Saipan TDL #12: The Grotto

Nicole, Rhonda, Me, and Ken in the blue Grotto.

Diver Down. That's me headed for the "Fan Cave" swim through (so named because of the fan coral you can see above the entrance. Max depth: Over 100 ft!

One of the three Grotto entrance/exits. I believe this is from inside the Grotto, as the light from the sun outside creates this effect.


Ken and Me. (All of the above photos courtesy of the Piersons. For more gorgeous photos of the Grotto Dive check out Ken and Crystal's blog).

Our dive crew--Ken, Rhonda, Nicole, Me, and Crystal

This past Sunday, May 31, right before our night of karaoke (see next blog down), we went for a pleasant dive at the Grotto. That brings my total number of dives up to 17, and leaves me only three dives away from my minimum goal of twenty dives before I leave Saipan.

I guess the visibility wasn't that great (though I couldn't tell) and we didn't really see much, but for me it was a good dive. Since Elijah was born I'd only been diving once, and to be honest I was actually having a little bit of anxiety before this dive. I really needed to have a good dive, where I felt comfortable and enjoyed myself. That was just the kind of dive I had. Despite the lack of thrilling undersea encounters I found myself relaxing and just enjoying being underwater. I felt glad I did the dive and was eager to go again. I still use way more air than anyone else, but with only three dives or so left, I've come to accept that's probably not going to change before I leave so I might as well not worry about it, and just enjoy the dive.

We did drop to just over 100 feet very briefly to go through the "fan cave" on the ocean side of the Grotto, so that was some excitement!

I'll try to post a few underwater photos once I can get them from the Piersons or Rhonda.