When E tried to arrange snorkeling with his usual dive business here, he wasn't able to and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for it lead us to a different operation- IMPAC- which caters only to snorkelers and it was definitely more bang for the buck... and friendlier, too. Plus, there is a visible effort for recycling at their shop- special bins for cans and plastic.... frankly it's unbelievable that you don't SEE more recycling going on on this island.... plus, they are making an effort to pick up trash, bag it, and get it out of otherwise pristine nature spots... so pat on the back to them!
We started the day at a site called Paradise. The water is less than 20 feet deep, and swimming among a multi-layered, varietal coral garden, were thousands of gorgeously colored and patterned fish. We had a full hour for the underwater "corps de ballet" to parade past as we were immersed among them. This is definitely one post where pictures will tell the story. The uploading is a bit tricky and there may only be a few at a time, but E took more than 100 pictures today!
The second place we went to is called the Milky Way. Here in a little cove, for reasons unknown to me, the limestone from the island is dissolving into a very finely particled white clay/mud. Decaying vegetal matter adds some sulphur based minerals to the mud mix, and it's a favorite place for the inner child to indulge those long forgotton desires of smearing gooey mud all over. The guides dive down and bring up palmfuls of mud, placing it in a bucket, which everyone on board- save the captain- applies to themselves. Then out come the cameras. After letting the treatment work its magic for a few minutes, time to jump into the water and rinse off. The boat gets a careful rinse, too and none of this precious resource leaves the area.
While we were in the water at the Milky Way, it was raining ... and to describe the beauty of that little cove under the specific conditions I experienced it today, would be futile. I only hope I can go back there again before we leave, and also, to visit there in my dreams.
an aside here.... I've been listening to E describe the Milky Way site as "creepy" over and over in conversations with people, (because there is little visibility there) and what I experienced was not creepy in the least. The water looks like a curacao drink in color, and the surrounding rock islands give the area a sheltered, majestic feeling. The white birds with the long tails were here, alas I'll need to find a reference for them, as they were/are sacred to the Palauan peoples. The rain was just the icing on the cake. I could watch raindrops on the surface of the water forever.
a second aside....
Edward is inadvertently providing much amusement this evening, as he hunts the one mosquito in our room. His expletives are heartfelt, and very creative... and the tool he brandishes- a rolled up towel- snaps smartly in the air when he wields it.
back to our day... we had lunch at one of two of E's favorite islands.. Ngermeus (erm ee us)
We had bento boxes, along with our fellow Japanese passengers (all the food inside was cooked.) Although we only had the merest of conversation with them, the feeling/ tone was friendly. Rain again.
We ate in a sheltered ramada and after lunch I went directly into the ocean to sit in the rain. Because E and I weren't doing the Jellyfish lake part of the tour, we got to hang out and snorkel at the beach.
In 30 feet of water we watched as a "bait ball" of silvery "generic" fish were schooling in a fascinating ever-changing patterns, while circling the perimeter were 5 large "apex predators"- footlong jacks (Trevelaly) They appeared to be waiting for one of the fish to slip up and be outside the group, so they could snap him up. Also on patrol, were several black tip sharks. (I think I saw the same guy on two separate rounds, though E saw 3 of them together) ... they didn't even look our way.. well, thank goodness seeing them isn't petrifying...
I know you're probably tired of hearing me go on, so I will only say there was a last snorkel of the day, not so many fish, but the coral were quite large and interesting.
I picked up a piece of broken shell on the beach today, it's already in service as a fine pen rest, more sentimental than attractive... but perfect functionality. Is that a word??
an aside here.... I've been listening to E describe the Milky Way site as "creepy" over and over in conversations with people, (because there is little visibility there) and what I experienced was not creepy in the least. The water looks like a curacao drink in color, and the surrounding rock islands give the area a sheltered, majestic feeling. The white birds with the long tails were here, alas I'll need to find a reference for them, as they were/are sacred to the Palauan peoples. The rain was just the icing on the cake. I could watch raindrops on the surface of the water forever.
a second aside....
Edward is inadvertently providing much amusement this evening, as he hunts the one mosquito in our room. His expletives are heartfelt, and very creative... and the tool he brandishes- a rolled up towel- snaps smartly in the air when he wields it.
back to our day... we had lunch at one of two of E's favorite islands.. Ngermeus (erm ee us)
We had bento boxes, along with our fellow Japanese passengers (all the food inside was cooked.) Although we only had the merest of conversation with them, the feeling/ tone was friendly. Rain again.
We ate in a sheltered ramada and after lunch I went directly into the ocean to sit in the rain. Because E and I weren't doing the Jellyfish lake part of the tour, we got to hang out and snorkel at the beach.
In 30 feet of water we watched as a "bait ball" of silvery "generic" fish were schooling in a fascinating ever-changing patterns, while circling the perimeter were 5 large "apex predators"- footlong jacks (Trevelaly) They appeared to be waiting for one of the fish to slip up and be outside the group, so they could snap him up. Also on patrol, were several black tip sharks. (I think I saw the same guy on two separate rounds, though E saw 3 of them together) ... they didn't even look our way.. well, thank goodness seeing them isn't petrifying...
I know you're probably tired of hearing me go on, so I will only say there was a last snorkel of the day, not so many fish, but the coral were quite large and interesting.
I picked up a piece of broken shell on the beach today, it's already in service as a fine pen rest, more sentimental than attractive... but perfect functionality. Is that a word??
We're never tired of hearing about this! I'm so glad you've found beautiful places to talk about and to photograph. Can't wait to see more photos!
ReplyDeleteYes, a picdture REALLY is worth a thousand words!!! Love it! What FUN! You go girl!
ReplyDeleteReally beautiful, thanks for the pictures. Joyce, you look especially happy in the last one. A view of the world eye level with a calm ocean surface in my mind is the best there is. Adding rain drops is like the sugar on top.
ReplyDeleteBird research for you...142 bird species on Palau...many have been "captured" on stamps...the long tailed white bird may be the WHITE--TAILED TROPIC BIRD...it has a long tail with black areas on the leading edges of the wings...there were only two other large white birds and they did not have long tails...start looking up and you might see some more interesting birds in trees:)
ReplyDelete