Carol, my sister and best dive buddy, and I decided it was time to head for what we kept hearing is one of the quintessential spots for diving. What I can report is that there is good reason for it. We dived off the Palau Aggressor liveaboard and had a fabulous time. We saw some amazing sights - – somewhere between 100 and 200 Moorish Idols in a cut in a wall. The sun was slicing the water through the cut and the Idols would move in a box formation. Breathtaking – first a broadside and the striping is iridescent and then a 90 degree turn and they look like slices of stone. The next 90 degree again brings the shine and shimmer.
But that wasn’t the only underwater excitement. Another time we were moseying along and saw an open sandy spot ahead and lots of sand being kicked up. We snuck up, laid on the ocean floor (maybe 60 feet or so) and saw about 12-15 humphead wrasse clustered around the sandy spot, taking what looking like sand baths. Reminded us of a buffalo wallow and we were laughing into our regs and having a splendid time watching.
There are tons of other stories I could share. Like using a reef hook for the first time to hang with the sharks. I always was opposed to reef hooks, until I used one, and am now a believer. Carol and I were able to hang in the currents, inflate our BC’s enough to keep us above the reef so we didn’t damage the coral, placed ourselves far enough apart that we didn’t bump into each other, and used less air. Was a great way to hang out with the critters.
We also snorkeled Jellyfish Lake. No diving as there is a gaseous layer that lurks below and will dissolve the rubber in your mask, regulator, etc. Definitely makes for a short dive. What’s important to remember about this magical place is that these creatures are very fragile. It’s critical to keep movement to a minimum, fin very slowly and not flail around. Otherwise, the jellies are ripped apart, not a good thing. There’s about one million of them in the lake and they have no predators. For those who don’t know how this came about, here’s a very quick overview.
The islands are very porous limestone and the jellies entered when they were still forming. The larger marine life weren’t able to enter and once the limestone was fully formed, the jellies were protected and over time lost their stinging cells. They have a very fascinating life, well maybe not for you or me as we would be bored out of our minds. However, what happens with the jellies is that they have an algae that lives just under their covering membrane and the two create a symbiotic relationship. The jellies are on the surface of the west side of lake at sunup, where the sun hits first thing. The algae take in the sunlight, translate that to food for themselves, give off byproducts that feed the jellies and continually repeat the process. The jellies follow the sun across the lake and at sundown are on the east side of the lake. They then drop down and migrate back to the west side and surface at sunup. Pretty cool.
Definitely a “return to” place. If anyone else wants to add stories about diving Palau, you are welcome to do so. Every dive is a different gift so please share.
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Carol, my sister and best dive buddy, and I decided it was time to head for what we kept hearing is one of the quintessential spots for diving. What I can report is that there is good reason for it. We dived off the Palau Aggressor liveaboard and had a fabulous time. We saw some amazing sights - – somewhere between 100 and 200 Moorish Idols in a cut in a wall. The sun was slicing the water through the cut and the Idols would move in a box formation. Breathtaking – first a broadside and the striping is iridescent and then a 90 degree turn and they look like slices of stone. The next 90 degree again brings the shine and shimmer. 
We also snorkeled Jellyfish Lake. No diving as there is a gaseous layer that lurks below and will dissolve the rubber in your mask, regulator, etc. Definitely makes for a short dive. What’s important to remember about this magical place is that these creatures are very fragile. It’s critical to keep movement to a minimum, fin very slowly and not flail around. Otherwise, the jellies are ripped apart, not a good thing. There’s about one million of them in the lake and they have no predators. For those who don’t know how this came about, here’s a very quick overview.
The islands are very porous limestone and the jellies entered when they were still forming. The larger marine life weren’t able to enter and once the limestone was fully formed, the jellies were protected and over time lost their stinging cells. They have a very fascinating life, well maybe not for you or me as we would be bored out of our minds. However, what happens with the jellies is that they have an algae that lives just under their covering membrane and the two create a symbiotic relationship. The jellies are on the surface of the west side of lake at sunup, where the sun hits first thing. The algae take in the sunlight, translate that to food for themselves, give off byproducts that feed the jellies and continually repeat the process. The jellies follow the sun across the lake and at sundown are on the east side of the lake. They then drop down and migrate back to the west side and surface at sunup. Pretty cool.