Palau

As most of you know having a child inhibits your ability to do certain activities together that you could once do freely and without second thought. Diving has been one of those things for us. We really miss it. It usually takes up most of the day and its pretty hard to find someone to buck up and give you an entire day off together. Vic had not been in over a year and I have seldom made it out myself. So when my parents decided to pay us a visit this year we took them up on their offer to join us in Palau- where they could watch Kyra for us and see the beautiful scenery while we could once again enjoy the underwater world. Win win.

The excitement and wonderment of our last trip to Palau could never again be attained, so we didn't even try. We really missed our friends Steve and Katrina this time around. So many memories and good times, we thought of them often.

It was a good trip overall. Vic and I had an opportunity to take two days to ourselves just to dive. The reefs and animal life in Palau is as alive as ever. I think our favorite was The German Channel where we got to see tons of Manta Rays and Sharks swim up really close, and I really liked The Big Drop Off where I spotted my first Nudibranch, a lot of Humphead Wrasses, the ever elusive Clown Triggerfish and several more sharks. Another highlight was our last dive at Chandler Cave. Its a pretty shallow dive with 4 chambers where you can actually surface to have a look around. It was pretty amazing to see such well preserved and beautiful architecture in a cave.

On the days when my parents went snorkeling we pretty much just did what we do on Guam. The pool at our hotel was quite nice and relaxing. Kyra is getting to be a pretty good water baby. She seems sad when we take her out. We also had an opportunity to drive around the island a bit, something we totally neglected last visit. Way up north is an area where the lost societies left huge stone monoliths. Nobody really knows much about them except that the stones are there and they must have taken a lot of effort to put in place. We also got us some education in the form of a really cool museum in town as well as stumbling upon the last remaining Palauan Bai, which is a traditional meeting house.

Kyra was a big hit among the locals. We got the feeling that not too many white babies make it down to those parts. Everywhere we went the ladies and kids wanted to play with her and hold her. I never really expected that having a kid would require you to be so much more outgoing and personable. I was thinking about parents who have introverted personalities and how hard it must be for them to walk down the street or go to the store when all these strangers are trying to have conversations with you. I'm surprised in myself that I do actually like it, I guess it has a lot to do with Kyra seeming to always light up at new faces. Interacting with almost everyone we come across is something I was totally not prepared for but it has been a good thing so far.

All in all a good trip. Palau never disappoints. Below are some pictures.

Colorful meeting place/Modern Palauan home

Ancient Stone Path leading up to the Bai.


Traditional Palauan Bai

Vicki and Kyra at the Stone Monoliths

Kyra tries Beetlenut, but not really

Surface Time in the pool