I finally got a few days of diving in this week. I know, it seemed like we were here forever before I got in the water, but we had a lot of details to sort out. Housing, transportation, banking, etc. It's like moving into a new country:)

The diving here is not what I would call first class, but the operators are nice enough and there are some pretty interesting things to see. My first dive a small white tip reef shark came by for a look. I did get a photo of him, but his nose got cut off a little. Guess I need to be a little bit quicker on the trigger. I have also seen an awful lot of Lion Fish here. They're very beautiful, but very deadly. They have long colorful feathers that contain some very potent toxin. Most other fish tend to leave them alone, but divers always like to get photos, so check out the newest photo album for a look (photos). I also saw the largest Moray Eel I've ever seen. There is a pretty good picture of him (Morris the Moray) next to a diver so you can see how large he is. He's very friendly and swims out of the coral to greet divers. Apparently there is a diver on the island who has been feeding him for years so he is not afraid of them.

The new camera has been great underwater. Even a novice photographer like me can get decent pictures once in a while. Hopefully by the end of the trip I'll have enough experience to add this to the Dive Specialties I can teach.

Tomorrow we are leaving for another island, Aitutaki. We'll be there until Wednesday. It's a short trip, but we needed to move out of our house for a few days because a family has it booked on Monday and Tuesday. I am planning to try and get a day of diving in while we're there. From what I've heard, the diving is lot better there than here. Look for another post towards the end of next week. Hopefully I'll get some good photos.

Also, when we get back to Rarotonga next week, I'm going to dive with another operator to see how they are. So far it's been with Dive Rarotonga. Next week it will be with The Dive Centre. They do a lot of their diving off the south side of the island and supposedly there are lots of sharks and rays in the water. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. They tell me they have occasionally seen hammerheads in the water there as well.

Happy trails,

Eric