Text translated..........YAP, SMALL ISLAND MICRONÉSIENNE LOST TO THE CONFINE OF THE PACIFIC, OBTAINED A CERTAIN FAME IN THE DOMAIN OF THE DIVED: FALLING AND CAVES, FANTASTIC REEFS, SHARKS IN ALL KINDS AND SWALLOWED UP VOLCANO SQUARELY OCEAN, THE ISLAND HAS ALL TO PLEASE. SHE OFFERS DAILY, EXCEPTIONAL EVEN AN APPOINTMENTS, WITH THE LINES MANTAS! A WEALTH THAT WAS WORTH FOR HIM TO BE ELECTED AMONG THE TEN BETTER DESTINATIONS DIVED PLANET.
Text: Claude hervé-bazin
The boat spins on the opalescent coat of the lagon, following from afar a coastal colonized one by the mangrove; then, sudden, rushes between two greenery walls. We cross then the canal of Tagreng, also called German Channel since as it was dug by the German settlers at first of the XXe century to facilitate the passage of a coast to the other of the island. An instant, the wave created by the out edge licks furious the banks before to dissipate itself in contradictory waves. Three minutes later, we unstop to the northwest of Yap Proper. In front of we, two young fishermen bring back gently their stretched nets through the bay. We overcome the obstacle to the perches, raised motor. To earth, a faluw some drinks and mixed and assembled palms to the assistance of coconut fibers, without a nail, reveals the discreet presence of a buried town under the végétation. The men meet again between them in this common house forbidden to the women, where one kept formerly captive a girl of a hameau neighbor and nevertheless enemy. One there drinks henceforth a beer, then two, then three, while leaving to flow itself the hours.
THE MIIL CHANNEL OFFERS A UNIQUE SPECTACLE OF LINES MANTAS. Facing us, at last, draw the Miil Channel and its promises of unusual encounters. No other place to the world does not offer such a spectacle: the one of lines mantas come to offer, every day or almost in a same place, their big deployed wings of the fishes cleaners that rid them of their parasites with voracité.
Last record before discovering the sea funds. Again inexperienced dishwashers that we, in formation end PADI (spread on 3 to 4 days only), we listen religious the last counsels of Maria, our «divemaster» English. Equipment and technical of basis already were reviewed. Here therefore the big come moment.
To pains started us our descent that a shadow moving detaches itself in contrebas; then another, monumental. His form specifies itself; this is a line that brushes us as if of nothing was, to some meters under the surface. Curious, maybe, she remains an instant to our contact before to faint in the void. To follow it would hold impossible one or exploit. Four, five mantas surround us soon, flitting around the coral pinnacles of the Manta Ridge. Certain days, they are a ten, and sometimes even more than twenty, in particular the winter (of December to end of april) that the dry season and also the one of the reproduction. The night, left to nourish themselves to the wide one, they are not return in the lagon that to in the morning, on time tide change. The smallest ones, most already most huge, post a breadth of 2,50 meters; the biggest ones, as for them, can attain 3,50 meters and sometimes more than 4 meters. One considers that about one hundred these animals would populate waters yapèses.
The summer, the mantas group together themselves preferably in the Goofnuw Channel, to the northeast of Yap, facing the tomil-gagil islands and of Maap. The place, discover there is only some years, henceforth is nicknamed «the Valley of the lines». Right in the center of the channel sandblasts, a huge coral lettuce attracts the looks; here the Merry-Go one-Round («the carousel»), the principal cleaning station of the vicinity. To two steps of there, of others scratch gravitate around the «for wash« («car washing»). A third place offers us a shelter in these currents, often very strong (6 km/h) to the tide changes. Certain moor themselves to spare tires. Of others choose rather for a long drift with recuperation by the boat. A size surprise awaits those that descend towards the bottom to return visits to the sharks to not at all white: the current there generally is opposed to the one that sweeps the surface! This is a washing to big waters that improves constantly visibility.
The east OF THE ISLAND IS RENOWNED FOR HIS PROFUSION OF CORAL. We remake surface after 45 minutes. Sandwich, tea, coffee, nothing lacks to perk up us; the sun served us to will! The motor purrs again on the lagon. In an hour, the more expérimentés will set off again for a second dived to the east of the island on the terraces slipping in renowned soft slope for their profusion of coral, or on the graves tearing down to the west. To the Yap Caverns, caves, crevices, fissures and tunnels offer an exploration land limitless by 15 to 25 meters of bottom only. Of big benches of fishes perroquets to bump and of vivaneaux there mix with drowsy squales, mérous, fishes scorpions all pricking outsides. On the wall of Gilman, the small soft coral, of a yellow lively one, deploy themselves with the return of the tide. Visibility excellente surpasses often here 50 meters.
Yap counts about thirty indexed sites, the situated most on the exterior reef. Unusual thing, one also can explore Japanese wrecks of the Second World War or again, to 27 km to the north, discover the approaches of the Hunter's Bank Seamount, a very old island submerged because of the movements tectoniques. The Yapeses, that, well before the invention of the compass or compass already sailed through the big ocean without the assistance of no instrument, call it Sippin, «the swallowed one up island». The experienced dishwashers there have an appointment with mythical creatures of the big funds: gray sharks and hammers, espadons, thazards-bâtards, barracudas... Without forgetting a profusion of langoustes to bring back for the dinner!
This is nevertheless to the more close to the coasts of Yap, to Rainbow Reef, than was done the most beautiful discovery of the latter years. Every evening to the twilight, the fishes mandarin chinese, to the colors bursting, replay the same drama in three acts. The males confront themselves without thank-you to obtain the favors of the female ones posted from afar before to be able to shed their laitance in big conquerors. All plays itself under the eye interested cardinal, always in quest of a meal. All around twirl Spanish and other dancers nudibranches. The horrible fish frog, mini monster concealed, fish to the bait and swallows up preys sometimes bigger than him. The fishes clowns play the indifferent, rug to the shadow of their protective anemones. The biggest ones, surpassing 1,20 meters of diameter, can accommodate several tens of these charming orange imps. To each sound neighborhood. To each sound character. And parks if an intruder himself adventure to proximity.
CARD PRACTICES: Three dive centers are accept PADI to Yap: Beyond the Reef, Werner Lau Diving Center and Various Yap, the pioneer of the discipline to Yap in the years 1980. All three offers of the services of an excellent levels. In case of need, Yap possesses a chamber of décompression.
At the level of the hébergement, the Trader's Ridge Resort, anchored on a hill dominating the bay of Chamorro, offers by far the better hébergement conditions of the island, and even of the whole Micronésie. Mood more tropical, chicquer and more relaxed. The establishment was created by an American foundation with the intention of to favor a controlled development of the island and to encourage, by the Micronesian Art Institute, the renaissance of the traditional arts (sculpture, tissage, etc.). The dive center (PADI 5 stars) hotel, directed by the English Maria McGlynn, has access to two quick boats of 10 meters. Dived Nitrox without supplement Infos:
WWW.TRADERSRIDGERESORT.COM
One rejoins Yap necessarily through Guam or Palau, linked up to the island by the Continental company Micronesia. Since Switzerland, one wins the one or the other airport through Manila, hong-kong, Séoul or Japan (the trip more quick). Count between 18 hours and 22 hours of flight without the stops. kit medium impressum © cbcommunication 2005
P.S. Your credits should have been under the last photo or under the authors name.......The photo of the Manta is awe inspiring! Regards, Kirk
