Location: Palau
Today was our last full day in Palau, as we are on course to set sail tomorrow for Indonesia! We started our day with nose-violating Covid tests, which many people said to have been the worst one yet (thankfully, mine wasn’t too bad). We got our fresh laundry back today, which was SO NICE! I can definitely speak on behalf of everyone and say how grateful we are for good-smelling and dry clothes! We had some free time before lunch, and the majority of us spent it chilling out on deck, hanging out and snacking while enjoying the sunshine that we have been so deprived of over the past couple of days. After lunch, we got to learn more about “boat checks,” which are checklists that we run through while on watch during passage. Most of us spent our last Palauan sunset doing flips and “gainers” off the bowsprit, having swim races, and hanging out in the water together. Shoutout to Justin and Will for nailing their first gainers here in Palau! Chloe and her sous chefs Bo and Shuman made Chicken/Tofu Tikka Masala for dinner, and there were no leftovers because we all loved it!
For the squeeze question, I asked, “if you could do anything without failing, what would it be?” My answer was to always be able to say the right thing. Some of my favorite answers were: the ability to always make a good first impression (Ian), reverse climate change (Whitney), invent time travel faster than light (Jack), cure cancer (Rykleigh/Crikey), and end war forever (Tim). We have our VHF test tomorrow for Seamanship, so I know many of us will be studying for that tonight! I am super excited to go underway and explore new places, and I will also miss Palau.
PS.
Thanks, Dad, for teaching me the phonetic alphabet when I was a kid because it is one less thing I have to study, and I get to help quiz my friends on it! 🙂
Pictured:
1. Lucia at her Covid test where they were showing Argentina (where she’s from) on the TV
2. Kayli, Matt, Whitney, Chris, and (me) hanging out by the foremast and snacking
3. Gabe teaching watch team 3 (the best team) about on-deck checklist things for boat checks
4. Whitney, Justin, Matt, Ian, Bo, and Zack hanging out on the bowsprit
5. Will and Lucia studying for PSCT before dinner
6. Justin nailing his first gainer
7. Will nailing his first gainer
8-9. Our group pictures after squeeze
10. Our last beautiful Palauan sunset (kind of hidden by clouds)
11. Argo all lit up at night — so beautiful