Kayaking and Megan's Departure

One of the things Megan was looking forward to during her trip was kayaking, so on her penultimate day we went to Sam's and took out two single kayaks. Megan was a natural and we set off to explore the coves near Sam's. The conditions were good for kayaking, a little wind and waves but nothing too serious. It was low tide exposing more of the islands. At Jellyfish Cove there is a shallow coral reef right at the entrance and at low tide it can be exposed prohibiting even kayaks from entering. Luckily for us the tide was just high enough and we were able to skim above the coral and into the cove. There we saw the sunken Japanese skiff and I saw a few jellyfish. Leaving the cove, we stayed close to the islands and followed their nooks and crannies.

The rock islands are comprised mainly of limestone, but also contain other rock and metals such as iron. When the soft limestone erodes, it leaves the tougher iron behind. With constant exposure to salt water, the iron rusts leaving rusticles on the sides of the islands. The are easy to observe when kayaking and add a bit of color to the islands. We eventually arrived at Pincher's Cove and tied up the kayaks in order to snorkel. I hung around the entrance of the cove, but Megan went all around the edge and saw all the various coral formations and fish. We clamored back onto the kayaks and set off again around the point. Lazily kayaking is very relaxing and as you get into the rhythm of paddling it lulls your mind into wandering off into random tangents. Eventually we made it back to Sam's after around four hours of kayaking. We then went to PPR and enjoyed another gorgeous sunset. For dinner, we went to the Penthous Hotel and had the whole parrotfish cooked in the traditional Palauan style. It is a little out of the ordinary (for Americans) to eat off the whole fish, but Megan got the hang of it and enjoyed the dinner.

From dinner, we went directly to the airport to pick up my next guest, my mother. She decided to spend an extra week in Palau and traveled alone in advance of my father. Palau is a long trip with multiple plane legs and layovers so there is plenty of opportunity for travel mishaps. Up until this point, all my guests have traveled to and from Palau without any problems, that is, until my mother's trip. Her problems began right at the start when they canceled her flight from Lansing to Detroit. To make her flight from Detroit to Narita, Japan, Northwest put her in a cab and drove her to Metro. At Metro, they rushed her through the airport and security with all her luggage (after confiscating her liquids and a fish boning knife she intended to bring me a gift in what she intended as her checked bag). She arrived at the gate and saw her plane backing away from the terminal. She was able to get onto a flight to Nagoya, Japan, but naturally that flight got delayed. She made it to Nagoya, but her next flight to Guam was also delayed. She made it to Guam, but had to find a hotel at four in the morning because her original overnight layover was in Narita. She was finally spared of problems on her last flight from Guam to Palau and arrived safely and happy to be in Palau. Megan and I took her home and got her settled.

Mom spent the next day adjusting and they met me for lunch at Rock Island Cafe. They then went to PPR for a little rest and relaxation. I met up with them for another excellent horizon sunset. It was Megan's last night and she wanted sushi so we went to Fuji. Megan enjoyed her sushi, especially the tuna and Mom enjoyed her fish fillets. After dinner we walked next door to ABai Ice, a little snack shop that makes flavored ice drinks. They are very refreshing on a warm evening in the tropics. Mom was running out of steam, so we got her home and she promptly fell into a deep coma-like sleep on the couch as the jet lag caught up to her. Meanwhile, Megan packed her things and I prepared her a photo disk of her trip. We roused Mom long enough to say goodbye to Megan and got her into bed. Then it was off to the airport to get her checked in. We said our goodbyes and she was off. Her trip home was uneventful and she made it back to Connecticut safely. It was really great that she could travel all this way to visit. We got to do some fun activities and she had a great time. As with my other guests, I'm very happy she could experience Palau and share this adventure with me.

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