Water water everywhere.....

What happens when the city water supply suddenly dries up? Amoebas, but, we'll get to that. Water is something that I tended to take for granted, since I am surrounded by it......this years El Nino conditions reminded me to really conserve!

Maslow's hierarchy reminds us what the basic needs of survival are, Koror gives us the circumstances needed to appreciate how much comfort is afforded by meeting these needs. In early october I was in the yard watering our plants when the water slowed to a drip and then stopped entirely. Minor problem, I thought to myself, certainly the water provider (a semi-goverment organization in the most over governed nation in the world, who had just dared to raise prices yet again...) was just performing maintenance. Hours later in the post lunch apocalypse that is having two unwashed children and a sink full of dishes in 85 degree weather I made the only sensible decision I could based on the pyramid's infinite wisdom and went to a hotel. Alright, technically my wife made the decision after hours of sweating in our non air-conditioned shelter and many expletives.....

"I have no requirements that you buy me designer purses* but I am going to have to mandate that we stick with the running water convenience unless some serious advance planning happens." We are no strangers to running water outages, every time a typhoon is scheduled to hit the water providers stop the flow of water, but these outages are planned and every family I know has developed the ability to live comfortably during these times. After the storm passes families cook outside with their portable stoves and wash dishes in tubs of water gathered from before the storm struck, the atmosphere is like camping amongst the fallen debris from hours of intense winds.


So there we stayed, exploring the tourist life from our local perspective, until the water hours began three days later. It was glorious to be able to shower and wash laundry in the shiny air conditioned hotel where they had their own rain water collection tanks and that water that emerged from the faucets remained clear. When we did return home, which is in an area of town that was most affected by the outage, the water ran with little pressure and was brown in color. We collected large tubs of water to shower, wash our hands and flush the toilet. It was amazing how much it changed the dynamic of the day the water would remain on from 6 am to 12 pm which meant that right around lunch instead of eating that was a flurry of indoor and outdoor water hoarding. Signs went up at one of the major hotels here saying that the bathtub plug had been removed from the rooms in order to cooperate with the government....that's one way of putting it! The locals adapted, having been through many a typhoon we are used to the power and water fluctuations that accompany islands lives but our health and sanitation suffered! It took over a month and 1.2 million dollars to restore the water shortage that had been caused by an underwater leak.

Truth be told, what I would really love to see is a collection of data that reflects the changes in heath that we experienced during the time of unclean and infrequent water supply, when hand washing becomes unavailable even at major business establishments where there exists a very certain need for sanitation. My own family's graph would reflect a steady decline, we are certainly overjoyed to be emerging from the dark days of water hours.

Now, as I write this, in the aftermath I will tell you, despite all the thankfulness in my last post, all Thanksgiving feasts at this downtown Koror household have been cancelled until the amoebas leave the residence.

It must be something in the water!

*My very grateful wife actually was gifted her very first designer purse in a surprise package from my cousin, I am pleased to report that no additional requests for designer items have been made!

 Lets begin our virtual tour of Palau's beaches and snorkel sites at 'Lee Marvin'. This is the most accessible beach, whatever the tide or conditions on the outer reef we can almost always get there. Beloved by locals and tourists alike it has a sheltered area for picnics, a restroom, a view of a particularly striking cave and a great lagoon you can reach by swimming around the corner. As with any beach in Palau I would offer you this important advice: do not linger under the coconut trees.....you really don't want to experience coconut hail! I like to drop people off here for a day at the beach because it's cheap (30 dollars for up to five passengers round-trip) and since it is so close on voyage back customers like to enjoy a beer and watch the sunset. If it's just me and the kids we like to fish on the way back. Our last trip proved a bit disheartening because my wife chose the lure......and I actually caught several tiny groupers that we threw back and one one spot emperor that later became 'bedakl' or fish soup for the kids. My wife's lure choosing philosophy works like this: she is convinced that if she finds the lure sufficiently cute the fish will respond similarly. This method, although seemingly unlikely, seems to work for her. So, over the years we have become fishing partners.

There isn't much coral to speak of over at Lee Marvin, but the current is gentle and the sand and peaceful lagoon make up for this in the opinion of the weekend warriors!

We recommend a cooler and a hammock for maximum enjoyment of Lee Marvin!

Here we are, approaching the beach, you can see the cave off in the distance.

This is the beach, white sand and plenty of shade!

If you swim around the corner, away from the cave, you can enter this lagoon.

Another beautiful shot of the lagoon.

Akoiiiiiiii (relaxing in Palauan)

Looking out of the lagoon, there are also more beaches tucked away in here, definitely worth exploring!

'Rur' in Palauan, the graceful white rock lily, which you can find dusting the rock islands.

All aboard!

A blue brittle starfish, rumor has it that if you flip one over it will begin to rain. We didn't take any chances.

Okay, not my biggest catch.....we let this little 'chimirorech' in Palauan or baby grouper go shortly after his moment of fame.

That means I still have to catch something for dinner.

Here's the bedakl, a small 'itotech' or one spot emperor.

My holiday spirit

My wife and I met in Honolulu while attending college, united by our mutual love for coffee. Coffee is a magical substance allegedly discovered by goats. Myth or not, every time I see a goat i feel a little bit grateful. Speaking of grateful it is approaching Thanksgiving and i wanted to share with you some of the cultural differences my wife has expressed her gratitude for over the years of transitioning from Alaska to Palau. It is always difficult and isolating to change cultures, especially when one of the items on the list is the inability to get a good cup of coffee for under five dollars.

• That the postal service does a damn fine job getting things too and from Palau. Better late than never. This relates to getting the much cherished care packages (coffee) and books from Amazon.
• That is not a homelessness problem here, in fact I believe there are currently no homeless people in Palau.
• There is no McDonalds, Walmart or other large shopping center where one can get trampled in an over zealous attempt to purchase discount electronics on black friday.
• The dentist does not yell at her for having shamefully decayed teeth because almost everyone else there to have their teeth repaired has been chewing betel nut for decades.
• The taro patch is a wonderfully muddy crop to cultivate.
• Grandmothers say very bad hilarious swear words in Palauan.
• Her college training in the Japanese Language is actually pretty useful here. Just recently she helped a very distraught Japanese man buy pants. no, really.
• Palau is demilitarized and citizens are not able to carry firearms, hence no school shootings.
• Palau is a tolerant community and People are not generally beaten or shamed for homosexuality. 
• The variety of different excuses to eat coconut milk.
• That there is sea glass on many beaches in large quantities.
• That coconuts cost just over one dollar and do not come packaged in little things that resemble juice boxes bearing the mysterious 'gluten free' affirmation and costing upwards of four dollars. (Also, the brown ones available in the grocery stores in Alaska turn out not to be something good for drinking if you live within a thousand miles of an actual coconut tree.)
• The snail paced internet speed means that people still make eye contact instead of looking at sparkling electronic devices where they can instantly be connected to 20 different people all more interesting than the one standing before them. (We still love technology, but it is a tenuous relationship...) 
• Different varieties of bananas and learning that the banana tree itself must be fully cut down to harvest a bunch after a nine month wait.  
• Illegal dvds. Initially feeling the unamericaness of supporting such flagrant piracy wore off and after agonizing over a lack of movie theaters and the cost prohibitive Netflix option...... The 'no pants' required three dollar illegal copy of varying quality became a way of life. 
• The rock islands and the fantastic ability to get there by boat and find the secluded corners, before anyone else even wakes up.
• Palauan women and their amazing toughness. I have never even met one who needed drugs during childbirth. One day Mango (this is my wife) and I came home and my mother was complaining that her teeth were rotting, but she said she hated the dentist so she just reached in, gave a solid tug and through the rotten troublemaker out the window. 

I am just thankful for my lovely wife and daughters this thanksgiving. I am grateful that even while she rests, recovering from her tonsillectomy, that she has not forgotten the beauty she has found here in spite of her struggles. If you see someone who seems out of place please try to be kind and give them a chance to adjust, this is what I have learned from my own experience living in Hawaii and my wife's experience adjusting here.

Above all, happy thanksgiving and welcome to Palau!

Sharky

Here in Palau we often forget that we are sharing the top of the food chain with 2 very large predatory animals. Well, to be fair, my wife never forgets.....every time we take the kids out she will say something like "John, taste this new kids sunblock and tell me if you think it would be something you might rub on tender children as a seasoning for sharks....." I usually blow her off, dismissing her concerns as hyperventilating mother worries. She is American, after all, they tend to blow every little shark attack out of proportion.

"John, what is that frequency that attracts sharks and does it sound anything like toddlers farting underwater???!!!"

"Read your arm." I suggest. My wife has a tattoo that reads 'Don't Panic' on her arm, i find its presence both convenient and comforting at moments like these.

Palau is a shark sanctuary, it is easily documentable that sharks have more rights than my foreign wife (and many immigrant workers, it would seem, as Palau still struggles with human trafficking) who will never be a naturalized citizen. Shark finning and other commercial practices threatened to push the population into rapid decline and Palau responded accordingly with measures to assure their protection. It is truly wonderful to see these marine resources continue to receive the much needed laws to ensure their continued existence. I have had many beautiful and heart beat quickening experiences with sharks while fishing and I have no desire to face one in hand to hand combat. Leave that sort of thing to the Chuck Norris types.

We have a breed of people who wishes to perform stunts involving your otherwise disinterested (previously) friendly neighborhood reef shark. This is a problem on many levels, the most irritating of which is now my wife thinks she is right; sharks, in her opinion, are dangerous and furthermore they are jerks.

"Shit. It really happened. There goes Sharky!!! Look at that huge bandage on his arm!!!"she whispers loudly with unconcealed victory. Sharky is the name we have given an especially foolish guide who decided to feed the sharks at a popular snorkeling spot(Ngermeaus) to entertain his guests.....it didn't  go so well and one overly excited ravenous shark mistook Sharky's arm for a tender morsel. The no longer entertained tourists fled in horror and boarded the boat leaving their fearless guide amongst his toothy friends. This happens to be the same beach where a tourist who was snorkeling was bitten by a barracuda who was expecting him to toss snacks his way. Please google barracuda teeth and try not to cringe.Wrapped in towels and dripping blood Sharky and crew proceeded to the next stop:Jellyfish Lake. This is a major destination and the only place with onsite rangers. Sharky told his story willingly to the rangers who promptly wrote him a ticket (feeding sharks is not legal, with good reason) with amused looks on their faces. While they were writing the ticket there was a commotion at a nearby boat, it turned out another guide had jumped in to catch a turtle and had proceeded to flip the turtle on its back to be photographed by his tourists......another ticket was written for disturbing the marine wildlife.

Now, these things do not make it into the paper, much like the crocodile sitings at Milkyway (another very popular snorkel site) because they are bad for business. Indeed many local people are angry with Sharky because getting caught has stopped an important source of keep quiet moneyfor them: underpaid local boat operators are being bribed by the foreign bosses to violate marine laws for the entertainment of their customers.

Why are we telling you all of this when it is so bad for business? These practices make the sharks likely to be attracted to people and if you are in Palau and you end up on a boat where you are taking part in these destructive practices I urge you to report the company to the state ranger office (where you bought your permits to use the rock islands/jellyfish lake) so that you and I can remain at the top of the food chain here in Palau and even the irresponsible likes of Sharky can keep all of his limbs.

(Moral of the story: do not feed something that could bite your face off and please tip the boat operators, they are paid crap to keep you safe.)

What it means to be small business

Ungil Sils Water Taxi was started as a budget option for open water transportation by husband and wife team John and Treya Swords when we realized something important; you, as a tourist, are paying too much for too little. If you find yourself on a larger boat (12-18 passengers) you will be taken to snorkel sites with boat loads of other strangers and guided in a timely fashion to swim between buoys. Sure, there are reasons for this, one guide and one boat operator must keep track of many people who likely do not understand a word he is saying. Without the structure there would be accidents or death....there have been. I will tell you honestly there are very few safety regulations dictating how a business of the tour variety operates here. Boat operators are not drug tested or licensed in many cases (although many are quite capable) and most are paid poorly for their services. I think this is both dangerous and disheartening, Palau should respect that tourism is the main source of income for our nation and act accordingly. We are a developing nation, I hope these changes will come with time and action by smaller businesses that demonstrate improved ethics. We also realized that locals cannot afford a tour service, we think this is a shame. Koror is not a lovely city, but we are surrounded by pristine rock islands and breathtaking beauty that many a local resident, who is not fortunate enough to own a boat or have a friend willing to take them out, is unable to enjoy fully. The local minimum wage here is $2.75 per hour, this fact alone does not provide for a great deal of leisure as the average resident of Palau.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you what is important to us as a micro business here in Palau:

As mentioned above we believe the availability of our services to local residents is important and this belief has greatly affected our prices. We do not try to take more than we need.

That we follow practices that do not harm the marine ecosystem.

That we respect the government mandating permitting. (There are fees outside of our services for using protected areas such as the rock islands and jellyfish lake)

That we never operate the boat in a way that endangers your safety. (We will never drink on board or operate the boat unless we can claim complete sobriety.....we have very young kids of our own, so such activity is pretty much non existent anyways)

We have been first aid trained and maintain a current business license and government issued captains license.

We are committed to keeping our prices reasonable and do not charge by the person but instead per trip. So have a date night or bring 4 other people, the choice is yours!

We will not rush you unless the weather starts becoming questionable.

We will always help you find another tour company with ethical practices to meet your needs if you require a larger boat or other features such as diving tours that we do not offer.


Phew. Now that we have discussed the business let me take a moment to give you some insight about what to expect from our future blog postings. We will be giving a photo tour and description of some of our favorite spots to snorkel and picnic as well as updates on local conditions. (insane storms,fascinating corruption, delicious food, what locals do when there is no running water, how to poop in the jungle, Palauan lessons and last, but not least, where to get a massage where you will not be offered sexual favors)

So stay tuned!