Jellyfish and Turtles

Palau is the stuff screensavers, postcards, and movie star vacations are made of. Actually, Leonardo DiCaprio was here two weeks before us, so that last bit is true.

Over 200 islands east of the Philippines comprise this country, but only nine of the islands are inhabited. What makes this place fitting for Hollywood A-lister holidays is the unbelievable ocean. The water is every shade of green imaginable. Mint, sea-foam, and pea green.

There were colors so novel, I don’t think Crayola has names for them. As we sped over the surface in a boat, the color of the water changed every 30 seconds.

Rock islands, formed from volcanos millennia ago, protrude from the ocean. On one of these islands is a very unique saltwater lake, containing hundreds of jellyfish. Since the jellyfish are stuck in this body of water together, they have mostly lost their ability to sting, so it’s possible to swim amongst them, without getting attacked by their tentacles.

At first it was a little unsettling, having jellyfish brush up against me. But, once I realized they didn’t hurt, it was fascinating watching them pulsate through the water.

Palau has some of the best dive spots in the world. The fact that we were able to dive in the “Serengeti of the sea” just two weeks after getting our scuba certification is absurd. It’s like someone who just started drinking wine, sipping a bottle of vintage Dom Perignon.

We were blown away by the life under the ocean’s surface. On the advice of our instructor from Thailand, we planned as much Palauan dive time as possible, and so, eight hours after our plane landed, we were on a boat, suiting up.

On the first day, we visited two famous spots: small drop off and German channel, and saw an abundance of sea creatures – so many different types of coral, innumerable fish, squid, and best of all, three sea turtles. Sea turtles are so regal. We know it’s a cultural thing, but neither of us can imagine hunting and eating them. They’re just too personable.

The second day of diving was even more impressive. At Turtle Cove, we initiated the dive by swimming through coral tunnels. Good thing neither of us is claustrophobic. Our last dive topped the rest. The current was incredibly strong at Blue Corner, meaning we were carried along and didn’t really have to swim. However, it also meant that our mouths and goggles often filled with water. The strong forces necessitated the use of hooks, which tethered us to rock, so we could remain in one spot while observing a group of sharks. As we watched the gray reef, black tip and white tip sharks swim among schools of fish, eyeing their prey, we were buffeted around by the gale force waters.

Watching sharks while being tethered in place with hook and rope

It seriously felt like standing on the top of Mt Washington during a storm, with the winds pelting me. Without the hooks keeping us in place, we would have been swept far away. What we saw under the water in Palau exceeded anything we ever imagined. Diving is a bit addictive, and now with ten dives under our weight belts, we can’t wait to go again.

Since it’s not advisable to dive 24hr before flying, we rented a car on our last day, and drove around. The majority of the country’s points of interest involve the ocean, so there wasn’t a huge amount of sights for us to see, but we enjoyed just riding around, looking at the landscape. Despite the drought, the island was still very green.

We had hoped to find a quiet beach on which to chill out, but, like Yap, a lot of the coastline is private property. Plus, there aren’t really any swimable beaches. At low tide, the water is so low, it stretches for nearly a mile before it gets deep enough to swim in.

Palau has a long history of inhabitants. 2,000 years ago, some of them carved stone faces and erected buildings with stone foundations. The remnants of these are on display on the northern tip of the largest island.