What a difference a day makes!

After reviewing my footage of the nudibranchs from Saturday and reading that Harry, Bev and Greg had gotten another day of diving in with these little fellas I decided to head back to the Grotto today. Not that my footage was bad it was just not what I would call National Geographic caliber. Soooooo I crossed my fingers and hoped I'd find one or two late bloomers still trying to get a little action. Could this matting thing be more like a week long get together at the Playboy mansion - after all they probably only get it once a year or less!

During the whole time I was there no one else was diving. A few tourists checked out the top view but none made the decent. Being the only one on the rock it's days like this when the true beauty of the Grotto comes through. Even the water was quiet and still. No monorail running up and down, nothing just plain and simple tranquility. I could have sat there on the rock, taking it all in, but just the walk down had left me sweating and in need of the cool rush that follows the initial leap. (Insert big splash here)

Ahhhhh that's better and weightless too!

Ok you reproducing creepy crawlies here I come.....

Nada, nothing more, not a single one and believe me I covered nearly every inch of the cavern, slowly and surely. I started where they had been the few days before. Nothing! Sure – Larry, Curly and Mo (the white tips) were there but I told myself, no matter how tempting they made it, I was not going to spend precious time and air on them today. I wanted the little white fellas.

I kept searching back and forth but to no avail. What was it about the last few days? Did I just pick the wrong hour to be there today? Was 12 noon the equivalent of a Mexican siesta for these exhausted nudies? I don't know but what a difference a day makes. How do these guys know when to get together, how to find one another and why of all whys did they choose the mooring line of the busiest dive spot on Saipan to do their dirty work!

Answers that may come in time, (or not) but it's safe to say that, in our own small way, those of us diving and recording the events at the Grotto this weekend can say we've played a small role in helping unravel the mystery. Who knows maybe in a few years this event will become a given and attract world-renowned photographers from all over the world! Now that would be marketing based on our single most impressive resource - Nature.

Alas I gave in to the three stooges. It just seemed that the closer I got the more comfortable they became. Maybe they were just lonely. In between little rests it looked like they were practicing take off's and landings. I certainly enjoyed capturing some National Geographic quality footage of them and I hope they appreciated the company cause it sure seemed like a pretty lonely day down there all round.