Dive Review of Orca/Iorana in
Chile/Easter Island

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Orca/Iorana, Jan, 2007, by John Sommerer, MD, United States . Report 3178.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Not a dive destination, in my opinion, but worth an afternoon if you're on RapaNui, especially if it's raining. Good, solid dive operation, with good staff, accomodating to visitors. Water is on the chilly side (fair enough, since this isn't in the tropics); good hot showers back at the dive shop. We had our computers with us, which was good, because they only had depth guages and bottom timers to rent. Another diver was told by the guide, "don't go deeper than me, and you'll be OK." Otherwise, the gear was in good condition and was reasonably new ScubaPro stuff. The big question is, why would Henri Garcia, a former Calypso crew member, set up a dive operation here? Sure, the vis is unbelievable! But hardly any fish, and like two species of coral. The scenery around Motu Nui is fantastic, but that's one dive. I find it hard to believe that sharks represented any risk to the competitors in the Birdman competition, since the largest fish I saw out there was an endemic butterfly. The reefs near Hanga Roa are pretty boring. Clearly, fish are being fed here, since some large jacks spent a whole dive with us.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Carribean, Costa Rica, Galapagos, Indonesia, Micronesia, PNG, Polynesia, Revillagigedos
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	rainy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	73-0°F / 23--18°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	100-200 Ft/ 30-61 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	1 hr
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Small boats, but short runs to dive-sites. Good rinse tanks at dive shop.

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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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Dive Review of Orca/Iorana in Chile/Easter Island

Orca/Iorana, Jan, 2007,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Orca/Iorana in
Chile/Easter Island