Palau Day 2 - Checking out Palau

5/14/2022 - Day 2 or really Day 1 in Palau was fantastic, since we landed late, it was hard to get a sense of the surroundings. Waking up the look from our hotel was image 1. The hotel was located right along the south side of the large island, right next to a marina. Heading down to breakfast image 2 was our next look at the marina, a couple of boats docked, great initial views of what the next week looked like with all the islands. The four of us enjoyed the luxurious feel of the hotel, and the views, along with a very hearty breakfast. The food was a mix of Asian, English and American food, Joan really liked the fresh lichee. No fish though for breakfast. We took in the views for the next few hours, enjoying the company, and that warm tropical sun. In so many ways this is what I thought Guam would be like when we first set out on our adventure. Palau very much is pristine tropical island image you think of in your head of a desert island in the pacific. Not to say Guam isn't beautiful in its own right, there is something very different here though. 

Next was getting setup with Sam's Diving Tours which was just a walk down the street to yet another marina. You can tell by just how many dive shops and marinas there are here that the main economic driver is tourism with a large focus on the water. Sam's dive shop from the first stop we made was very professional, and throughout our journey we couldn't have been happier. Today was focused on ensuring our dive days were setup and checking out our rental gear for the week. Dive traveling as we found is much easier with renting flippers, and scuba gear. Flippers are quite large to travel with, and none of us are that into diving to own our own gear. Actually, now that we have done this, unless you are an avid diver, I don't see how owning equipment and traveling with equipment makes sense, it's a lot of stuff. Great views from the dock right there at Sam's, hopefully you get a good sense of how all these little islands start to look. They vary is size, but each is covered in this lush green forest, and the way they are perched on the water really gives this heavenly floating look. 

Joan and I had some time to hang out in the front area of our hotel, great photo opportunity. This outdoor patio area turned out to be a great place to hang out, the pond was filled with local varieties of fish. The phots were tough to grab of the fish, rain on the surface and lacking a polarizer I found made this tricky, our underwater dive pics will really showcase some of the fish. 

We finished the day with some time by the pool and then dinner a couple blocks away. It took lots of trial and error to find the Red Rooster brewery. Joan and I walked around the area earlier and had no luck, between a couple trips back and forth to the hotel to get signal and some asking around we found the place. The Red Rooster brewery is the only brewery on Guam, from my reading the founders had to start both a shipping / logistics company and a brewery to be able to get the materials and grains to Palau. They serve 4 main beers and 1 cider as there regular fair with the occasional small batch to test the willingness of the patrons to accept something new. Today they had a Wheat, an Amber, a Stout, a Light, the Cider, and their specialty was a Tropical IPA. Finally I got my IPA, funny that it took another 1000 miles or so! We had a great time with Winifred and Wilbur just sitting out next to the marina and watching the sun go down. The food was quite good too, a mix of Italian pasta options and fresh seafood. Each of us were happy patrons and we would greatly recommend this place if you find yourself in Palau. Not a bad first day, can't wait to get in the water and see what these islands look like further out.