Hi,
Have just come back from 13 days diving at Truk, staying at Blue lagoon.
Like others before the storm I was concerned about how conditions were and found that there was very limited information from people actually there, apart from the live aboards. I said I'd report back when I returned so here it is.
Weno is the island you arrive on and where Blue lagoon and Truk stop are. There were signs of damage but a lot of work has gone into replacing tin roofs since the storm. I looked hard from the limited drive from the airport to Blue Lagoon and on boat trips after (also on Dublon). As of about two weeks ago about one in six houses seemed to have had roof or other damage. As of yesterday it seemed about one in seven or eight still had damage. Dublon appeared similar and I was told those two islands had the worst damage. The local stores and schools (that I saw) were all open and most of the trees blown over had been cut up and are stacked near the roads. Most trees were still up though. I was told the bread fruit crop is badly damaged and that is going to be a major problem for locals in the future.People appeared to be going about there normal lives. Power was on the whole time I was there. Internet was up and down, though down for three days at the resort from last Friday.Back up yesterday.
Blue Lagoon,
As someone reported two weeks ago, Blue Lagoon is now operating normally. I have been on Thorfinn twice and Blue Lagoon three times. There was no difference in the accomodation services and diving at Blue Lagoon over the last two weeks compared to my prior trips and no shortages of any kind. Air con working, restaurant normal and no difference to the resort apart from one of the two covered decks where they have barbeques currently being rebuilt because it was blown down. The gardens looked the same having been cleaned up (with the help of tourists as previously reported).There were five dive boats available and one being repaired. The feel of the place was just as safe and relaxed as my prior trips. Boats from Truk Stop seemed to be operating too (and Thorfinn), but I didnt speak to anyone from there.
Pretty much the only hassle was the internet which kept going down at the resort end of town. If you are not getting a response, that is why. There is no problem otherwise.
Diving.
We did 31 dives over the last two weeks, from the shallow wrecks to The San Francisco and Aikoku at around 60m. Visibility varied from very good to average and compared pretty much with my previous experiences. Visibilty may have been a little worse than usual, but then again I have two friends who went in early March who said visibility was not as good as our previous trips, and that was before the storm. There were about fifteen divers at Blue Lagoon last week.
From what I saw, the Fujikawa has both masts down at about a 30 degree angle, the superstructure was pretty bad two years ago and may have collapsed more due to the storm, or time or both. The Shinkoku has had the bridge partly collapse, and the Aikoku has further collapsed at the front of the wreck (at the break). I noticed no other storm damage to the wrecks. Coral was just as good (surprisingly on the shallow wrecks).
In short we had a great time.
I certainly don't wish to seem to underplay the difficulties anyone may have after the storm and for a poor place like Chuuk any damage is hard, and the breadfruit will be a problem. And I dont comment on any of the criminal acts which some people commited. We were taken by boat to where the remains of Siren was and our guide said he thought the local villagers did it. Quite sad.
However if you are planning a dive trip to Truk, based on my experience there is no reason to delay. Blue Lagoon at least is working as normal, Thorfinn seems to be too (their dive boats were out). I never felt threatened in any way. I didn't go into town at night. I never have. Nor did I go to areas of Moscow, New York or Washington that I was told would not be worth the risk at night on my own (or parts of Sydney for that matter).
I hope this might help those who, like me, are trying get information that is up to date.
cheers
Paolo
