Walking Kayangel

Saturday morning I awoke bright and early ready to explore Kayangel. LB and Dave had already left to go fishing, so I decided to walk the road that circumnavigated the island. I headed south along the crushed coral and dirt road. While the road around Angaur had a canopy of old mahogany trees, Kayangel's road is more open but still shaded by coconut trees. A short distance down the road I came upon an access to the beach facing Ngeriungs Islet. I stopped to take a few pictures before continuing on. The population of Kayangel lives in the center part of the western portion of the island facing the lagoon and I soon left the houses behind. The road follows the water with a twenty yard patch of coconut trees and other growth between the road and the beach. When I reached the eastern side of the island, I left the road and walked the beach for a while. The eastern side of the island faces out to the open ocean and with little protection from the lagoon it is more exposed. I watched as the waves rolled in and crested on the edge of the reef. It was a very sunny day and I was roasting on the beach and had to retreat to the shade of the road to continue walking. I didn't see too much wildlife along the way except for a few lizards and a shy mangrove crab. It was a nice stroll and I was in no hurry. I eventually reached the north end and followed the road as it looped south back toward the village. I soon reached the power plant and the edge of the village. After a journey of a little over two hours, I returned to the house.

Back at the house, Lori and LB were barbecuing a smorgasbord of chicken, spare ribs, and hot dogs for lunch and dinner. It would still be a while until they were done, so a group of us went to go swimming at the dock. We were joined by a few local kids who were visiting Lori and decided to join us. At the dock, we entertained ourselves by jumping from the dock into the water below. The tide was going out and it was a good ten foot drop to the water. Having done this many times before, the kids were fearless and did all sorts of flips off the dock. The rest of us were more cautious, but still enjoyed the splash and the opportunity to cool off in the hot weather. We built up a good appetite and walked back to the house for the awaiting lunch. Lori did a great job barbecuing and it was a good lunch. Afterwards I relaxed and read for a bit before our next exploration.

At low tide it is possible to walk the exposed sand bar to Ngeriungs Islet, the small island near the main island. Lori wanted to go, so we joined her, Ngirchotang's cousin Elvis (the king is alive on a small island in the Pacific!), the local kids we had gone swimming with, and their two dogs. Earlier that morning I had been to the same beach and there was only water between the islands, but now there was a sandbar path. Once we left the shoreline and began walking on the exposed sandbar, it almost felt like walking in the desert. While we were surrounded on two sides by water, the ripples of the receding water created small ridges like sand dunes. Plus, with the sun beating down on us crossing a highly reflective surface it was extremely bright. Along the way, Elvis stopped to hunt for foot-long worms used for bait while the local girls found clams. I continued on and after twenty minutes or so reached Ngeriungs Islet. I explored the beach a bit, but rocks prevented me from walking around the island. I found a nice shady coconut tree and sat down to rest. The others were hunting worms and clams, but after all the walking I was happy to take a break. Dave joined me and we both laid out underneath the coconut tree and dozed off. Not wanting to get stranded by the tides, we could not stay too long and began the trek back across the sand bar. While scenic, it was very hot and I was happy to reach the shade. We returned to the house to relax.

At sunset, we walked over to the schoolyard and threw the frisbee around. Elvis turned out to be very good at throwing the frisbee. It was a scenic spot to watch a great sunset. Back at the house, we ate barbecue again with rice and it was once again great. After the dark settled in, we took the fishing gear to fish at the dock. LB, Dave, and Lori set out bottom fishing lines. Bottom fishing uses a hand line with a hook and bait. There is no casting, a weight keeps the hook down. I did some casting off the dock with one of the rods. It was a beautiful night with the stars out and a huge full moon. Lori pulled up a few tiny fish, but otherwise we hardly had a nibble. Stymied and tired, we returned to the house to get some sleep.