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Archive for July, 2010
Turtle carving, or big broken rock?
Are the ruins man made, natural geological formations, or deserted alien outposts? I love the idea that modern day “experts” can’t seem to decide the origin of some of the Earth’s most interesting spots beneath the waves. Is it actually harder to authenticate a ruin that has been sitting in water for a few thousand years, or does the challenging nature of performing underwater archeology doom promising sites to obscurity and disbelief? Even if your opinion tends towards the doubting, you still have to admit that somewhere on this planet there have got to be important historical sites that have sunk beneath the waves as the planet has changed and the oceans have risen. Perhaps Yonaguni is one of those places.
Off the coast of Okinawa, Japan is the small island of Yonaguni, where the East China Sea irritably meets the larger ocean. Within the last 20 years, what started as a strange underwater “pyramid” sighting by local divers has turned into a world-wide effort to identify a whole host of what appear to be man-made buildings and monolith carvings. The pyramid itself is impressive, reaching from the sea floor (at a depth of 100 feet) almost to the surface, and sporting regular, level terraces with almost perfect right angles. At the base of the structure appears what some believe is a cobbled road.
Around the pyramid lie additional features that many consider man-made. Stone mounds with similarly stepped sides dot the landscape. There is the “The Arch,” five enormous stacked stones that seem to act as an entranceway to the other interesting parts of the site. Beyond are twin obelisks, two closely-aligned, perfect rectangles more than 20 feet tall, that may have channeled a shaft of sunlight signaling the autumn equinox. Other features of the site that scientists believe support the “man-made” theory include discarded stone tools, post-holes, wedge marks on the stone, a carving of a sacred turtle, and a stone tablet with incised markings, perhaps a rudimentary form of historical documentation.
What’s the catch? Some scientists have dated the site as far back as 8000BC, which places it solidly 5000 years before the building of the pyramids in Egypt. According to modern anthropological beliefs, that also means it was built long before “man” had the ability, time or knowledge to execute such a grand undertaking. In short, to fully embrace the idea that this site was created by human hands, you have to abandon all the current beliefs about the history and evolution of our ancestors. Or, you have to start believing in aliens. Your choice.
Which brings me back to why I like scuba diving so darn much. When you dive, do you judge a reef by how many fish you can positively identify? Surely not. Instead, you probably have the best experiences where there is plenty of fish and other sea life to study, savor and interpret as you see fit. I would argue that Yonaguni is the same way.
Though potentially historically significant, to a diver it probably doesn’t matter if the site is manmade or not. The monoliths there are awe-inspiring and the more delicate details (like the stone tablet) can be interpreted in a variety of ways with a little imagination and some descent visibility. If you are interested in archeological diving and are willing to suspend disbelief during your bottom time, Yonaguni is the dive for you.
St. Lucia boasts a cash crop of Arrow Crabs
I’m just back from a week-long dive trip to beautiful St. Lucia. This island is in the Eastern Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles, lying between Martinique to the North and St. Vincent to the South. It boasts beautiful topside vistas redolent of tropical day dreams and Corona commercials as well as healthy, prolific underwater scenes. I’ve also never visited an island before with such nice people. From the vendors to the hotel employees to the waiters, everyone was incredibly friendly and kind.
Topside temperatures vary between 70 degrees and 90 degrees, depending on the season. The rainy season, which I embraced whole-heartedly due to the lack of tourist crowds, is June to November. Though last year the rainy season was actual marked by a serious drought, Mother Nature has returned to her regular routine, with generous but brief dousings almost every day this summer. Unfortunately, this sometimes meant variable visibility and several places where the freshwater runoff turned the sea into a nauseating kaleidoscope. The water temperatures range from 77 degrees in winter to 83 degrees plus in summer. My computer registered 80 and more the entire trip. I used a wetsuit, but it was more of a fashion statement than a necessity.
Most of the diving is done from the west and south-west sides of the island that face the Caribbean. The underwater topography runs the usual gamut, with volcanic pinnacles, sheer walls, shipwrecks and coral reefs to explore. Dive site depths range from 12ft to around 140ft. Depending on who you ask, there are 40+ “official” locations to dive, though those in the Soufriere Marine Reserve (which starts close to Anse La Raye and extends south for about 12 miles to the town of Soufriere) are the most popular due to the healthy coral and abundant sea life.
Shark lovers beware – there really aren’t any here. If you dive one of the sparse sites on the Atlantic side of the island, you might get a brief sighting of a reef shark or two, but the exciting experience will most likely be dampened by a raging case of sea sickness due to the rough waters. Come to think of it, most local folks had not-so-nice-things to say about the East side of the island and it’s exposure to the feral waters of the Atlantic: bears the brunt of oncoming storms, sea spray tends to drift along the coast which makes a rusty mess of anything metal, few “tried and true” dive sites, etc. I wasn’t there long enough to prove the nay sayers wrong, but it sure looked beautiful if not at least a little dangerous as I drove along that coast’s cliffs.
As for sea life, St. Lucia has a cash crop of arrow crabs, coral banded shrimp and a rainbow of different eels at every dive site (including a lively snake eel on my second dive.) Lobsters abound, and rays and turtles are also frequently seen. I saw scorpion fish, sneaky frog fish and flying gurnards on the trip, as well as fantail pipefish, trumpet fish, cowfish, grouper, jack, snapper, puffers, spotted drum, and a heaven full of angel fish. Sadly, everyone kept promising me octopus and sea horse sightings, but none came to fruition. Underwater barracuda sightings were equally as sparse, but (disturbingly) showed up on a dinner menu one night. Less mobile, but not less impressive, were the barrel sponges, crazy-huge vase-like growths that hosted a ton of critters along the reef. In one we spotted a basket sponge hiding from the sun’s rays.
As I mentioned, the island itself is picturesque. Enormous, green-clad mountains (the most famous are called the Pitons) rise at varying heights across the landscape. Lots of shallow, calm bays stretch inland, making great harbors for sailing day trips or extended stays. A note of caution: the main airport is FAR from most towns that a diver might be interested in, so an hour-plus transfer is common and may include windy roads with maniacal local drivers. Also, food is expensive here. Most items need to be imported, and most establishments are only too eager to tack on hefty service charges in addition to the mandatory taxes. Were all my meals there great? No. Were many of them really good? Yes, especially the ones that involved locally caught fresh fish, prawns, bananas, etc. St. Lucia restaurants are at their best when embracing what the island’s land and surrounding sea have to offer.
The beaches were beautiful and the hotel selection ranged from the most basic accommodations to the most extravagant (every room gets their own pool!) I found diving in St. Lucia to be convenient, with lots of safe dive companies staffed with friendly local people willing to go out of their way to deliver a good diving experience. Though it costs a few more dollars to stay and eat there, the cost of diving was on par with many other Caribbean islands. It was an enjoyable week, one that I hope to repeat during the next “dry” season.