Location: Palau
Hello World! Today’s shore day in Palau was a whirlwind of adventure, mishaps, and unforgettable moments that reminded us why we’re hereto explore, laugh, and soak in the beauty of this Pacific paradise. From muddy trails to fender-fueled competitions, our day was as chaotic as it was captivating.
The morning started with a dramatic entrance: as the water taxi rolled into port, a downpour of rain quickly approached us from the horizon, and it started raining moderately hard, so we all had to run from the port’s shelter to the vans for today’s land tour. Our first stop was the Palau Museum, only to discover it was closed until 9 a.m., so we decided to head to the waterfall instead.
On the way, we stopped at a Palauan tribal house, where our guides Jackson and Owen explained the house’s symbols and how Palauan society is matriarchal. The architecture was interesting, with intricate symbols that depicted money or wealth. It was very interesting, but navigating the waterfall was the real challenge.
Reaching the waterfall was no easy feat. We had to cross the river first, and everyone proceeded barefoot in order not to lose their shoes. So with mud squelching underfoot, we all climbed our way down the side of the waterfall to its base. I had camera gear strapped to my back, and the extra weight made the climb a little more anxious. The view was worth iteveryone’s smiles against the cascading water made the struggle worthwhile. And as skipper/photographer, I’m glad I got to capture the moment. But not everyone’s climb was smooth sailing. On the way back, Reese slipped while climbing back up, and the rope she was holding onto snapped. We were all a little worried, but she emerged mostly unscathed. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, am I right, mother? (this reads much worse than it was, Reese was never actually in danger).
We then headed to the beach and made a couple of snack stops on the way. Upon arriving, our guides had prepared bento boxes for lunch. Although there wasn’t much sun, we all got to chill nonetheless.
Having said all this, the most interesting part of my day was the museum visit later that day. Despite only getting 15 minutes to see the museum, I learned in an exhibit that Austronesia’s roots trace back to Taiwanese people, all the way from Madagascar to all of Polynesia. As a half-Australian, learning that the Aboriginals migrated and are descendants of Taiwan interested me.
Back on the boat, we all jumped into the ocean water after a long day ashore. Captain Mac’s attempt to launch himself off the boat by jumping on the fenders off the side of Vela sparked a night of aquatic chaos. Mac’s antics sparked a competition: who could get launched the farthest using the fenders? Whilst various people, including me, attempted to get ourselves launched, a council of Josephine, Garrett, and Kat scored the madness, which eventually escalated into a dive-off and a rodeo on the fender competition.
The evening’s standout moment? Lawrence’s daring dive, where he “hog-rided” Daniel into the water, left everyone in awe. And for the rodeo, Lawrence claimed victory with a 12-second stint on the fender.
Dinner concluded with sticky rice made from coconut milk, its sweetness a fitting end to a day of adventure. For squeeze, I asked what has been the best memory on the trip so far. I asked this because you only get to be skipper and talk about your side of the trip every 21 days, so I want everyone to have a part in today’s trip log. And to put my own spin on it, I recorded the squeeze, so here are everyone’s responses:
Reese: My favorite memory of the semester trip is being extremely accident-prone; I almost fell down a waterfall because the rope snapped.
Imogen: My favorite part of the trip so far was getting to do those three dives yesterday.
Zoe: My favorite part of the trip was diving.
Mac: And then my favorite part of the trip so far is either the diving here in Palau or that gale that we sailed through on the way up there.
Jack: My favorite part of the trip was definitely the sailing that we’ve done. I think it was up to gale force nine.
Josh: When on passage, I loved going to the engine room and standing by that one fan by the door; sometimes it felt really reinvigorating, or the night watch.
Luna: My favorite part of the trip is probably the chaos of passage, the sail handling, the watch teams, and just eating a bunch of peanut butter after the passage.
Garrett: I think my favorite memory from the trip is late nights talking with Ryan, Ty, Drew, Jason, and Ansley. That was always fun.
Arden: My favorite part of the trip so far is being here in Palau, having some time to explore and just see a new place. And I really feel like we’re traveling to another part of the world, which is really cool. So I’m very grateful to be here.
Kat: And my favorite part of the trip has been going to all these cool places and meeting these new people, like the locals, and they share their culture, and it’s really cool.
Noah: There are so many moments that are really special. The most fun ones are going around the boat, having good talks, good laughs, and stuff like that.
Tougy: I think the memory that was really special to me was having a bow watch by myself on passage and watching the water.
Jospehine (Jos): My favorite memory from the trip would either be the kava ceremonies,
especially the first one when we saw the manta rays at 9, and then we swam around, got ready, and went on. I don’t know, that was really fun. Or this whole week in Palau, the diving day, getting to meet up with the old 40-dayers on land, especially. And the other night, Maddy was singing karaoke. I don’t know, this whole week.
Ty: For the last 40 days, any moment with Watch Team 3, whether it was Ian teaching us how to tut, or Charles telling scary stories, or just playing all the games, especially the last watch with the bow watch and the sun rise, and the dolphins, and the rainbow, and all of that was really cool. And then I think my favorite memory from these 40 days was last night at Canoe House. It was just really cool to see the old 40-dayers, the new 40-dayers, and just have everyone hanging out in one place together.
Josh: My favorite memory so far is diving. That was awesome. Probably the Japanese plane.
Brooke: The thing that all of my favorite moments share is just getting to experience such beautiful, incredible places of the ocean and land with such an awesome community of people.
Daniel: My favorite part of the trip was probably the first week of sailing we did from Fiji, with helming and gusty winds and midnight jibes and all of that was really awesome.
Sam: One of my favorite memories is watch team 3’s final two watches the 6 to 8 and then 4 to 8. And the little group hug and pep talk that we had at the end.
Marijke: My favorite part of the trip has probably been just being on the boat. You know, this is pretty new for me, but it’s interesting, like the chaos of being on the boat, but also, there’s a lot of peace in it too. So that’s pretty interesting. I’ve been really enjoying it.
Stephanie: My favorite memory would probably be the first day when we walked into the diner on land and we got to meet the last 40-day people. They’re all super nice, so it’s kind of cool to get a glimpse into what the last 40 days were like, even though I wasn’t here.
Anda: My favorite memory is our first week here on the boat, and around this time at night after cleanup, we all gather up back here in the stern, and Daniel and Brooke are just playing the guitar, and we’re all just singing along.
Will: My favorite memory so far in the last few days is that World War Two plane. It’s pretty cool.
Jackson: My favorite part of the trip so far is probably the current dive.
Lawrence: I think my favorite part of the trip is a general one, which was just sitting, seeing something new and different that not very many people get to see. And I think it’s lovely, and I’m very lucky to experience that.
Me (Sebastian): My favorite memories are the Jake seaplane and clubbing on Vela.
Anyways, that concludes my entry for today. I miss everyone at home. Hi Mom, Dad, Cailin, Milo, Ele, Lavi, Isots, Sofi, and Soph. I miss you all and home.