Palau -- Republic of Belau

After living on Guam for a bunch of years and before going to Palau, I knew that Palau was an island archipelago in the western Pacific as part of the islands loosely referred to as "Micronesia". The basic shape of the archipelago is that of a compressed atoll--with many of the smaller "rock islands" on the outlying ridges of the coral reef atoll. The central lagoon is calm during normal weather and is the home of a wide diversity of oceanic wildlife. The organisms and sealife around the Rock Islands of Palau are among the most diverse in the world--with a mix of Indo-Pacific creatures and ecosystems. The waters and jungles of Palau are home to saltwater crocodiles, monitor lizards, sharks, trigger fish, stonefish, lion fish, octopus, cone shells, sea cucumbers, starfish, sea turtles, sea snakes, and jellyfish... to name only a few...

We visited the Palau Museum on Koror to learn a bit more about the people and culture of this interesting place in the world. Greeting us at the door of the museum was the huge preserved (taxidermed?) head of a giant-sized Palauan Saltwater Crocodile ("a ius"). The head alone stretched more than 6-feet long--in its open jaws were rows of dagger-like teeth. Quite an impressive display!

The museum contained exhibits of the ocean-going canoes--the outriggers and the long "war-canoes"--some were full-size, others were scale models.

Stick-maps, used for navigation between the islands--the tied bamboo sticks represent wind and oceanic currents, and the shells mounted on the matrix-like platform represent islands. Some of the elders can still navigate using these "maps"--however, few youngsters have the patience or want to learn this ancient technique.


Aerial of Coastline of Palau, Koror, Federated States Of Micronesia
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Coyne, Michael

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Some of the history of Palau was presented--such as the fact that the huge stone "coins" used as money on the island of Yap (quite a bit north of Palau halfway to Guam) were quaried on the Palauan northern island of Babeldaub and then hauled to Yap on ocean-going canoes.

Palau (particularly Peleliu and Anguar) was the site of some of the bloodiest fighting during World War II. There is a lot of evidence for that fighting--you can occasionally stumble over rusted remains of tanks, jeeps, and aircraft in the dense jungles of the islands. And... you can snorkel and dive to many of the sunken tanks, amphibious craft, aircraft, and ships on the reefs and lagoon around the island.


Boat Moored at Beach, Ulong Park, Rock Islands, Koror, Palau

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Elk III, John

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Also on display was an amazing array of Palauan "Storyboards". A Japanese professor of art started the islanders on recording some of their legends and stories through carved and painted pictures on lumber pieces long before World War II. They had already the custom of decorating their "Abai" (mens'-house) rafters and front and back eaves with artwork depicting legends and stories.

Now, many Palauans carve storyboards as a sort of profitable hobby. Also, the inmates of the local island jail help their time go by faster by carving story boards. These story boards are often for sale at the various establishments (restaurants, bars, and other stores--and even the local jail!) around the island. You can see the storyboard design on many of the modern buildings around the islands as well--it creates a unique Palauan touch to your island adventure.

One thing that caught our eye at most of the hotels and beaches around the Palauan islands were the signs that said "No swimming before 10:00am or after 5:00pm" ... We wondered about this... and asked one of the hotel employees about why this "regulation" existed--was it some sort of government law? Nope. You can if you want... but they advise folks not to. Why? Because the local crocodiles are most active during the cool dawn and early mornings and near sunset and during twilight in the evenings. They also actively hunt all night long and they are such big and nasty critters that you really don't want to tangle with one. If you are still not convinced--think about the crocodiles you see on the movies featuring "Crocodile Dundee"--those also are the salt-water, ocean-going crocs (Crocodylus_porosis).

While in Palau, each day we walked from our hotel in Koror to the boat dock from which we'd take off on a boat for diving and snorkeling. Our boat traversed through the maze of rock islands across from Malakal Harbor. As the boat finally got into the central lagoon, we found ourselves surrounded by pulsating jellyfish, flying fish whizzing out across the bow of the boat, and porpoises accompanying the boat and leaping in our bow-wave. Fascinating and memorable visions. The salt-spray was fresh and invigorating.

Soon, the boat slowed in shallower water, through which we could see the bottom and the giant, Tridacna clams and colorful corals nestled in the sea grass and coral rubble.

The boat grounded itself on the beach on Ngermeaus Island--also known to the Palauans as "Picnic Island". The white beach was a mix of sand, rocks, and small tridacna clam shells. Interesting to poke around in.

Bay of Honeymoon Island, World Heritage Site, Rock Islands, Palau
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Westmoreland,...

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We jumped over the side of the boat and carried our gear to shore. The crew on the boat brought ashore some ice chests full of beverages and other goodies.

While the crew started a fire and prepared to cook up a picnic lunch, we got our gear on and went out into the wonderful, bathtub warm water of the surrounding reef.

After we had come back from a snorkeling adventure, we enjoyed a delightful meal of grilled fish, papayas, bananas, pineapples, and mangos. We did a little exploring of the island and some more snorkeling before we got back on the boat for the ride back to Koror.

In addition to the various shipwrecks and plane wrecks leftover from World War II that make interesting diving experiences, there are features on the coral reefs around Palau that make it a unique diving experience. Some of these include Ngemelis Cliff... a vertical drop-off from about 3 to 4 feet of water at the coral reef's edge to 300 to 500 feet down. You can see all types of corals, sea turtles, sharks, and other tropical fish and organisms at this dive location.