Kayangel

Palau does not celebrate Memorial Day, but last week I still had a four day work week. Friday, June 1, was President's Day giving us a three day weekend. LB proposed a trip to the northern island state of Kayangel. Our librarian Lori and her husband Ngirchotang, who is a marshal, agreed to join us with their family. Ngirchotang grew up in Kayangel and offered to let all of us stay at his family's house. We invited others at the court, but for various reasons they could not join us including Christy who had to stay and welcome the arrival of her mother. Just like Angaur, Kayangel has a state boat that travels on pay weeks and once again the holiday weekend fell on a non-pay week. Undeterred, Lori chartered the state boat to take us to Kayangel on Friday and return Sunday.

President's Day began just as Senior Citizen's Day: with a road race. Friday was World No Tobacco Day and to promote it there was a 5K walk/run. When I arrived at the PCC track I discovered that there was also a 10K run covering the same course as the Red Cross run a few weeks ago. As I had recently done it, I decided to run the 10K. There was a great expat turnout for the race and I knew many people participating including a few judges, LB and Dave, and some of the Navy CAT team who I've gotten to know through frisbee. I ran the first half of the race with Phil and it was a great first half with a little rain creating a magnificent rainbow at the top of the hill near Aussie Acres. We went out too fast a pace because at the turn around at PPR we both had side cramps. He had to stop and try to stretch it out but I continued at a slower pace. I found a manageable pace and finished without stopping. I finished in 8th place in nearly the same time as the Red Cross run.

I returned home to recover a bit and finish packing before driving to T-dock to find the boat. The Kayangel boat is not a large ferry, but similar to the dive boats but with more powerful engines. I met LB and family at the dock as well as Lori, Ngirchotang, two of their sons, and a cousin. We stashed away our stuff in the dry holds and took our seats. We left at noon at low tide and headed north up the west side. There were scattered showers and wind, but the ocean was calm. I had previously been up the west side fishing, but we soon passed Ngardmau reaching places I had not seen by boat. We stopped for a break at the Ngarchelong dock, a place I had visited with my sister. After pulling away from the dock, we turned north and soon left Babeldaob and the protective reef behind. The open ocean was very smooth and our driver was able to go fast. Unfortunately, it began to rain heavily. The boat provided little protection from the rain and everyone got soaked. I had my jacket and was able to stay somewhat dry, but I was not protected from the fast moving rain that stung. The rain stopped and the clouds parted as we arrived in Kayangel.

Kayangel is a small grouping of islands 25 miles north of Babeldoab. It is the only true coral atoll in Palau, meaning that it is a ringlike coral island and reef that nearly or entirely encloses a lagoon. Its main island is shaped like a crescent moon and is 2570 m long north-south, with a width between 270 m in the south and 700 m in the north. About 138 residents live on Kayangel. It is renown for its beautiful beaches, traditional lifestyle, and plentiful fish.

On our arrival, Lori had arranged for a small truck to carry our bags to the house. The rest of us set off on foot. As Kayangel is smaller, it is easy to walk the shorter distances. Ngirchotang's family house is in the center of the island of the beach. It is a smaller place and we spent the majority of time on the porch or in the outdoor covered area. Detached from the house, the roofed open-aired area had a long wide platform plus a separate kitchen area. Many Palauan houses have such a multi-purpose area and it is where everyone hangs out, cooks, sits, talks, etc. Once we got settled, LB and Dave decided to sleep in the tent they brought and took it over to the beachfront field in front of the nearby elementary school. There was baseball practice until six, so they had to move it off to one side but after that they set it up and had a gorgeous spot next to the palm trees and the beach. While setting up the tent we passed an older Palauan man who offered us coconuts. He took out his machete and after knocking a few green coconuts off the tree, chopped them open for us to drink. We sipped them slowly as we strolled down the beach. We returned to the house and then walked back to the dock and went for a swim.

When we returned to the house, it was time for dinner. We arranged for one of Ngirchotang's cousins to cook dinner for us and it was a fabulous meal. The highlight was a monstrous lobster that provided four of us with a large chunk of meat that was excellent. There was also fried barracuda, giant clam sashimi, coconut soup, fried banana, and taro. Everything was fantastic and a great introduction to Kayangel. With the early morning and long trip behind us, we were pretty tired. After dinner I read my book for a while before retiring to my bed inside the house.

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