The best trip I've ever taken! The best one ever!
Yap, Part 1
I was looking for a place to go diving during the summer of 2006 but I wasnt coming up with anywhere in the Caribbean that interested me. A couple weeks of talking to a travel agent yielded the best trip I've ever taken! The best one ever!
A late afternoon flight to Houston got me ready to begin my journey the following morning. My trip began with a flight to Honolulu to Guam to Palau and then onto Yap. Continental flies directly into Yap only a few days a week so I had to be routed to Palau first to get itinerary I wanted. My final flight got me into Yap and to my resort by 5:30 a.m. My flights totaled 18 hours of flying over 15 time zones and it did nothing to reduce my enthusiasm.
Manta Ray Bay Hotel
I stayed at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel (MRB) and dove with the onsite dive operator, Yap Divers. The beds were very comfortable and the tiled floored rooms are comfortably air-conditioned. A desk, wardrobe, and entertainment center for the television made out of teak by a local woodworker are provided for each room. The electric outlets dont need adaptors for those of us recharging batteries or with laptops.
MRBs restaurant is located on the Mnuw, a ship sailed to Yap to serve as their on-site restaurant. My meals were all eaten at the Mnuw because of close proximity and convenience. It was just a walk up a 20-foot wooden plank and you were there. It was fairly pricey, but the service and the food quality were both good. The Mnuws reputation on the island is evident, as you cant help but see people from outside the resort walk through the lobby of the resort and up the plank to the Mnuw for their dinner.
Yap Divers
Yap Divers sends out a captain and DM with each trip and a DM is always in the water with the divers. I was introduced to Betel nuts the first morning as I noted the DM open his man purse to get the supplies to begin wrapping the nut. I was a little suspect when I was told it produces a mild intoxicating feeling and that I was going to need to rely on a DM with red teeth and bloodshot eyes. I didnt notice any problems or inappropriate concern for the divers on the boat due to the Betel nut. I did notice that the DM waited to get out of sight from the dive shop before pulling out his supplies though.
To give us a chance to sleep in after an early morning arrival, our boat went out for our two-tank dive around 11:00 the first morning. The boat left at 8:00 on all the other mornings. The water was a comfortable 83 degrees on all the dives and at most, we had a total of 5 divers on the boat. We all finished our dives with about 500 lbs. in our tanks.
The Diving
Yap is known for its manta rays and this was very obvious as I toured the resort on my first morning on the island. A display with 40 different mantas were identified by name, sex, and their unique shading is hung on the wall on the approach to the dive shop. One might tend to be a little suspicious of their ability to measure these creatures since the mantas are listed as being between 9 and 12 feet wide. I found out later that these illustrations were very accurate.
Diving in Yap is all drift diving with a back roll to get into the water. Creatures such as the lionfish, anonomefish, leafy scorpionfish, crocodilefish, pipefish, nudibranchs, reef shark, and turtles remind you that Yap is a world-class location but diving in Yap is really about the manta rays.
The Mantas
I was told that the Mantas are incredible and I wasnt disappointed. We were, of course, reminded that they couldnt promise that we'd see mantas but we saw five at Valley of the Rays the first time and another three on the second visit. Every morning, mantas move into channels to "cleaning stations." Ive seen creatures cleaned by cleaner shrimp or by small fish but this didnt prepare me for what I saw. These cleaning stations are small coral heads (8-10 feet high and 15 feet wide) where the cleaners pick parasites off the mantas. Everything about these beautiful creatures appears effortless. They circle the cleaning station, descend within a foot or two of the coral, and then hover motionless as the cleaners leave the safety of these coral heads. The mantas would open their gills to allow the cleaners to get inside their gills. The horns on both sides of its head seemed to act as rudders as the horns were wrapped into a cone shape or opened up flat to maintain its position in the current.
Our DM would motion us into position so we could see these wonderful creatures up close. We were told our positioning was important since the mantas tolerated our exhaust bubbles on their underside but could be spooked by the bubbles ascending in front of them. It was an incredible experience watching 12 foot wide creatures pass just inches above our head before hovering motionless. At one point, a manta slapped my back as it eased into position.
Either these creatures would get a little impatient or a few mantas were dominant. More than once, I observed one manta descent on top of another. This resulted in both of the mantas jetting up towards the surface. It wasnt long before a manta would soon take position over the coral head and the cleaning would begin again.
One of the measures of a trip is whether a person would go back. Id definitely go back. The hotel has reportedly finished its remodeling project and the diving remains memorable. As I dried my gear in anticipation of heading to Palau, I thought that I had experienced the highlight of my trip. Little did I know, the diving in Palau had a lot more in store for me!
iadiver Bill Utterback
Yap, Part 1
I was looking for a place to go diving during the summer of 2006 but I wasnt coming up with anywhere in the Caribbean that interested me. A couple weeks of talking to a travel agent yielded the best trip I've ever taken! The best one ever!
A late afternoon flight to Houston got me ready to begin my journey the following morning. My trip began with a flight to Honolulu to Guam to Palau and then onto Yap. Continental flies directly into Yap only a few days a week so I had to be routed to Palau first to get itinerary I wanted. My final flight got me into Yap and to my resort by 5:30 a.m. My flights totaled 18 hours of flying over 15 time zones and it did nothing to reduce my enthusiasm.
Manta Ray Bay Hotel
I stayed at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel (MRB) and dove with the onsite dive operator, Yap Divers. The beds were very comfortable and the tiled floored rooms are comfortably air-conditioned. A desk, wardrobe, and entertainment center for the television made out of teak by a local woodworker are provided for each room. The electric outlets dont need adaptors for those of us recharging batteries or with laptops.
MRBs restaurant is located on the Mnuw, a ship sailed to Yap to serve as their on-site restaurant. My meals were all eaten at the Mnuw because of close proximity and convenience. It was just a walk up a 20-foot wooden plank and you were there. It was fairly pricey, but the service and the food quality were both good. The Mnuws reputation on the island is evident, as you cant help but see people from outside the resort walk through the lobby of the resort and up the plank to the Mnuw for their dinner.
Yap Divers
Yap Divers sends out a captain and DM with each trip and a DM is always in the water with the divers. I was introduced to Betel nuts the first morning as I noted the DM open his man purse to get the supplies to begin wrapping the nut. I was a little suspect when I was told it produces a mild intoxicating feeling and that I was going to need to rely on a DM with red teeth and bloodshot eyes. I didnt notice any problems or inappropriate concern for the divers on the boat due to the Betel nut. I did notice that the DM waited to get out of sight from the dive shop before pulling out his supplies though.
To give us a chance to sleep in after an early morning arrival, our boat went out for our two-tank dive around 11:00 the first morning. The boat left at 8:00 on all the other mornings. The water was a comfortable 83 degrees on all the dives and at most, we had a total of 5 divers on the boat. We all finished our dives with about 500 lbs. in our tanks.
The Diving
Yap is known for its manta rays and this was very obvious as I toured the resort on my first morning on the island. A display with 40 different mantas were identified by name, sex, and their unique shading is hung on the wall on the approach to the dive shop. One might tend to be a little suspicious of their ability to measure these creatures since the mantas are listed as being between 9 and 12 feet wide. I found out later that these illustrations were very accurate.
Diving in Yap is all drift diving with a back roll to get into the water. Creatures such as the lionfish, anonomefish, leafy scorpionfish, crocodilefish, pipefish, nudibranchs, reef shark, and turtles remind you that Yap is a world-class location but diving in Yap is really about the manta rays.
The Mantas
I was told that the Mantas are incredible and I wasnt disappointed. We were, of course, reminded that they couldnt promise that we'd see mantas but we saw five at Valley of the Rays the first time and another three on the second visit. Every morning, mantas move into channels to "cleaning stations." Ive seen creatures cleaned by cleaner shrimp or by small fish but this didnt prepare me for what I saw. These cleaning stations are small coral heads (8-10 feet high and 15 feet wide) where the cleaners pick parasites off the mantas. Everything about these beautiful creatures appears effortless. They circle the cleaning station, descend within a foot or two of the coral, and then hover motionless as the cleaners leave the safety of these coral heads. The mantas would open their gills to allow the cleaners to get inside their gills. The horns on both sides of its head seemed to act as rudders as the horns were wrapped into a cone shape or opened up flat to maintain its position in the current.
Our DM would motion us into position so we could see these wonderful creatures up close. We were told our positioning was important since the mantas tolerated our exhaust bubbles on their underside but could be spooked by the bubbles ascending in front of them. It was an incredible experience watching 12 foot wide creatures pass just inches above our head before hovering motionless. At one point, a manta slapped my back as it eased into position.
Either these creatures would get a little impatient or a few mantas were dominant. More than once, I observed one manta descent on top of another. This resulted in both of the mantas jetting up towards the surface. It wasnt long before a manta would soon take position over the coral head and the cleaning would begin again.
One of the measures of a trip is whether a person would go back. Id definitely go back. The hotel has reportedly finished its remodeling project and the diving remains memorable. As I dried my gear in anticipation of heading to Palau, I thought that I had experienced the highlight of my trip. Little did I know, the diving in Palau had a lot more in store for me!
iadiver Bill Utterback
