Yap – Diving with Yap Divers at Manat Ray Bay Hotel

Date: April 1996

Much like Chuuk was on the front-end, Yap was another "while you’re in the neighborhood" stops—at least that’s what I thought as we planned the trip. Trip ’n Tour included it as an optional 2 night, 1 1/2 dive day add-on, and it did not take much encouragement to get everyone in our small group to add it on. The "Why stop?" question is an easy answer—Manta Rays! Most of our group had never seen them, and Yap comes as close as possible to a guaranteed encounter as you are likely to get. Our schedule gave us a very narrow window of opportunity, however, but we were hopeful.

Our flight from Palau arrived about noon, just enough time to get to our resort, The Manta Ray Bay Hotel and it’s dive operation, Yap Divers, check-in, unpack the dive gear, and get on the dive boat for a mid-afternoon dive. We try not to waste any time.

Diving: It’s difficult to provide an overall impression of Yap’s diving with only three dives. Our first dive was to Paaw Reef, a brief ride from the hotel. Even after some of the incredible diving in Chuuk and Palau, this was a great dive. The fish may not have been as prolific as in Palau, but there were huge coral heads and lots of "Acropora Coral," or as I called it, plate coral. There were other spots layered by blankets of anemones hiding families of clown fish. Other than the clowns, there were few fish on this reef. After an hour dive, we surfaced to clouds and rain. Although a second dive was scheduled, we aborted due to the late hour, weather, a long travel day, and probably hunger.

We learned back at the hotel, once we had a chance to catch our breath, that the Manta cleaning stations were on the other side of the island, an apparent long journey to the opposite side of the island from the hotel. Little did we realize until then, that Yap "proper" is really five islands, close together but separated by narrow channels. On the Manta dive day, we traveled along one of the very narrow, and in some places, very shallow channels to Mi’l Channel, the manta gathering place. It certainly was a more direct route than traveling by the open sea, but at times we had to creep along to avoid hitting bottom.

Before our first Manta dive, the divemaster reviewed the procedures: stand and wait where placed at the dive site, stay away from the cleaning stations, and don’t try to touch the animals. We geared up, hit the murky water, took our positions at about 50’ depth, and waited, and waited, and waited...Finally, out in the distance, first one, then two, then a parade of eleven mantas passed in single file! They made several passes as we emptied our tanks. The dive really didn’t start until the parade—unfortunately we still had to use our air while waiting. We were excited, however, as we made our way a short distance back to the boat.

"Will they be back for our second dive?" was the question on everyone’s mind! After our surface interval, and perhaps a lunch but I can’t really remember, we returned to see. The Mantas of Mi’l Channel were just getting warmed up on the first dive—sort of an opening act. This time, we were treated to an

hour of "taking turns" with each animal passing the cleaning station for a brief period of time. The experience was literally indescribable. These creatures were both immense but graceful as they swooped in for servicing.

I concluded that Yap should not be merely considered as a stop on the way or way back. It is a worthy destination in an of itself. I could do the Mantas multiple times, perhaps everyday? The island is surrounded by other dive sites, however, and based on our first dive, there is probably good diving all along the reef system.. Unfortunately we barely got to sample it.

Resort and Dive Operation: Manta Ray Bay Hotel and Yap Divers are a combined operation which, for the brief time we were there, did a good job. We were in and out so quickly, however, we did not get to know the hotel or dive staff. No complaints, and I would certainly return for more.

Meals: The Manta Ray Bay Hotel has a restaurant where we enjoyed good dinners on both our evenings on the island.

Value: The reasonable add-on cost of stopping at Yap helped make it a must do. Given the Manta encounters, other good diving, the unspoiled nature of the island (so far), Yap is a very desirable stop and worth the money.

Postscript: Of the three islands we visited, Yap was hands-down the least developed for tourists, and that’s a complement, because it’s bound to change. Don’t get me wrong, the accommodations and food were very good, and we were very comfortable, but if you are looking for fancy hotels and nightlife, Yap is not the place to go. If you want to see an unspoiled island with a culture which appears to be intact as it could be, Yap is the place for you.

After our two manta dives in the morning and early afternoon, we returned to the hotel in time for four of the six of us to join an island tour. Initially, the $50 per person price for a tour seemed a bit steep, but I would do it again in a second. More than just a tour, the visitor gets to experience the island’s culture, meet the people in their surroundings, and learn about their history.

At our first stop, our guide lead us deep into the jungle along one of many pedestrian highways that crisscross the island. Here we visited a men’s meeting house constructed of logs and palm thatch and saw rows of the famous stone money found only on Yap. The stone money dates back centuries and was actually quarried and shaped elsewhere (Palau, for example) and brought to Yap with considerable risk over hundreds of miles on outrigger canoes. Consequently, the value of each "coin" is not determined so much by its size but rather by the effort required to obtain it.

The highpoint of the tour was a visit to a coastal village where we were treated to a traditional "stick dance". As we arrived, the women were creating colorful headbands, leis, and other ornamental attire fashioned from flowers and palms. Small children, both boys and girls, were playing nearby. It appeared to be a big outdoor social gathering encompassing at least three generations. (The men, by the way, were conspicuous by their absence—nowhere to be seen. We never heard an explanation about this, but figured they were not interested in participating in a tourist event.) One of the elder women spoke to a Japanese tourist in Japanese, a remnant of World War II occupation. A couple other women were cooking some local treats to be shared with us later.

In addition to the flowers, elaborate dance preparations included applying an orange-colored "paste" to their bodies as well as more modern and western lipstick. After quite some time, the dancers were ready. Although everyone was festively decorated, most of the dancers were young women in their teens. Each carried two large poles (sticks) and struck them together rhythmically while moving in unison—kind of like a "line dance." An older women was the "caller," singing out a story or perhaps the dance moves—we couldn’t tell.

After the dancing, we sampled the cooking then were presented with flower headbands. It was an enchanting visit. Everything appeared to be traditional Yap culture untouched for centuries, except for perhaps the Budweiser cans spotted near their outdoor "kitchen" and the lipstick used by the young dancers. To miss this experience is to miss much of Yap.