Lounging on Kayangel

Saturday was another beautiful and sunny day. When we woke up, Emily cooked us crepe style pancakes with a light dusting of peanut butter, apparently a favorite amongst Palauans. Emily then took us on a tour of their garden. It was a mixture of Palauan staples like taro and noni, Asian imports such as long beans, and American basil. Emily had planted the basil and it had grown quite vigorously and gave us a bunch to take back with us to Koror.

We left the house and walked down to the south end to spend the day at the beach. Jirka and Phil got the kite surf out again and set it all up. Meanwhile, I went snorkeling near the beach. There wasn't much coral, but the water was so clear and with a sandy bottom the visibility was great. I met the kite surfers off shore, but they were again having difficulty keeping the parachute in the air in a mild wind. I returned to beach and settled in underneath a tree to read my book while occasionally checking the surfing progress. Time slipped by and eventually the surfers returned to the beach, stymied by the wind.

In the afternoon, Pete and Phil knocked some coconuts down off a nearby tree. Without a machete, we had to resort to primitive measures of bashing the coconuts with a rock to open them. We tried different techniques, but Pete had the most successful technique of bashing the middle coconut to weaken it, then the top and finally peeling it. I was able to get enough of the husk off of mine to get to the center and then open it to drink the milk and then eat the meat. It was a fun Robinson Crusoe-esque island activity.

Jirka and Emily went spearfishing while I returned to my book. Jirka caught two needlefish and Emily just missed a trevally. They returned just in time to pack up the kite and watch the sunset. We gathered our stuff and walked back to the house. For dinner we had rice and fried fish, including the needlefish Jirka caught.

After dinner we played Yahtzee, which Emily loves but has no one to play with. We played a few lively games. I didn't get a Yahtzee, but I did win the second game we played on sheer luck. Afterwards I went to clean myself up, but they don't have a shower. They use a small room that has a faucet that draws from rain water to fill a large basin. I used a small bucket to draw out water and then pour it over me. It took a little getting used to and my aiming with the water wasn't always exact, but I got the hang of it and with the heat it didn't matter that the water wasn't warm.

Now relatively clean, I read a little while before going to sleep. Our sleeping arrangements were in a house that had large door and window openings that are common. The main area was empty and we slept on the floor upon mats. They gave a sheet and a pillow, so while it wasn't cushy it wasn't too bad. We had a few fans blowing on us and heat wasn't oppressive. Sleep came easily after a long day lounging on the beach.