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Palau Trip Report ~ March 14-29, 2012
Air ~ The merging of UAL and Continental helped us combine points from both frequent flier programs, giving us the necessary 65,000 for RT Chico CA ROR, plus $25 tax .sweet deal indeed.
Airport WiFi ~ Guam, strong signal right outside the UAL lounge. At HNL, signals from airline lounges easy to pick up in the green belt on ground floor adjacent to the food court. For tall divers, the HNL-GUM 7.5 hours leg can be near-fatal. Before boarding at HNL, check the planes seat chart online. Often theres an empty middle section of 5 seats. Spread out in the middle seat, look as if you have terminal BO and poor social skills, and presto you have a bed and get to enjoy a ride all the way to Guam in a comfy horizontal position.
Car rental ~(serbab@palaunet.com) IR Rental doesnt advertise, but its the cheapest agency by far, $29 total for a decent compact with A/C. An agent meets renters at the airport to deliver your car. Airport pickup/drop-off by hotels is $25 for 2 passengers, so two of the car rental days practically pay for themselves. Having a rental sure beats a long, sweaty trek to downtown restaurants, and is the only way to reach the southern tip of Malakal for a shore dive
Hotel ~ Sea Passion. We love this place. Decent buffet breakfast, excellent snorkeling, Wi-Fi signal reaches second floor, easy walk to Sams, shower stalls the size of a small studio apartment, Umi restaurant on second floor delivers a killer bowl of miso soup to your room. We were given a free upgrade to Rm 503 on the top floor the view of water and islands is the stuff of tropical dreams
Best Shore Dive (tanks included with Sams package) ~ Ice Box Park next to the clam farm. Shallow dive with an amazing assortment of giant clams. We have had nothing but clear water here, but have been told that sometimes the nearby sewage treatment plant has a discharge.
Safari Liveaboard ~ This is a splurge for the lowly 99%, but it is worth the sacrifice to have the opportunity to live in the Rock Islands with your lover, a boat captain, and a divemaster/chef. We had so many moments that took our collective breaths away that its impossible to know where to start. How does one put a price on such life-enhancing experiences? (OK, when I get the first credit card bill, my waxing poetic may lose a few high notes, but be that as it may). Charley McCready is in a class by herself when it comes to dive master-ing and cooking. Captain Jason was born and raised in Iowa, but has a knowledge of watercraft and Palaus tricky currents that come with spending ones entire life on the water. He can fix anything which operates on gas, electricity, and everything else.
We structured our time in Palau in a very similar manner as last year, combining a live aboard (Eclipse) with an island (Peleliu). Last March, the Eclipse dropped us off on Two Dog Beach, and Godwin from Dolphin Bay picked us up an hour later.
This year, after 2 morning dives on Safari on the last day, we were dropped off on Carp Island to begin a four night stay. Unfortunately, we had head colds the entire time at Carp Island which precluded diving, so we cant comment on the dive operation. But in terms of lodging, food, and island ambiance, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves even without diving. But as science teachers who are fascinated by tropical forest ecology, we probably get more excited over the massive buttress roots of banyan trees and the intricacies of mangrove swamps than the average person. This island is covered by a dense forest that could have kept us occupied for weeks.
This morning at 3am, 36,000 ft above the Pacific, as an antidote to feeling consumed by travel-related fatigue and wretchedness, my brain kept replaying scenes similar to the opening in the video below. We were back in the German Channel, and mantas were winging their way toward us they just kept flying nonstop the image sustained me through and beyond the 8am touchdown in Chico
[video=youtube;jFyEQDiw98o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFyEQDiw98o[/video]
Air ~ The merging of UAL and Continental helped us combine points from both frequent flier programs, giving us the necessary 65,000 for RT Chico CA ROR, plus $25 tax .sweet deal indeed.
Airport WiFi ~ Guam, strong signal right outside the UAL lounge. At HNL, signals from airline lounges easy to pick up in the green belt on ground floor adjacent to the food court. For tall divers, the HNL-GUM 7.5 hours leg can be near-fatal. Before boarding at HNL, check the planes seat chart online. Often theres an empty middle section of 5 seats. Spread out in the middle seat, look as if you have terminal BO and poor social skills, and presto you have a bed and get to enjoy a ride all the way to Guam in a comfy horizontal position.
Car rental ~(serbab@palaunet.com) IR Rental doesnt advertise, but its the cheapest agency by far, $29 total for a decent compact with A/C. An agent meets renters at the airport to deliver your car. Airport pickup/drop-off by hotels is $25 for 2 passengers, so two of the car rental days practically pay for themselves. Having a rental sure beats a long, sweaty trek to downtown restaurants, and is the only way to reach the southern tip of Malakal for a shore dive
Hotel ~ Sea Passion. We love this place. Decent buffet breakfast, excellent snorkeling, Wi-Fi signal reaches second floor, easy walk to Sams, shower stalls the size of a small studio apartment, Umi restaurant on second floor delivers a killer bowl of miso soup to your room. We were given a free upgrade to Rm 503 on the top floor the view of water and islands is the stuff of tropical dreams
Best Shore Dive (tanks included with Sams package) ~ Ice Box Park next to the clam farm. Shallow dive with an amazing assortment of giant clams. We have had nothing but clear water here, but have been told that sometimes the nearby sewage treatment plant has a discharge.
Safari Liveaboard ~ This is a splurge for the lowly 99%, but it is worth the sacrifice to have the opportunity to live in the Rock Islands with your lover, a boat captain, and a divemaster/chef. We had so many moments that took our collective breaths away that its impossible to know where to start. How does one put a price on such life-enhancing experiences? (OK, when I get the first credit card bill, my waxing poetic may lose a few high notes, but be that as it may). Charley McCready is in a class by herself when it comes to dive master-ing and cooking. Captain Jason was born and raised in Iowa, but has a knowledge of watercraft and Palaus tricky currents that come with spending ones entire life on the water. He can fix anything which operates on gas, electricity, and everything else.
We structured our time in Palau in a very similar manner as last year, combining a live aboard (Eclipse) with an island (Peleliu). Last March, the Eclipse dropped us off on Two Dog Beach, and Godwin from Dolphin Bay picked us up an hour later.
This year, after 2 morning dives on Safari on the last day, we were dropped off on Carp Island to begin a four night stay. Unfortunately, we had head colds the entire time at Carp Island which precluded diving, so we cant comment on the dive operation. But in terms of lodging, food, and island ambiance, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves even without diving. But as science teachers who are fascinated by tropical forest ecology, we probably get more excited over the massive buttress roots of banyan trees and the intricacies of mangrove swamps than the average person. This island is covered by a dense forest that could have kept us occupied for weeks.
This morning at 3am, 36,000 ft above the Pacific, as an antidote to feeling consumed by travel-related fatigue and wretchedness, my brain kept replaying scenes similar to the opening in the video below. We were back in the German Channel, and mantas were winging their way toward us they just kept flying nonstop the image sustained me through and beyond the 8am touchdown in Chico
[video=youtube;jFyEQDiw98o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFyEQDiw98o[/video]