Palau Day 1 - Where is Palau Anyways?

5/13/2022 - I am writing these post trip, which actually makes for some great commentary and learnings that may have come later in the trip. 

Anyone know where Palau is or how big of an island it may be? If you are a fan of the CBS show Survivor, then maybe you have heard of it, or if you are really big into eco tourism that may be another reason. For me, and like many of you Im sure, I had to look it up on a map. If you think Guam is a long ways west of the US, keep going another two hours and then a little south, there you will find the tiny islands nation of Palau. (Yes, I said islands nation, there are hundreds of little tiny islands that make up this cool nation). 

Palau like Guam is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, its major protection is a very large reef that surrounds the many islands. This is partly why it has some of the best dive spots in the world, as well as some of the bluest, clearest, water that I have ever seen. I didnt think it could get bluer than Guam or Hawaii, but I retract those statements. Palau is home to some 18k residents, many of which are native to the islands, more history to come in a future post. The size of the big island of Babaldaob, I would say is very close in size to Guam, but the population density is much lower, this big island holds around 11k of the residents of Palau. The other 7k, is distributed amongst the tiny rock islands, Angar, and Pelileu (See the google maps images above. 

Why did we choose Palau, might be your next question. Well, one of the major interests Joan and I had as we came out to Guam was the chance to see some of the Asia Pacific region. Japan was always top of mind, Australia or New Zealand too, but with Covid levels continuing to wane and change in this region, none of those were viable options. Palau and the Philippines are the only two places we could find that would allow us access to the country. And the Philippines we have heard can be tough from a US diplomacy stand point if for some reason and outbreak occurred. Palau on the other hand was a US territory up until 1994, and has great standing and support. This was our chance to see of the area, and get away for a bit too. Plus, we could leverage some of our cool new diving skills in a place that is known for just that. 

Off we went, I really like photo number 6 of Joan standing at the entrance of the Palau airport, just before customs. The sign says Aliii, welcome in Palauan. And the capturing of Joan wearing the mask and that neon green wristband, is so spot on to what travel was like in this area even as Covid is subsiding. We each had to sign a form stating we would wear the wristbands and mask until we were tested on day 4 with a negative PCR test. This was on top of a PCR test to be able to get on the plane, it was neat to see the level of focus on trying to prevent infection. After all, a tiny island nation of 18k, isn't going to have the resources to care for a large outbreak. 

Last photo for the day is sitting with Wilbur and Winifred having a Palauan beer at our hotel. We got quite the place to stay for the week, and even better we are able to share our adventure with friends. Can't wait to share our future posts and photos.