Ulithi, Day 3

This morning we got up and had breakfast. After breakfast, we were briefed on the day's plan. We headed out late in the morning to the Crab Islands which are nearby and considered part of the Ulithi Atoll, even though they are technically an atoll of their own. On the way, a pod of spinner dolphins greeted us as we approached the first island in the atoll. They jumped in and out of the water which such amazing grace, and swam under and around our boat. It was like a marine mammal welcoming party! We went snorkeling through one reef, which had a huge variety of coral.



We then stopped on an island called Bulbul and walked around a little bit. After our curiosity had been satisfied and we were ready to go, we got back in the small boats we have been using the last three days and headed to another island. We snorkeled off that island, and then had lunch there. After lunch, there was an option to snorkel the same site again or to relax. Since I didn't see much that was too amazing the first pass (except an octopus and a huge jellyfish), I decided to sit this snorkel out and relax a little bit. Besides, I had just eaten a tuna fish sandwich and really didn't feel like exerting myself. We loaded up the boats again and went to a place called Big Hole, which is just a sandy area between the two islands that has a deep center where sea turtles sometimes go to sleep. Since I was nice and dry by this point, and since I really have seen plenty of sea turtles before, I decided to sit this snorkel out as well, and just stayed on the boat, sitting in the sun, working on my sun-kissed highlights.

The boat ride back to the hotel was hellacious! The wind had picked up and the swell had really increased. Since we were in tiny boats, we were being tossed around like a pair of socks in a washing machine. I went from being completely dry to completely soaked in about two minutes. So much water was flying into my face, I eventually put my mask back on so I wouldn't keep getting salt water in my eyes. I was sitting on the bottom of the boat, with only a lifejacket as cushion. I felt like I was paying someone to beat me up, and as I write this, just about every part of my body is sore.

Once we got back to the hotel, we had about an hour before we were having some women come and put on a dance performance for us, where they danced some of their traditional dances. Topless. It cost $20 per person. I decided not to go (I was the only one who didn't) because even though I know it's a cultural thing, I felt bad paying women to dance topless. Besides, I've gone 31 years without paying to see a woman topless, I'm not going to start now... Afterwards, my friend Carolyn (a spitfire of a woman, 75 from Laurel, Mississippi) came and got me to let me know it was over and said it was painfully boring, so I didn't feel like I missed much. She also slipped me a travel-sized vodka bottle (because she knew I don't drink beer and that's all they have at the hotel) to enjoy during our farewell banquet.

Our last night's dinner consisted of fish, chicken, rice, potato salad, sashimi, banana-stuffed papaya, salad, and lasagna. We all ate until we were stuffed and called it a fairly early night, seeing as to how we have to be packed and ready to go pretty early in the morning tomorrow. We are flying back to Yap tomorrow morning to spend two more nights before the end of the trip. I hope to get a dive in tomorrow, but we will see what happens when/if we get there!


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Location:Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia