Location: Palau
Greetings from Palau, or, as we prefer to call it, PaWOW. This place is INSANE. With coral reefs, sharks, little mushroom islands, caves, rainbows, next-level underwater visibility, and so much more, we can all see why this is Gabe’s favorite place in the world. Speaking of Gabe, this was his day off and ALSO his birthday, so he spent it on his own, diving and hanging out with his Palau boys. He was also skipper, but since he was absent during normal boat and shore activities, I volunteered to write. And lucky for you, I’m also skipper tomorrow so you’ll be hearing from me again very soon!
The day started for me at midnight because I was up until 2:30 making breakfast. On the menu: melon ginger soup and apple pear crisp. At one point, when I was in the galley cutting apples, I could hear Spencer’s alter ego, Hugo, shouting announcements from the cabins.
After an early breakfast under a rainy sky a few hours later, everyone packed into the dinghies and headed to shore, where we embarked on a full-day kayak voyage in Nikko Bay. Surrounded by rock overhangs, hanging vines, and baby sharks, we explored WW2 relics and an ancient burial site inside a cave. We then had a debate on whether it is stalactites or stalagmites that hang from the ceiling. Kackie had never heard of either. Joshua quickly ended it with a confident answer. We then stopped at a beach for bento lunch (grilled fish and Hawaiian passion orange punch for me) and then set off once again for another cave. This one had swarms of bats inside. Immediately, we ditched our kayaks in the shadows and swam to an overhang just at the mouth of the cave where the cliff jumping could commence. A chorus of whoops continued for more than an hour as everyone took their turns. GoPros were out, Beck did a backflip, and Steph took nearly the entire time we were there to find the courage and take that jump. She did, though, receiving cheers from all of us.
Hopping in our kayaks once again, we headed for yet another cave. This one, however, was not big enough to fit a kayak through. So we ditched them again and swam through after our guide checked first for crocodiles (which are apparently common). Emerging on the other side, we found ourselves in an enclosed lake of sorts. And there were sea jellies! It also started pouring, so we waited for the rain to cease before making our way back through the tiny cave and onto our kayaks.
On our way to the dock to finish the adventure, we were greeted by a magnificent rainbow, followed by Steph’s excited squealing. Spencer kept trying to stand up on my kayak but could only last a few minutes before falling in.
After getting out of the water and making our way back to Argo, we took our ocean showers quickly and dressed up to head back to shore, where a buffet dinner made by our friends at Fish ‘n Fins dive center awaited us. They served us ice cream with a fried banana, followed by a cake to honor Beck, who also had a birthday. Gabe joined us after his festivities, and we all celebrated together. After a game of darts with Emily and Spencer and Heads Up with Elanore and Lexy, we all headed back to Argo content and sleepy, where the memories from the day followed us gently into our dreams.