German Channel
Hanny and I have had a few days free while we wait for coral larvae to settle on our panels, so we've been using them to explore Palau. This archipelago is a diver's paradise, so we signed up a day of diving with one of the charter companies here. We both felt naked diving without all of our gear, but the day was incredibly rewarding!
We started at a site called German Channel. We rolled over the side of the boat, descended down the anchor line, and found ourselves on top of an absolutely amazing coral reef. Some of the rock island lagoons where our study sites are located can have low biodiversity - only one or two species able to survive in the hot water that gets trapped in the lagoon - but Palau's outer reefs are incredibly diverse! There were corals of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and there were fish swimming around everywhere.
We drifted along with the current until our guide made a noise and pointed to his right. In the distance, three sharks hovered above the reef. Silently, they glided through the water, rippling their tails in long waves. Palau is the world's first shark sanctuary, with strict laws making it illegal to fish, capture, or kill sharks, so the gentle beasts thrive here. Sharks have a bad reputation based on sensational media stories and Hollywood, but in reality, a person has a higher statistical chance of being struck by lightning than being bitten by a shark. The gray reef sharks were no more interested in us than they would have been in a 60-minute lecture on the bylaws of the Nobel Committee. They were fascinating to see - slow-moving and silent, they conveyed a great sense of calm.
Our guide started to swim upward and away from the reef, out into the blue water. I was a bit confused, but I knew it was my job to follow him, so I did. Before long, I found myself swimming straight through a school of fish! The slimy creatures swirled around me, flicking their tails and staying in perfect formation. I had seen plenty of pictures and videos of open-ocean fish schools before, but it was a completely different experience to be inside one! It was probably the most aware I've ever been of the 3-D space around me. Fish swam on top, beside, and below me, swirling around in a ball until finally the current carried me out of their midst. It was a really unique experience!
Further swam the guide, toward a sandy slope with patchy corals. Again I followed him, trusting that he knew the correct route and unsure what I would encounter next. The guide spread out both of his hands and gestured his palms downward, indicating "lay down." One by one, we found places on the sand and knelt or laid on it. I touched my fin tips to the sediment and let my breath carry my torso up and down in a pivoting motion - breath in, rise up, breath out, sink down. Slowly, like hovering spacecraft, three manta rays emerged from the deep blue water around us. I'll admit my heart skipped a beat to see them in person - manta rays are huge. Their wing tips curled up like the edges of a flying blanket. They swam back and forth, their oval mouths wide open to let water flow over their gills. They were absolutely gorgeous!
I'm glad we got to experience more of Palau's coral reef environments!
We started at a site called German Channel. We rolled over the side of the boat, descended down the anchor line, and found ourselves on top of an absolutely amazing coral reef. Some of the rock island lagoons where our study sites are located can have low biodiversity - only one or two species able to survive in the hot water that gets trapped in the lagoon - but Palau's outer reefs are incredibly diverse! There were corals of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and there were fish swimming around everywhere.
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| Gray reef shark |
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| School of fish. Photo by Hanny Rivera. |
Further swam the guide, toward a sandy slope with patchy corals. Again I followed him, trusting that he knew the correct route and unsure what I would encounter next. The guide spread out both of his hands and gestured his palms downward, indicating "lay down." One by one, we found places on the sand and knelt or laid on it. I touched my fin tips to the sediment and let my breath carry my torso up and down in a pivoting motion - breath in, rise up, breath out, sink down. Slowly, like hovering spacecraft, three manta rays emerged from the deep blue water around us. I'll admit my heart skipped a beat to see them in person - manta rays are huge. Their wing tips curled up like the edges of a flying blanket. They swam back and forth, their oval mouths wide open to let water flow over their gills. They were absolutely gorgeous!
I'm glad we got to experience more of Palau's coral reef environments!
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