Reflections of Joanne

LOCATION

During the four days I spent in the Togians I went on four dives. The first was easily the most amazing: a B-24 bomber had come down in the sea off the south coast of Togian Island back in 1945, and it's a pleasant 20m (100 ft) below the surface, perfect for diving. It's now encrusted in coral, and exploring a wrecked but pretty intact plane at the bottom of the sea is an amazing experience, especially when the water is a warm 29 degrees Celsius 20m down. Everything is covered in growth, not surprisingly after over 50 years, but it's amazing how much is almost untouched: the pilot's throttle controls, the engine's radiator fins, the machine guns, the landing gear and so on were all instantly recognizable, and living on this plane-shaped reef were plenty of weird and wonderful marine creatures. Diving the site was a clash of history, surreality and imagination, where you could almost hear the conversation as the crew prepared for crash landing, an event that they would all survive, to be rescued by the inhabitants of the local fishing village of Liberty. It was my first wreck dive, and hopefully not my last.


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*INDONESIA, JOURNEY UNTOLD*
Togian Islands \| Location \| Diving
	LOCATION During the four days I spent in the Togians I went on four dives. The first was easily the most amazing: a B-24 bomber had come down in the sea off the south coast of Togian Island back in 1945, and it's a pleasant 20m (100 ft) below the surface, perfect for diving. It's now encrusted in coral, and exploring a wrecked but pretty intact plane at the bottom of the sea is an amazing experience, especially when the water is a warm 29 degrees Celsius 20m down. Everything is covered in growth, not surprisingly after over 50 years, but it's amazing how much is almost untouched: the pilot's throttle controls, the engine's radiator fins, the machine guns, the landing gear and so on were all instantly recognizable, and living on this plane-shaped reef were plenty of weird and wonderful marine creatures. Diving the site was a clash of history, surreality and imagination, where you could almost hear the conversation as the crew prepared for crash landing, an event that they would all survive, to be rescued by the inhabitants of the local fishing village of Liberty. It was my first wreck dive, and hopefully not my last.