Ashley      Joe    and   Cat's
            Saipan adventure!
Most people that spend any time
diving with us end up with a
nick-name and these 3 are no
exception. All three were newer
divers and a little green but did a
great job and seemed to have fun.

Here we have...
Coco Joe, Cucumber Ashley and Avocado Cat
It seems that Joe found a new
favorite food in a local dish
called Coco. It is a pickled
papaya or Mango with some hot
peppers.
Cat seemed to really enjoy the
local avacados which are falling
out of the trees this time of
year. I've never seen one eaten
this way.
Ashley had a thing for Sea
Cucumbers (not to eat) they're
are many different kinds and
some are very cool looking so
there you go.
Day one started with 2 early dives. The first was at Laulau Bay and the second was at The Grotto. Laulau is a great place to get close
and personal with a turtle. These 3 wanted to keep a safe distance but all of them got a good look.
After a walk out to the edge of the reef we all
jumped in and proceeded to look for a turtle to
play with. We found one right away and spent a
couple of minutes swimming with it before moving
on to other things. For more pictures of Laulau
and it's turtles go to the Laulau page.
We found a couple of different
Anemones and their resident fish.
They managed to inspect a Pillow
Star Fish that we came across.
And enjoyed many of the other
fish Laulau has to offer.
The Grotto was the next stop of the morning and one of the best dives on the planet! It's a long walk down 120+ steps but worth it
every time. Check out the Grotto page for more pictures and a description of the site.
After we cross to the big rock it's a giant stride into the underwater cavern. Once situated we head out to the wall
through one of the 3 openings to check out the life outside.
After a short swim we head over to the Sea fan tunnel. I went in first so I could get some pictures of everyone
entering but I was surprised to see a very large Giant Trevally waiting inside for me. It ended up sticking around so
everyone could get a close look. This thing was at least 250lbs. and was only a couple of feet away.
After the Sea Fan Tunnel it was over to the Bat Cave to check it out. Once in the cave there is a very dark narrow
tunnel that leads back out to the wall. Everyone managed to get through and it was back into The Grotto before
anyone (Joe ;-)) ran out of air.
Back inside it's time to look around until it's time to get out. You do a safety stop at the rope and then use it to help
you back onto the rock so you can head back up the 120+ stairs with all your gear and weights.
Day 2 brings us to the dock bright and early to catch one of the Aqua Jet boats to take us to a couple of the sites that are not
accesable from shore. We tried to get to Ice Cream which is famous for Eagle Rays but it was not in the stars. We did get to Naftan
Point and Obyan which offer some of the best visability anywhere.
Naftan is a nice wall and often
times you are rewarded with
some larger critters like sharks
and Napoleon Wrasses. I did see
a large shark cruising along the
bottom at about 200ft but
couldn't get any ones attention in
time.

We did see a nice Spotted Eel
with very sharp teeth.
The second dive found us at Obyan which has some very nice sand flats and a large coral mound we call Sunken Island. On the back side
of Sunken Island is a sandy area with hundreds of Garden Eels. These little guys are like straws in the sand and are all poking out
looking for food. While headed over to check them out I saw a Spotted Eagle Ray and when I pointed it out to Joe you could hear him
yelling because "It's cool!".
The Eagle Ray was
TOTALLY WICKED!
and we got fairly close
before it saw us and
took off.
If you look close you can
see the Garden Eels in the
sand just past the Ray.
After a trip back across the
sand it's time to check out the
action on the reef near the boat.
Time to stop and play with the ring.
The other divers on the boat were
done long before we were and
after they tossed a Mango skin
overboard from their snack we
enjoyed watching the fish eat it.
The boat ride back to shore was nice and it gave us
time for a snack before heading to Oleai's for lunch.
Diving Makes you hungry!
Last but not least it's back to the Pacific ocean side of the island for a night dive at Laulau.

At night most of the fish sleep so you can get a little closer to some while others are hidden away. There are also other
critters that come out at night that are fun to get a closer look at. The Puffers rest on the bottom and little Shrimp
come and clean them while they sleep. The Parrot fish make a mucus cocoon to sleep in and lots of Crabs are out and
about. There are also a lot of Urchins so you must take care as they are like Porcupines and can hurt.
After the dive it was still very
dark because the moon had not
risen yet. There were stars
everywhere and when the moon
did rise it was AWSOME!