Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Palau

A big tanker crossing across our bow, reminding us
of the law of mass tonnage.

Believe it or not, we finally left Yap.  I have a few pictures and stories I’ve yet to tell, but for the most part, we’ve moved on.  We had a really rough passage to Palau where I got a jump start on my new diet…it’s called “purge and fast...then purge again.”  We had 25 knot winds (which is actually good, made for a fast ride) and 10-12 foot seas.  It’s those 10-12 foot seas that seem to get me every time.  For some reason I still can’t explain, I chose this passage to go all natural on everyone.  My normal sea sick medicine gives me an enormous headache, so I decided to drink the ginger tea, chew on the husk of a baby coconut (yet another use for the mighty coconut), stare at the horizon, keep busy, etc.  It didn’t work.  Just ask Andy.  He had to do all the cooking, dishes, and taking care of everything else…again.

But that’s all behind us now…we are in beautiful Palau and having a great time.  There are endless places to explore both on land and in the water.  Our first stop was the grocery store, which overwhelmed us.  It’s almost like being home.  You can’t find everything you want, but there’s so much more than what we’ve had that it seems like we’re walking into a Harris Teeter.  Everything seems fresher and brighter and tastier.  We actually had certified Angus beef the other night for the first time in who knows how long with fresh brussel sprouts and garlic bread.  It was wonderful.


Not the gourmet counter, but it sure beats what we're used to!

We’ve seen some Japanese guns from WWII, explored a few caves, snorkeled some neat little coves…  but we have plenty of time.  It looks like we’re going to be here for at least 6 months, maybe a year while we figure out where we’re going next.  That’s right….a long time.  So all of those friends we have that told us they were going to fly out to visit us in exotic places and have yet to leave their home state…here’s your chance!  It’s only 36 hours and $2,000 away!  




In all seriousness, we do need to sit down and figure out where we’re going from here.  Since this was never on our list of places to go, we’ve kind of gotten ourselves in a little pickle.  We could go west to the Philippines.  We could go south to Indonesia.  We could backtrack a bit and then head south to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, then Australia.  Each has their own pros and cons and we just need to make up our mind.  Little Jake is going to be seriously disappointed if we don’t go to Australia (as will some of our family I think).  Andy will be disappointed if we don’t go to Rajat Impat (sp?) for some diving.  And I am trying to figure out how to get us to the Caribbean in this decade.  So we have some work to do.    We’ve given ourselves a year so we can have time to get distracted by the sheer beauty of this place and the friendliness of it’s people; locals, ex-pats, and cruisers.  No matter what we decide, I think it’s going to be a good year....

Some of Andy's pictures from his cave dive this morning....








6 comments:

Doug and Carla Scott said...

Sounds like a wonderful place to hang for a year. I know that the perfect solution will come to you!

Anonymous said...

Enjoy beautiful Palau! Please make sure that you get to Peleliu - one of our nations bloodiest battles happened on this island.
Also, while in Palau eat at Carp Restaurant. Don't be thown off by the look of the place - just go in! This was our favorite restaurant our entire trip.

The Crew of Savannah said...

Unfortunately, Peleliu has some horrendous charges for yachts, so we will most likely not get there unless they change how they greet boaters, but we will certainly try Carp!

Behan said...

Raja Ampat was spectacular. If you're thinking about it, and want any info from our experience, ping me. We are snorkelers not divers and it was still just AMAZING... and we have seen some amazing places! Also- you don't mention PNG, but don't write it off. We really loved it. It's not easy, but it's not so horribly dangerous as it is made out to be... like anywhere, you pick where you go.

? said...

Loving your blog! Have you tried the sea bands for sea sickness? I am the same way with rough seas and they have been the only "natural" relief for me. Just an idea... but six months in the same place?!! You probably won't need to worry about sea sickness for a long while.

Joan Laine said...

What a wonderful and refreshing blog. Sorry to hear about your seasickness and hoping it has settled now.

You are an inspiring and courageous family. I hope to be brave enough one day to just get on and do what I really one to do.

Keep posting your adventures please Crew of Savannah.

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