Author: dapkusl

Today was day two of adventuring with our Paddling Palau pals! Our lovely guides–Mac, Jeff, and Cobi–took us out once more on their boat towards the kayaks that we would be paddling for the remainder of the day. But first, we made a quick stop to search the surrounding incoming tides for the famous dugongs of Palau. For those who have never heard of a dugong, they are related to the endangered manatees, but are much more athletic. Our patience was rewarded with the presence of a large male dugong, which was accompanied by its friend, the green sea turtle. 

The boat dropped us off just outside of Risong Bay to pack us in the kayaks and head to Blacktip Bay to see some baby black tip reef sharks (if we are lucky). Although we weren’t able to see any sharks here, we saw so much incredible surrounding scenery by getting up close and personal with the limestone rock islands. Some folks with a keen eye even spotted the nest of a fairy tern (a distinguished tropical white bird). We paddled around the beautiful area for around two hours before striking out and giving in to our hunger and chowing down on scrumptious bento boxes from King’s Palace. 

After stuffing our tummies, we hopped back on our kayaks and entered Risong Bay. We paddled around for a while, and Mac decided we weren’t fast enough, so he encouraged a race across the bay. Katie and Garrett were the champions of this event, beating everyone else (even the locals) by a mile, while others *ahem Gary* decided there were better uses for the paddle such as scratching his back. 

Finally we made it around the bend and came across some mangroves hoping to try our luck once again spotting some baby black tip sharks. This time was a total success; we saw at least three shark pups no longer than one foot, which were too cute!

To wrap up our final day out on the water, we stopped for a snorkel session in Mandarin Fish Lake hoping to see the infamous, and tiny, mandarin fish. Amazingly enough, we found several of them, but unfortunately we were not able to get many pictures of them due to their small stature. Here are some other fish to satisfy the readers: 

At the end of another long, tiring day we headed back to Koror on a rainy and bumpy ride, sad to say goodbye to the lovely staff of Paddling Palau. Then we will be off to Ngaremlengui State tomorrow to take a look at taro DNA and species diversity.

Written by Lydia Dapkus and Donika Mitev

In today’s adventures in Palau we found ourselves on a journey to the northern tip of the island, a small town called Ollei, which is home to our next gracious hosts, the Ebiil Society. Before our day truly began, we were met with more downpouring rain, but made a quick escape to our first destination of the day in Melekeok. 

On the eastern coast of the island, our phenomenal and knowledgeable guide named Demei Elechuus told us the incredible stories of the people, chiefs, and histories that they experienced throughout years of colonization. After several stops accompanied by Demei’s formidable storytelling, we arrived at our final destination–at least for this introductory hike–the Bai Melekeong. Here we were fortunate enough to be granted permission to enter the impressively old and sacred traditional house of the Palauan men, and even received a detailed tour of the Bai’s art and its deeper meanings. 

Our second stop on the way to our new home for the week was the Ngardmau Waterfall, which would require a 1.5 mile hike in, covering over 400 stairs, abandoned Japanese railroad tracks, and flowing water over slick rocks. This was a feat in and of itself, but was entirely worth the mud soaked sandals and sweat, for the waterfall was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Amidst roaring blasts of mist and wind evoked by the 712 foot waterfall, students swam, waded, splashed, and laughed throughout the incredible break from the heat. 

To conclude today’s activities, we completed our bus travels to the Ebiil Society in Ollei, exhausting the northernmost roads of Palau. Here we were greeted and welcomed by the staff of the Ebiil Society, who were so kind as to cook us an incredible meal of fried fish, taro, and mango salsa. After an exhausting day, we are ready for bed, and looking forward to whatever tomorrow brings!

Today’s post written by Lydia Dapkus and Gary Esvelt