Location: Palau
This is a tale of a friendship that has spanned an ocean. As many of you may or may not know, we have been using two specific docks while ferrying to land from Argo. The dock we most frequently use belongs to a company called Paddling Palau, which we also contracted for one of our first Palau adventures back on day 39. On this specific adventure, we took tour boats around the lagoon just south of Argo and snorkeled all day. Our guide stood out as he was taller than the average Palauan and spoke perfect English, with no accent at all. Even more peculiar was that this man seemed so familiar, as if I had known him in a past life or maybe seen him back home in Hawaii. Keep in mind the racial makeup of the state of Hawaii is extremely diverse, consisting largely of people from all parts of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Sean was his name, and as we learned more about Palauan ecology and history throughout the day, I learned more and more about Sean. Funny enough, it turns out that he did live in Hawaii at a time, and our paths most definitely have crossed in our past lives. July 17th was our day off, and I chose to hang out with Sean!
On our earlier boat adventures, Sean explained that he lived in Hawaii for high school, and we named countless mutual friends who we both knew, his best friend at the time being an extremely good friend of mine 5 years later. With his parents being from Palau and Colorado, he has lived many different lives and worked a number of different jobs. From ski instructor and ski patrol in Colorado, to surf instructor in Hawaii, and being a dive instructor since he turned 18, his life is the outdoors. Since moving back to Palau after high school to be close to fam, he has also been an airport firefighter, safety diver for documentary crews, and a dive company owner who helped film for BBC and Nat Geo. The days between our snorkel tour and our day off, Sean and I planned behind the scenes for our adventure day. I was psyched because Sean is a guy that everyone knows in Palau, and he had lists of cool spots to adventure that most people have never seen.
The day came, and everyone was MORE than ecstatic to leave the boat that morning. A lot of the crew simply wanted to get a hotel and hang out to get that rest and de-stress time. Max was on a mission to ask the local churches to play their Piano, and Harrison planned to rent a bike and solo explore! It was a day that every 80-day student has been dreaming of since our passage days became extra brutal. Rhianna and I only had adventure on our minds as Sean headed to pick us up at breakfast. His white Subaru peeled into the parking lot, blasting a song, “Ehu Girl,” which is a tune from Hawaii. My face still hurts from that first smile, as it never left my face all day. He arrived with a friend, so our crew now numbered four, the perfect amount so as not to leave anyone behind in an activity. Our first stop was the mart for coffee, snacks, and food to last the day. As we walked only a single block around the main town, Sean managed to say WASSUP to half a dozen people, including friends, acquaintances, and his two cousins. This was a man of the people, and today, a tour guide for my boat best friend (BBF) Ri and me.
We drove through Palau’s winding roads and across bridges to traverse through rainforests and coastal areas. The drive itself was gorgeous, reminding me of a backcountry road in Hawaii! We blasted local music and laughed the whole way to Sean’s coastal village along a bumpy dirt road. This is where he was raised as a kid in Palau, taught the ways of his people, and is remarkably the same height as everyone else (over 6 feet)! He told us a story about his village ancestors where an all-male Samoan war party landed on their beach over 3000 years ago. They were so fierce that the neighboring tribes couldn’t push them out, and they never left, which has been traced back through their DNA and is the reason for their sheer size. We walked through the dirt streets and along the coast to a pier that took us all the way to the fringing reef. Sean explained his childhood in the village, from the whale bones he has hung for good luck to the uncles he has known since he was a baby. Furthermore, he understands every part of how the ecosystem here works from watching and learning for so many years! Our questions didnt stop all day, and he was always stoked to talk and answer more about any of it. We ate our food and reminisced on funny high school stories from Hawaii before finding a bridge for all of us to jump off! It was an extremely beautiful but hot day, and you’re crazy if you dont want to jump in the crystal blue ocean every 30 minutes. Another stop we made was this awesome little waterfall, which took a few steps to get down to. We weaved our way down muddy slopes to a small creek that flowed surprisingly strong for its size. The water cascaded down a steep face for 10 meters, and just behind the white wall were hidden spots to hang out. The group of us crawled up the stream to the falls, in that sort of tip-toe motion you do when you’re about to get cold and wet. The water belting our heads and backs, we pushed through the falls to reach the back secret caves, cheering with excitement and stoke. We crawled around the falls for a while as they were quite expansive and there was plenty to explore.
I could write about all of the little sidequests that we had during our adventure, but you’d be reading a novel at that point. Our adventure day came to a close as Sean, Rhianna, and I showed up to dinner at the local restaurant where the rest of our crew was convening for dinner. It was awesome to hear about everyone’s daytime fun or relaxation and have Sean be a part of our crew for a small time. At some point, Sean stood up and told us about the boat that was sitting just outside the restaurant in the harbor, the likes of which resembled the sailing vessel Hokulea from Hawaii. Sean is crew on the vessel with his brothers and friends, and the boat is actually the sister ship to the Hokulea. In fact, the captain of the vessel is the son of Mau, a Palauan voyager and teacher who retaught Hawaiians such as Nainoa Thompson the art of celestial navigation. I was in the presence of a crossover that meant the world to me, the place I call home and its culture, and had revitalized a friendship I will cherish for the rest of my life. Over the course of the entire day and into dinner, the same questions continued to recur in my mind how the heck am I here right now with these amazing people, how’d I find Sean an ocean away, in what world is this a normal day for anyone? Reflecting back on it now, it all comes down to the opportunity that is Sea|mester. This adventure that we are all on has been able to curate some of our lives’ greatest moments. It happens daily – in front of our very eyes – every place that we go or person we may meet. It is something I believe we all collectively feel to be true on Argo, but maybe dont have the ability to put it into words or realize its truth!
With that, I say Mahalo for reading this longer-than-normal adventure! In the spirit of sharing culture and experience, I leave you with a message: He wa’a he moku – he moku he wa’a. Your canoe is your island, and your island is your canoe. We can all resonate with this saying on Argo, as she is the home we love to come back to after every long day 🙂
To my Mama and Pops, I love ya’ll sooo very much! These experiences have exploded my worldviews and understanding of this beautiful Earth. I am forever grateful for this opportunity and miss you dearly <3 To friends and family, miss you all and know the pirate dreams are happening as we speak – the ocean is home m/
Love Isaac