Location: Palau
Alii (Hello in Palauan) from Vela! On our 5th day here in Palau, and on our last full day with all of our friends from the first 40 days of our voyage, we spent the whole day kayaking! Our guides drove us to Nikko Bay off of Koror island, where we launched kayaks and ventured out. Nikko Bay was absolutely beautiful, with Palaus classic steep islands covered with thick jungle undercut by erosion to look like big jungley mushrooms surrounding us on all sides. We kayaked through the bay and past smaller islands until we came upon an opening to a cave, which we kayaked into. The cave ceiling was covered with stalactites (which were so cool) and bats! Which started swarming and chirping after being woken up by our flashlights. We hitched our kayaks to the trees outside the cave, then climbed up through the jungle till we were above the opening to the cave, awesome cliff jumping ensued, and Josh struggled to keep his Nikon out of the water (photo attached). On our way back to the dock, we stopped at a smaller cove to snorkel over the shallow reef and free dive on the nearby wall, which was covered with unique lettuce corals. After lunch back at the dock, where we had some parrotfish sashimi spearfished by one of our guides while we were kayaking, we were back on the water. Next, we ventured across the bay to a rope swing. Whether by adventurous spirit or pure peer pressure, many of us climbed up above the rope swing into the dense Palauan jungle, past spiders and through vines, to jump off a massive tree overhanging the water. Special shoutout to Luna for doing most of the work in the kayak while I took pictures and looked at the pretty scenery.
After returning to Vela, it was a mad dash to shower and get ready before doing our final squeeze of the first 40 day trip, where we all shared (in addition to our daily appreciation) something we expect to take with us from the last 40 days, whether it was a memory, or lesson or anything in between. After lots of laughs and a few tears, we made our way to dinner onshore to end the day at a very fancy Japanese place that no one thought wed be let into with our scruffy boat musk. We had our final meal, gathered together with wonderful Japanese delicacies as if we were in a certain Renaissance era painting that shall not be named.
Overall, it was the perfect day to spend all together as our little Vela-family before the 40-day students leave. Whether were leaving on day 40 or staying on until Bali, I know all of us who have been onboard Vela over these last 40 days and 3,100 miles will take these memories of adventures and friendships with us forever. Thank you to everyone with whom Ive been lucky enough to live on Vela, and to everyone at home who made it possible for us all to be here.