had come to Palau, the sharks - dozens of them. Of course, we were in no real danger as they were only reef sharks, but it was still incredibly surreal. Here I was, attached to this small line on the reef as eight foot sharks swam by a few feet from my face. It was amazing. We stayed like this for about forty minutes before heading back to the surface, but I will never forget the experience. The next dive, and the dives on the two following days were much like this, the Blue Hole, perhaps one of the best, and several others. It was great. In addition to all of this, on one of the days, our dive boat stopped at a little island our in the middle of all the rest. After a short hike through the Jungle to get there, the Jungle opened up to the legendary, Jelly Fish Lake, and it was truly incredible. As we swam through the lake, we pushed past thousands of jelly fish, and not one of them stung us. The trip truly was one of the most incredible expediences of my life, and it was a great adventure. For any SCUBA divers looking for a great experience, go to Palau, it is well worth the trip. For anyone looking for a real adventure, even if you have never dove before, I strongly recommend getting your certification and doing some diving, with Palau as your goal. Good Luck!