Palau

Our final day of diving put us on the same boat with many of the same divers we dove with earlier in the week. Sergi asked Nico where he wanted to go and he quickly said "Blue, anything blue." We hadn't done the Blue Hole yet so it was our first stop and our final dive would be the Blue Corner.

The Blue Hole was similar to the Siaes Tunnel but had larger openings in the ceiling and provided more light. Sergi showed us disco clams (they have hair(?) that lights up blue) and nudibranches that called the overhang their home.

Once we were out of the hole, we continued along a steep wall that had so much action you didn't know where to look. There was an amazing amount of large schools of fish swimming just away from the wall, little fish that swam closer to the coral, and sharks that would appear and then fade out into the blue, reappearing moments later. It was incredible. At this point, our companion Jim ran low on air so he ascended with the second guide leaving us with just Sergi.

As we drifted along, we recognized the area as the Blue Corner where we had previously hooked in. That day's current was much calmer, allowing us to swim idly into it to stay in place so we could watch the underwater world at work. We saw schools of jacks / tuna so dense you couldn't see the blue behind. Sharks approached within arm's reach on multiple sides. We continued to drift along as we came upon two turtles and two huge schools of barracudas. The show of marine life in the blue simply didn't stop.

Once we reached the other side of the Blue Corner, Sergi instructed us to kick against the current. It was a bit tiring, but we eventually made it across the plateau where we could drift along again. Luckily, we checked our computers and noticed that we were close to going into deco (our computers are very conservative) and needed to start shallowing up. It was a long dive, almost 70 minutes with max depth of 90 feet, and easily the best dive of the trip and quite possibly ever. Sergi agreed that this was Blue Corner at its finest.

We took a quick lunch break and were right back at Blue Corner. This time the current was strong, really strong. We pulled ourselves down the mooring line and then kicked like hell to get past the wall. Brittany, diving with the big camera, kept getting stuck because of the reef hook and had to ascend to recollect herself before taking another path to the hook point. It was a battle to kick against the current and trying to find a safe place to grab onto. Midway through the struggle, dive guide Earle hooked her in, continuing on after much needed rest. They finally hooked in a few feet away. And boy, we were hooked in. Bubbles were drifting away horizontal and looking sideways would rip the goggles off your head. The fish, who were enjoying holding against the current, were out in full force with loads more sharks, barracuda, jacks, and more.

After unhooking, we were once again alone with Sergi. We drifted over the sand bottom plateau. I (Brittany) noticed Sergi being chased by an aggressive Titan triggerfish when accidentally swimming over its nest - a bit funny at first; the fish ended up biting his fins several times. Nico was right behind but was looking towards me, so he didn't see the triggerfish coming right for his head, twice, one of which he took out a dime-sized chunk. Nico turned to kick away, and a small cloud of blood, which looked green underwater, trailed after him. He was fine to keep diving, and the pressure appeared to stop the bleeding. We finished the dive, seeing an eel, Dori fish, and a turtle along the way. (Luckily no sharks were spotted for the remainder of the dive...)

Upon exiting, the other divers were already discussing the "real" Blue Corner - apparently it was a tough dive for all. Once they discovered that Nico had been assaulted by the triggerfish, they each had to take a picture of the wound.

Once back at the dive shop, Rico, the manager, took a look at the injury and asked Sergi to take us to the hospital. He needed stitches.

The hospital was quiet but it still ended up taking a long time. We were moved from (empty) waiting room to (empty) waiting room. He was finally called and questioned. We thought triggerfish injuries would have been a common thing they dealt with considering how aggressive they are but the nurses and doctors were all surprised/amused that a fish had done it.

2 stitches, a fancy haircut, new headwear (bandages), and $190 later, we were released. Sergi dropped us off at our hotel and we took the rest of the night easy.Read more