Close Encounters - The Palau Way

We have decided to split up the writing about Palau to make it a bit easier to read.  Pauline is taking the land experiences.   Mark will handle the diving and boat repair portions.

Palau or Belau, as known locally, is the western most territory in Micronesia and is part of the Carolines Islands.

Sari Timur at her anchorage

Palau consists of many islands and islets.  The biggest is Babeldaob.  South of it are Koror Island, where most of Palau’s downtown is located and Malakal Island, where the commercial port and the primary yacht anchorages are found.   Sari Timur is anchored in front of Sam’s Tours / The Royal Belau Yacht Club, which is the primary yacht anchorage for most cruisers.

Palau’s early history is still a mystery.  Why, how or when people arrived on the islands is unknown but scientists believe that Palau was inhabited as early as 1,000 BC. The original settlers are likely to have come from Indonesia or perhaps the southern Philippines, a blend of Melanesian and Polynesian stock appeared to have been mixed in over the centuries.

Foreign governance of the islands officially began with Spain in 1885.  At the end of the Spanish/American War, Spain sold Palau to Germany.  In 1899 Germany began a colonial administration in Palau.  In 1908 the Germans launched the Sudsee Expedition in Micronesia.  In 1914 the Japanese declared war on Germany and took control of Palau.  In 1919 the League of Nations officially assigned Palau to Japan at the close of WW1 as part of the South Sea Mandate.  By 1922 the Japanese had established a modern government on Palau.  In 1935 Japan withdrew from the League of Nations and began military buildup in Palau.  In July 1944 the Americans attacked Peleliu in one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War.  Following Japan’s defeat in WW2, the islands became United Nations Trust Territories under United States administration.  Palau adopted its own constitution in 1981 and began the road to independence, which happened on October 1, 1994.

The diving in Palau is in a word outstanding!  Many believe that Palau diving is the best in the world.  We are not sure about that as there are a few places we have not been diving and we have as of yet not seen everything Palau has to offer (nor are we likely to in such a short timeframe).  But from what we have seen we think they have a good reason for boasting.  It has certainly become our favourite diving place so far.

The islands of Palau are out at the western extreme of Micronesia.  They are below the theoretical typhoon area and have warm, clear water with light winds all year.  There is supposedly no off season for diving here.  Palau was also the scene of an intense WW2 battle so there are shipwrecks and plane wrecks to see.  Salvage companies have removed 66 wrecks from the harbour otherwise Palau would have a higher number of diveable wrecks than even Chuuk, which supposedly has the highest concentration of WW2 wrecks.  But Palau diving is probably more famous for their reefs, underwater wild life, and unique geographical features.  The names of some of the famous sites such as “Blue Corner”, “Blue Hole”, “Virgin Blue Hole”, “Coral Gardens”, “Zeke Fighter Plane”, “Jake’s Sea Plane Wreck”, “Sunken Bridge” and “Devilfish City” conjure up images to tempt you to dive them.  One hotel brochure lists over fifty dive sites and we hope to get in a good portion of them

So far we have dived two wrecks and they are in excellent shape and loaded with marine life.  The visibility is better than what we experienced in the Philippines but the wrecks are a bit further apart probably due to the above mentioned clearing.  This means that wreck diving is done as part of the daily dive agenda as either the first or second dive and is partnered up with one of the other sites in the area.  For instance a common agenda is to do a drift dive through the Ulong Channel as a morning dive and then after lunch head over and dive the tanker the Teshio Maru which is laying on its side in 14-24 metres of water. Also as there are so many sites close together you often combine two at the same time depending on currents etc.   We really enjoyed Siaes Tunnel which is an underwater cavern and then once we got out of there, we drifted out and around Siaes Corner to see the large number of sharks, barracuda, and trevally, we even had a close encounter with a turtle.  This was our first dive in Palau and we were hooked.  We loved the different coral formations on these dives as well.  One of the other favourite spots is the German Channel area which has several blue holes (submerged caverns) and the pelagic fish are almost always about.  But it is not just the pelagic fish that grab your attention; the multitude of reef fish with their fantastic colours or unique features are pretty special as well.  We saw our first leaf scorpion fish and crocodile fish in this area.  But probably what we will talk about most from this site was our first close encounters with manta rays.  There were also loads of sharks but these become almost mundane in Palau as there are so many of them.  Many years back Palau made its entire territorial waters a shark protected area.  Because of this they have a very healthy reef environment and a multitude of sharks.  Another dive we thoroughly enjoyed was the chambered nautilus dive.  This dive is a little artificial as they set a trap and catch the nautilus the night before a dive and then release them while the divers are there.  It allows us to get up close and personal with these rare creatures and allows the nautilus to get a free dinner.  Mandarin fish are also very prevalent in Palau and we have seen these about 20 feet from where we tie our dinghy up when we come ashore.  There a large schools of Moorish Idols.  Another close encounter we enjoyed was when we were watching two sharks working one of these idols away from the school.  While it was trying to seek shelter near the reef two interested morays left their caves to get in on the action.  Just as one of the morays grabbed him a huge Napoleon Wrasse swooped down from above and stole the Idol right out of the moray’s mouth.  The scene had played out over about five minutes but once the action started it was over lightning quick!

A chambered nautilus

Another view

A close up of its eye

Front view

Another thing unique to Palau is the Jellyfish lake.  This is a fresh water lake that has thousands of jellyfish in it.  But the unique thing is the jellyfish have no predators so they have no stingers.  This means that even though there are thousands of jellyfish in a fairly tight area we can snorkel right in the midst of them.  It might not sound like fun but it is really truly a unique experience and we have not found anyone yet who hasn’t said it was one of the cooler things they have done.

Jellyfish in the lake

close up of a jellyfish

more jellyfish

A handful

During our land travel, we visited a crocodile farm, which was not worth the time (or the fee).

inside of the Bai

We went to the Aimeliik Bai.  A bai is a meeting house for men only.

The Aimeliik Bai

Along the way, we also saw the prehistoric terraces. 

Mark and the guide having fun

Another view of the fall

The waterfall

We also visited the Ngardmau waterfall.   We had to trek down and then up some distance to get to the waterfall, which was very nice and well worth the mud and sweat.  The month after we visited the waterfall, they have started a kind of tram system to bring visitors to the falls so they don’t have to walk.

Some of the stone face monoliths

We drove to Ngarchelong at the northern end of Babeldaob Island, most noted for Palau’s archaeological site of Badrulchau.  Here you can see stone face monoliths over a 5-acre area with some dating back to 161 AD.  However the climate had taken a toll on these stone faces and they are eroding and unrecognizable.

a stone face

as tall as Mark

the stone monoliths

The mother and child stone

We also visited the “Mother and Child” stone, where legend has it that a woman was curious about what goes on in a men’s bai and went to have a look.  She took her child with her but as she was looking into the bai, she and her child turned into stone.   We don't see how the stone looked like a mother and her child but this is it.

The Capitol building

We also drove to Melekeok, where the new Capitol Building is located.  This building is huge, way to big for the small island and the population.

Ruins of a pineapple factory

We also saw the ruin of a pre-WW2 pineapple factory, operated by the Japanese.

close up of the vats

close up of the ruins

 We signed up for a day tour to Peleliu, an island at the southernmost end of Palau’s huge barrier reef.  This we went via a fast boat and were then met by a bus when we got to the island.  Peleliu was the location of some of the fiercest fighting during WW2’s Pacific War.  Underground forts and caves were sealed off when the Japanese soldiers refused to surrender.  Japanese and American memorials are found all over the island, plus old tanks, engines and other war debris rusting away.  We visited the landing strip, Bloody Nose Ridge, Orange Beach where the landing took place, the Japanese Military Headquarters, the Japanese Shrine, the WildCat monument, Japanese Peace Memorial Park, 81^st Infantry Division memorial and 1,000 men cave.  It is called the 1,000 men cave because it was believed that 1,000 Japanese soldiers were inside the cave when the Americans sealed the caves.

Our pictures don’t really do justice to what we saw.

signboard to the sights

tank

entrance to the thousand men cave

inside one of the caves

the landing strip

the Japanese Peace Memorial

amphibious tank

Japanese shrine

Palau Open Ocean Swim (Or the things you say you will do after a few beers!)

6th Annual Palau Open Ocean Swim

Well, Friday night we were off to a friend's birthday party.  While we were there a few people started talking about an event they hold in Palau every year to help fund the Swimming Club and that is an open ocean swim competition.  They hosted a 5km swim, a 1.5 km swim, a 1km swim, a 500m swim and for the kids a 250 metre swim.  Did I say the kids were allowed to join in any competition and they did them all including the 5km swim, just to humiliate us old farts.  

But back to the story.  The party was going good, i.e. I was into my third beer when I was conned (or I mean talked) into taking part in the 1.5 km swim.  Now I really have not done any real exercise since climbing Mount Kinabalu 9 months ago.  I probably would have signed up for the 5 km swim otherwise (the power of beer persuasion) .  Luckily I was sober enough to realize that probably 1.5k was going to be my limit.  The next problem was that we would need to leave the party early as the registration would be at 7am the next day.

Mark doing the registration

We showed up at 7 and kept trying to psych myself up.  Pauline sensibly decided to remain as a fan.  Then we started looking for the people who had talked us into doing this, only to find that they didn’t show up until after 8.  Anyway we waited until almost all of the finishers of the 5km event were back (all but two) before we started at 9.30am.  The five km course was out and around a local island.  Luckily ours was 3 swims around a triangle course near shore and at the end of each triangle we had to stand up and show our number to the judges so they could verify that we did all 3 rounds.  The good news about this meant that if I felt like I was going to not make it I could just stop after any one of these triangles.  Anyway the two guys responsible for conning me into this finished 1^st and 4^th .  Oh and me, I made sure I came in last with a time of 41 minutes 27 seconds, a full 16 minutes after the leader.  But hey I finished and I had fun. 

Afterwards there was a nice spag lunch with lots of fresh water to rehydrate and a raffle before they handed out our certs and a commemorative towel.

Mark on his last lap

Mark running to the finish line

Mark with the little kids, who beat him

All the swimmers and helpers

Repair Progress

We got some parts shipped to us from the States and the Ham Radio interfaced into the Pactor now seems to be working infinitely more reliably so we should have contacts and weather when we leave.  As we are in the middle of a typhoon area where they grow from nothing we really want to know what is happening around us so we can take evasive action.

The generator is still in bits and pieces.  But we are hoping to get that fixed with in the next few days.  Then a few more days of diving and we should be on our way again.

Cebu to Palau

We left Cebu on Tuesday, Apr 19 enroute to Palau.  We were leaving via the Surigao Straits.

Maasin, Leyte Island

The first night out we anchored at Maasin on Leyte Island.  There were 2 other yachts anchored and the couple from Free Spirit came over to say hi.

the village kids

We left on Wednesday and arrived at Melger Bay, midway up Dinagat Island.  Dinagat Island is the last island before we entered the Philippine Sea on our way to Palau.  We anchored in a little inlet by this bay and it was so peaceful and protected.  We had a visit the next morning from some of the village kids and they came onboard.  We stayed at Dinagat Island for 2 nights and on Friday, we made our way out and said goodbye to the Philippines.

We were heading east, southeast towards Palau.  Anyone wants to guess which direction the wind was coming from?  No kidding, east, southeast.  Directly from where we are heading.  We tried sailing but to no avail.  The wind was not strong but just on the nose.  So we motored with the main and stay sails all the way.  We arrived in Palau early Thursday morning, Apr 28, 2011.

This FAD is the size of a 20-foot container

During our trip over, we came across a FAD (fish attraction device).  The one we saw was the size of a huge 20-foot steel container.  The fishermen anchored these FADs everywhere over the ocean.  They attract small fish, which in turn attracts the large pelagic fish, which the fishermen hope to catch.  They do not have any lights or flags and they don’t show up on radar.  If you hit them in the dark, well, you hit them and pray you don’t sustain much damage.  We were fortunate that we didn’t encounter any at night and we only saw that one during that one day.

We also had lots of dolphins playing alongside.  We also had a pod of pilot whales alongside up close for several hours one day.

Palau is surrounded by a barrier reef.  To enter the port, we have to go through a passage in the reef.  It is daunting because you can’t see the reef and the wreck sitting high and dry by the passage did nothing to allay the fear of hitting the reef.

a wreck, sitting high and dry

The Friendship Bridge, joining the islands

One of the islands of Palau

Palau at sunrise, from the ocean

In any case, we got in, Pauline got us alongside the wharf (her first), and we had visits from officials from the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine, and Transportation and Sanitation departments.  By noon, we were cleared, motored over to the yacht anchorage and anchored.

Now, we play!!

Safety Gear

We wrote a Nautique Article on the Safety Gear we carry on board.  The only thing that let us down was the Pactor.  But we hope to get that resolved soon.  I hope you read and enjoy the article it is under the articles section on the right.

We made it to Palau

Hey to all of you guys following our blog, we made it to Palau.  Very sorry the trip updates didn't show up as they were supposed to.  The Pactor seemed to crash the computer during connection confirmation.  I am not sure if it is an airmail issue or a Pactor issue but it was on two computers different issues of airmail.  The Pactor is brand new and has been acting up all along but was really frustrating during this trip.  I hope to get it fixed before we leave for Guam but depends on what the issue is.

We will write more soon.  We need to veg out for a day for now.

Cebu

We left the repair yard and Port Carmen on Apr 1 (no joke) and arrived at the Cebu Yacht Club located on Mactan Island.  We have been here since and will be leaving on Tuesday, Apr 19 for Palau.

Mactan Island is connected to Cebu by two bridges.  A taxi ride from Cebu City to the Yacht Club is about 15 minutes away and costs about 160 pesos (about US$4).

close up of the bridge we used to ride over to Cebu City

the 2 bridges connecting Mactan n Cebu Islands

Mactan Island was a Muslim settlement before it was colonized by Spain in the 16^th century.  When Magellen first arrived he befriended the Cebu Rajah.  The people of Cebu and Mactan were at war when Magellan arrived and unfortunately the Mactan people killed him and they never returned his body.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located on Mactan Island, is the second busiest airport in the Philippines.

Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 smaller islands, including Mactan Island where the yacht club is located.

Cebu City is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines and known as the first and oldest city established by the Spaniards in the country.

The city’s most famous landmark is Magellan’s Cross.  This cross is reputed to have been planted by Ferdinand Magellan when he arrived in the Philippines in 1521. We did not visit the chapel where the cross is.  A few steps away from the Magellan’s Cross is the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino (Church of the Holy Child).  We did attend mass there.  The image of Santo Nino de Cebu (Holy Child Jesus of Cebu), the oldest Christian image in the Philippines, is enshrined and venerated in the Basilica.  According to history, Magellan gave the statue of the Santo Nino to the wife of the Rajah of Cebu, who converted to Catholism, as a symbol of peace and friendship.  We also attended mass at another beautiful church, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

Cebu City was the capital of the Spanish East Indies.  It was ceded to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War.

While we were at the yacht club, we did some boat work, hang out with our friends, John and Sal from Jaraman.  Although for a week, they and Mark took ill and we mostly stayed on our boats.  We spent the last couple of nights with them before we took off to our respective destinations.

We would definitely recommend a visit to Cebu City and Mactan Island.

inside the Basilica Santo Nino (the venerated Santo Nino on the extreme left)

the painting on the ceiling inside the Basilica Santo Nino

outside the Basilica Santo Nino

the history

the altar of the Cebu Cathedral

the bell tower of the Cebu Cathedral

the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

the altar inside the Cebu Cathedral (during Palm Sunday, they covered the crucifix)

The Repair Yard

We are in Pinoy Boat Services.  We were going to just get the head repainted and a cabinet repaired.  We found what could have been a potentially disastrous problem.  The cross brace that holds the mizzen compression post had some rot in it.  When we put the mizzen back on 3 years ago we must have punched through the fiberglass coating on it as the mizzen had sunk nearly one inch into the brace (and we have not tightened any turnbuckles that much since installing it).  So we rebuilt one here and a few other small jobs done at the same time.  Head, cabinet, and mizzen all look good.  Need to get the bill now as we wish to leave Friday and go down to the big city for a week or so.  Watching a possible typhoon coming from Palau area.  But other than that we are ready to go and play again.

the compression post back in place

the support beam still in

the base (picture a little dark)

the repair to the cabinet (hard to see the finished work)

Unexpected Visitors

We left Boracay on Friday, Mar 4 for our trip to Port Bonbonon on the south of the island of Negros.  This trip took us past the island of Panay and we made 3 stops before arriving at Port Bonbonon on Monday, Mar 7.

The first day out we anchored by a little island halfway down the west of Panay.  We got anchored about 4pm and since we have not had lunch, Pauline got started on getting dinner ready.  Halfway through preparations, Mark said that we had visitors.  4 bankas (boats) with 2 teenage boys in each had arrived and one of them who spoke passable English was trying to chat with Mark.  Anyways, they wanted to jump off the bow of our boat into the water.  Mark said ok but only 2 at a time.  Soon off into the water the boys jumped, leaving one boy on the bankas to hover around.  They came in 2s, clambered up the swim ladder, ran to the bow and jumped off into the water.  They swam back to their respective bankas and the other boys jumped into the water and the whole process was repeated over and over again for about an hour.  It was nice to see that the boys were having a grand old time.  When the sun was setting, they all got back on their bankas and thanked us over and over again.  The one who spoke passable English told us that we are very nice and generous for allowing them onto our boat and before leaving said, God bless you and they left as suddenly as them came, back to their little village.  We said to each other later over dinner that they probably had something to talk about for a while with their friends.  It was nice to know that we have helped make the day for some kids.

boys jumping off the bow

boys in their bankas

boys having fun

We left the next day and went south, anchored in a bay south of Panay for one night and in a bay in Asia Bay, west of Negros for another night.

dolphins came to play

When we left Asia Bay in the morning, the wind was very light and we had our main up and were motoring south toward Port Bonbonon.  It was a beautiful day, light wind, sunshine.  We noticed fish thrashing towards our portside and thought it was tuna.  Then we realized it was dolphins and before long they were alongside and playing with our bow wake.  We went forward and watched them.  They left after a couple of minutes.  We then realized in our excitement, we had forgotten our camera.  We took it out and said perhaps the next time, never expecting a next time.  Well, we saw dolphins again but this time they were busy feeding and didn’t come to play.  We were disappointed and had almost given up on seeing more when, we saw some, again to our portside.  These came over to play with our bow wake and Pauline ran forward and started taking pictures.  They were playing for a few minutes and then one of the dolphin made some dolphin noises and off they went.  It was really nice to see these creatures and they really made our day.

 

There was a last little unexpected visitor.  This time it was a little sparrow.  It flew onto the boat, looking really tired.  When it arrived, we were about 10 miles offshore.  It got up close and personal with us for a while.  We put out some water and sunflower seeds but never saw it again.  Pauline thought she killed it because she didn’t bring out the water when it first arrived.  It must have flown off when we got closer to the island.

We anticipated the trip down to Port Bonbonon to be mundane and uneventful but we had these unexpected visitors and it was really nice.  So who says life is boring?  It is always full of surprises.

Leaving Puerto Galera (Boracay or Bust!)

We have left Puerto Galera and just arrived in Boracay.  Great trip down with a few day stops in Maestro de Campo where we took in a variety show put on by the local high school's English Club.  Then went to Looc Bay in Tablas Island where we found a typhoon was possibly building in our path so stayed tucked in there for a few days.

Exchanging burgees with Puerto Galera Yacht Club

Exchanging club burgees

Sari Timur in PG

Sari Timur in PG

Immaculate Concepcion Church in Maestre de Campo Island, built mostly with marble from Romblon (another island)

the waterfront of Port Concepcion, Maestre de Campo Island

the stage for the show put up by the High School students in Maestre de Campo Island

Boracay

Boracay