Sea Passion Koror

... in the lake is prohibited to avoid disturbing the jellyfish and also to reduce the risk of hydrogen sulfide poisoning. What else!?? We met some boys on the flight over and they decided to stay at the same hotel. So, we basically ended up spending our entire trip with them. We went to clubs, got scammed by Parker, a local "taxi" driver, and rented a car and toured the islands with them. It was such a great experience! The whole trip was well worth it and I can't wait to go back one day!

... And John Lennon glasses. He says hi to me. American. We bump into each other again afterwards and he asks: 'How was your dive today, Marina?'  He introduces himself as the mayor of the city! Straaaaaange.   Then it is time to leave. I do like the Fish 'n Fins dive shop. But it is very very commercial. You pay a lot of money for everything. On top of the hotel and diving, we paid more than 600$. For what? Well: the permits (not their fault), extras ...

... will pick us up within an hour. It is a gorgeous day. We meet Matt, our pilot: bl..dy Australian. And: there we go. Matt: where is my door and where are your shoes. No worries, mate. The ride takes my breath away and tears to my eyes. The brochure says: 10-15 minutes for 75$. We fly more than 20 minutes. IF you go to Palau: you HAVE to do this. I stay jumpy all day. Bob needs his camera back, tomorrow: he is leaving and we have 3 days of diving left.

... to our diner for dinner: http://www.gecpalau.com/ Diving today. This is our dive shop: http://fishnfins.com/About%20us.html Dive site is Peleliu Express, the nr 45 on our list. Our dive master says: IF divers do not come back from a dive in Palau, it is from here. The Pacific Ocean meet de Philippine Sea: the currents are unpredictable and change all the ...

... But, I am sucking my air faster than usual. Probably already consumed a lot before I was down. Coming up, there is panic: where is the camera? No longer there! It has a strap around your wrist, but does not close firmly. It can slip off your wrist in a second. And it did. We go back down. Which we should not do. Does it float or sink? We have no idea. We look around for a couple of minutes. No camera. Dive master instructs us to go up. He is right ...

... two, when we are back at the dive shop. We will do this different tomorrow: take rain coats, extra towels and dry t-shirts. Late afternoon, we install ourselves in the American diner, after buying 3 hours of wireless next door. We have a couple of beers, answer mails, write stories and play computer games. And look very nerdy, I guess. After dinner, we go back home where I watch Ratatouille for a change. Yes: I almost know it by heart. So what?# Tomorrow: a diving day again.

... up filming. It's going to be called Survivor Micronesia even though it was filmed in Palau. When you see it on tv next year you can know that I was there! Of course there were georgous views to be had here as well. Michelle tried to keep me busy but I managed to find time to chill out in a hammock by the sea one afternoon!

... me if I was a survivor. I thought it was an odd question, but I always said "why yes, I AM a survivor!" Later I found out they were wondering if I was on the crew-oops! It's going to be called Survivor Micronesia but it was really filmed in Palau. The secret is out! By the end of the trip my bruises had faded and my dog bite was healing quite nicely. I was able to re-enter my life without raising too many eyebrows!

... catering to Japanese tourists. The island is surrounded by coral reefs, which makes for excellent diving and fishing, and not so excellent beaches. Tuna crowd the waters off the shore of Palau, and just about every single local flying out of here the other night checked several coolers filled with fresh tuna to sell abroad. After spending the day snorkeling, we are really looking forward to getting to Yap so we can go scuba diving!

My sister, age 10, wrote: We got up really early and had breakfast. Then we went to the museum which was open. After that we went back to the gift shop to get Mom and Ardie some things. We then did some last second packing and were off to Palau. On Palau we got a small tour of ...