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Diving in Palau
February 2007
Some pictures from above and under the surface...
In February 2007 Hannah and Magnus, and Patty and I headed for Palau for a week of diving and exploring the island.
We had heard a lot about the fantastic diving around the reefs surrounding the island. We checked many websites to plan the journey, the accommodation, and - of course - the diving.
During my Instructor Course I met Keith Santillano, who runs Dive Palau, and we discussed practical aspects around a trip. Since I wanted to see some parts of the island too, I did not want to do a live-aboard trip. So when Keith gave me an "offer I could not resist", I was not too difficult to convince...
Keith was most helpful with all our arrangements. I have also taken parts of the description of the various dive sites we visited from his website (thank you!)
There is an introduction to Palau, the geography and some general facts, its history and its culture, so for those who want to immediately go to the pictures from above and under the surface please click here for the sections on this site. Actually, the facts and cultural information is very interesting...!
 Palau is part of Micronesia and is said to have the the richest flora and fauna in the whole of Micronesia. |
 You
land at the airport on the island of Babeldaob. Most of the
hotels and diving facilities are on Koror island. It will take
around 30 minutes to get there passing a bridge. |
The following sections are found on this site:
Palau
geology, history, and some other facts
Diving
Manta rays
Eagle ray at Blue Corner
Cuttlefish
Helmet Wreck
Chandelier Cave
Jellyfish Lake
Napoleon Wrasse
Various underwater pictures of
fishes
Various underwater picture of
the "landscape"
Boats and food are necessary
Trip round the island
Traditional dancing
Carolines Hotel
Palau Pacific Resort
Dinners at various places
Monkey
Palau geology, history, and some other facts
As the westernmost cluster of the six major island groups that make up the Caroline Islands, Palau lies 1,000 km east of the Philippines. The archipelago stretches over 650 km from the atoll of Kayangel to the islet of Tobi.
The Palauan archipelago was raised
from the Western Pacific about 35 million years ago. The Pacific
tectonic plate collided with, and was driven under the eastern edge of
the Philippine tectonic plate. Palau is made up of over 300 islands,
some volcanic in origin, others porous limestone.
Only eight are inhabited.
With three exceptions, all of the islands are located within a single barrier reef and represent two geological formations. The largest are volcanic and rugged with interior jungle and large areas of grassed terraces. The Rock Islands, now known as the Floating Garden Islands, are of limestone formation.
Some (early) history
Archaeologists estimate that the islands were first settled approximately 4,000 - 4,500 years ago. Palauans participated in the wide-ranging Micronesian trade system, with some interaction with Malay traders. The Palau islands' position on the western threshold of Oceania and their proximity to Southeast Asia have led to the population being a mixture of Malay, Melanesian, Filipino, and Polynesian ancestry.
 (The original can be found at National Library of Australia) |
Explored by the Spanish navigator Ruy López de Villalobos in 1543.
Palau's first foreign contact took place in 1783 when the vessel
Antelope, commanded by Englishman Captain Henry Wilson, was shipwrecked
on a reef near Ulong, a Rock Island between Koror and Peleliu. Wilson and his crew stayed in Palau for three month to rebuild his ship, with the assistance of Koror's High Chief Ibedul. Although Spain had claimed the islands previously, Wilson's crew made the first sustained contact. Wilson and his crew became friendly with the Palauans, especially the high chief of Koror, the ibedul, known by the crew as Abba Thule. They exchanged gifts - the ceremonial exchange of gifts continues to be an important part of Palauan culture. Wilson's gifts to the Palauans included metal and European weapons. The Paluans did use shell-inlaid wooden swords as weapons, but the rich decoration of this example suggests that it probably had a ceremonial function. Wilson also received a large bird-shaped bowl decorated in a similar manner, and a tight fitting armlet made from the vertebra of a dugong, as worn only by the highest ranking chiefs. Wilson and his crew lived on the island of Ulong for three months in 1783 while they built a new ship. The story of their travels was published by George Keate, and became a popular book. The glorification of the noble savage is a dominant theme in the Romantic writings of the 18th and 19th centuries.
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This book can be bought from here at the "moderate" price of GBP 475.- (USD 940.-) |
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Abba Thule's second son, Prince Lee Boo, was
chosen to sail to England with the crew. They left the islands on 12
November 1783. Lee Boo survived only six months in England. He died of
smallpox and was
buried in the churchyard of St Mary's, Rotherhithe,
where his grave can still be seen.
The islands remained under nominal Spanish ownership for more than 300 years before Spain sold them to Germany in 1899. Japan occupied Palau during World War I and received a mandate over them from the League of Nations in 1920. They remained in Japanese control and served as an important naval base until the U.S. seized them during World War II. After the war they became a UN trusteeship (1947), administered by the U.S. Palau signed a Compact of Free Association with the U.S. in 1992, requiring the United States to provide economic aid in exchange for the right to build and maintain U.S. military facilities in Palau. Palau became a sovereign state in 1994.
Some facts today
Total area: 458 sq km.
Population (July 2008 est.): 21,093 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate:
17.4/1000;
infant mortality rate: 13.7/1000;
life expectancy: 71; population density per sq km: 45
Palau is sometimes referred to in English under its native name Belau.
Palau
is a democratic republic with directly elected executive and legislative
branches. Presidential elections take place every 4 years, at the
same time as the United States' presidential election, to select the
president and the vice president, who now run as a team. The Palau
National Congress (Olbiil era Kelulau) has two houses. The Senate has
nine members elected nationwide. The House of Delegates has 16 members,
one each from Palau's 16 states. All of the legislators serve 4-year
terms and are limited to three consecutive terms. Each state also elects
its own governor and legislature.
The Council of Chiefs, comprising the highest traditional chiefs from each of the 16 states, is an advisory body to the president. The Council is consulted on matters concerning traditional laws and customs.
The judicial system consists of the Supreme Court--with trial and appellate divisions--the Court of Common Pleas, and the Land Court. (Palau's constitution has a provision for an additional National Court, but this is not currently active.)
While calm in recent years, Palau witnessed several instances of political violence in the 1980s. The republic's first president, Haruo I. Remeliik, was assassinated in 1985, with the Minister of State eventually found to be complicit in the crime. Palau's third president, Lazurus Salii, committed suicide in September 1988 amidst bribery allegations. Salii's personal assistant had been imprisoned several months earlier after being convicted of firing shots into the home of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.
Legislation making Palau an "offshore" financial center was passed by the Senate in 1998. In 2001 Palau passed its first bank regulation and anti-money laundering laws.
Palau's per capita GDP of USD 7,921 (December 2007) makes it one of the wealthier Pacific Island states. Nominal GDP increased by an annual average of nearly 14% from 1983 to 1990, and by an annual rate of over 10% from 1991 to 1997. Growth turned sharply negative in 1998 and 1999 as a result of the Asian financial crisis, but there has been a gradual rebound in recent years and the economy grew by 5.4% in 2005.
Tourism (and its attendant infrastructure changes) is Palau's main industry. Its major draws are its diverse and pristine marine environment, and its above-water tropical island beauty. The number of visitors - 75% of whom come from Taiwan, Japan, and the U.S. - exceeded 82,000 in 2006, a 2% increase from 2005.
From a tourist brochure:
About 70% of Palau's population live in Koror. The town provides all the modern conveniences you could need, including a large department store/supermarket and a well-equipped hospital (complete with a double-lock recompression chamber), and is the location of most of Palau's accommodation - about 20 hotels and resorts. Local stores carry an excellent selection of products for the tourist - diving and snorkeling equipment, suntan lotion and beach towels, and locally crafted souvenirs. Koror is small and friendly, with services available in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.
The restaurants in Palau offer the visitor a variety of dining experiences - everything from a donut shop and a diner to sophisticated French cuisine. Chinese, Korean and Japanese are local favorites, as well as locally caught fish and seafood. After dinner, take in some of the local nightclubs and bars, sing karaoke, listen to live music, or watch a beautiful Palauan sunset. For something truly romantic, take a sunset cruise.
Culture
The name Palau may be derived from the Palauan word for village, beluu (Pelew). Some trace the name to the Spanish word for mast, palao.
Palauans recognize a series of expanding identities, from the village of one's father, one's mother, one's village, or one's island, to the Palauan nation as a whole.
Most
of Palau's important cultural symbols are derived from its chiefly past,
in particular the gable of the community meetinghouse, bai. This
impressive thatched building was the center of political, social, and
artistic life.
The gables and lintels are carved and painted with symbolic images. The gable boards, known as story boards, are carved with scenes that depict important historic events and aspects of Palauan culture.
Today the decorated bai gable is used in most national and state seals and to decorate Palauan buildings. Other important symbols include the circle subdivided in four, representing wealth, and the half shell symbol of the giant clam shell, which also represents the foundation of Palau and the creation of humanity from the sea. The image of the traditional Palauan mother at the time of her first child ceremony symbolizes the wealth and fertility of this matrilineal society. Symbols of nationhood include the national flag, a full golden moon on a blue background, and the national anthem.
Palauans enjoy a strong domestic economy based on the dual importance of protein (odoim) provided by men and starch (ongraol) foods produced by women. Each clan has certain recognized food taboos, and there are special foods for titled individuals and for pregnant and lactating women. The extended family system was organized around a series of clan exchanges of food and related valuables - at the time of the building of a house, taking of a title, birth, and death.
In
the past, lands, titles, and wealth were held by the clans and
controlled by senior female and male elders; in this matrilineal
society, however, those related through a senior female had a stronger
say in such areas than those related through a man. Each clan controlled
taro fields, a named house plot, and other lands. There were certain
village lands: those for the chiefly meetinghouses, men's clubs, and
dock houses, as well as some public lands. Certain lands could also pass
individually from a father to his children.
In the past marriages were arranged, with intermarriage among members of the high clans, but at present, individuals may select their own partners. Within the clan marriage is not permitted to relatives reckoned through either the father or mother to four generations. Marriage may be formalized through the court, church, and/or traditional ceremonies involving the exchange of prescribed foods and wealth between the clans. Divorce is common, especially among younger couples with few children, and may be initiated by either husband or wife. In the past most adults would marry; today, there are increasing numbers of single or widowed individuals.
At the time a woman's first child is born there are special ceremonies: her female elders gather, organize a series of hot baths, and present the young woman to the community in a public ceremony. During this time the infant is cared for primarily by female relatives, who bring the child to the mother for nursing. Care of infants is dispersed among family members, and it is common for children to be adopted by their grandparents. Men are active in caring for their young children, especially boys.
Respect toward elders and leaders is still pronounced. In particular the head is considered sacred and should not be touched.
Christianity has been established in Palau for the past century, with Catholic (44 percent) and Protestant (29 percent) churches predominating. There is also a syncretic Palauan religion, Modekngei, which in 1995 accounted for 11 percent of the people.
Palauans still recognize Palauan gods and their totemic embodiments, refraining from eating clan totems. Christian beliefs and indigenous practices often coexist.
Funerals
remain one of the most important of all Palauan rituals. As in the past
this is the occasion for a major gathering of the lineages and clans,
organized primarily by the female elders. Transfers of food and wealth
are made to settle the affairs of the deceased and for a deceased man,
the obligations to his wife and children, who return to the woman's
natal house. Although general graveyards were established in the
nineteenth century by colonial administrations, it is still common for
an individual to be buried in the stone platform of the house or
lineage.
Dancing is a highly developed art form. Traditional dances are performed by village groups. The women's dances are stately and performed by two lines of women, while the men's line dances often include war stances and stick dances.
(The
main information is taken from Everyculture.com. It is a
high-quality and comprehensive site and I recommend you to read about
your own culture. Interesting...)
The pictures are shot by myself and the quality is not "professional". (Who wants to bring around 50 kg of cameras, lights, tripods, batteries, etc when you are supposed to have a good time under the surface?). The idea is mainly to provide the "feeling" we got when visiting these amazing sites...
The dive site for some pictures are mentioned, for some not. I have not commented too much unless I felt like it...
 This is how the Palau island looks from a geological perspective |
 which is the reason for its many excellent dive sites. |
Manta rays close to German Channel
German Channel was built in the 1900's, when the German administration blasted through the reef to complete the natural channel and allow ships to pass from the southern islands of Peleliu and Angaur to Koror. Today it is used as passage through the southwestern barrier reef to many of the outer dive sites. At 3 meters, the man-made channel is too shallow to dive. The outside mouth of the channel slopes down to a sandy bottom at about 25 meters. This dive is popular for its manta cleaning station, where the manta, and the occasional reef shark come to be cleaned by cleaner wrasse. You can also see other kinds of rays including sting rays, spotted eagle rays, and ornate eagle rays.
We did not wait for long before this white manta ray appeared.
And when it turned, it turned just towards me...
You get kind of small when somebody with a "wing span" wider than your own height is
less than one meter above you.
And just a few minutes later a black manta turned up.
Just as its white colleague it turned directly towards me
- carefully looking at me...
Eagle ray at Blue Corner
As its name suggests, Blue Corner is - a corner. It juts out from the reef, starting in shallow water and dropping off to well over 300 meters. The corner plateaus at 18 meters, creating a strong current as the flow of water comes across this outcropping of coral. The currents, changing with the tides, can approach the corner from either the north or the south, with the speed of the current changing based on the moon.
As we swam towards the Blue Corner we had the wall on our side. As we got to the plateau we crossed on top of the reef. We then picked a spot on the reef near the edge and used our reef hook to minimize damage to the reef and to comfortably watch the aquatic life. The sharks were circling over and over allowing us to take photos or just observe them up close and personal. We mainly saw two species of sharks; the gray reef shark and the white tip shark.
And then suddenly came this Eagle
Ray...
and then gracefully turned into the blue and disappeared.
Cuttlefish
This cuttlefish was totally concentrated on laying its eggs.
The Helmet Wreck (Depth Charge Wreck)
The official name of this wreck is not known; locally it is called the Helmet Wreck or the Depth Charge wreck, after the Japanese helmets and depth charges that are found on her. It is both the smallest and most recently found of all the wrecks in Palau; it was first sighted in 1992.
The wreck's
sloping position make it a nice option for both shallow and deeper
dives. The bow of the boat sits at 30 m and the stern at 14 m, with the
shallowest part of the wreck at 8 m. Due to its fairly recent discovery,
the Helmet Wreck has the most artifacts of any of the wrecks in Palau;
there are radial engines for Zero planes in the forward hold, along with
lanterns, bullets, medicine bottles, and lots of Kirin beer and sake
bottles. There are also gas masks and an oil-cooled stern gun on the
shallow end of the wreck.
It left a kind of unreal feeling to
see all the artifacts left. I tried to
imagine the people who used these things...
Chandelier Cave
Air penetrates the limestone cracks.
The entrance/exit is just a few meters below the surface.
Jellyfish Lake
Jellyfish Lake is one of the rock islands; a series of small, rocky, uninhabited archipelagos off the coast of Koror.
Palau’s first marine lake formed just 12,000 to 15,000 years ago after the last ice age ended and sea levels rose. Palau’s rock islands were limestone peaks riddled with erosion-carved channels, fissures and depressions. Seawater seeping through the limestone transformed the largest depressions into marine lakes and swept in the larvae of spotted jellyfish and other sea creatures. In a mere moment of evolutionary time, the landlocked jellyfish radiated into five different subspecies, each attuned to its own isolated "island" of seawater. The jellies in the deepest lakes, which filled first and are therefore the oldest, diverged the most from their lagoon-living ancestor. The high jellyfish population was isolated and started to feed on quickly-reproducing algae.
The jellyfish has eight primitive eyes and algae that live within their cells. These algae are what the jellyfish live on. They have developed a symbiotic relationship with algae, called zooxanthellae, inside their bodies. The algae get energy from the sun, and the jellyfish in turn get energy from the algae - a perfect harmony...
The myth of Palau's "stingless" jellyfish has a
certain beating-swords-into-plowshares charm:
The supposedly predatory ocean jellies, confined to the peaceful lake,
became gentle algae farmers.
The facts seem to be that the lake jellyfish do have stingers, and they do use them to prey on zooplankton. Lake jellyfish actually get more of their energy from prey than lagoon jellyfish.
The jellyfish of Jellyfish Lake do have small stinging cells, or nematocysts. But because the stinging cells are so tiny, their sting is not detectable on most human tissue.
Twice each day, the school of hundreds of thousands of jellyfish migrate around the lake. They do this to get sunlight to their internal algae so that the algae can grow. At night the jellyfish descend to a lower depth where the water is rich in nitrogen. The nitrogen also sustains the algae population. The lower layers are also high in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) which is found below 15 - 20 m of depth.
The jellyfish has only one main predator in this lake; the sea anemone. Jellyfish can be stung, trapped, and killed by these creatures.
Scuba diving in the lake is prohibited to avoid disturbing the jellyfish and also to reduce the risk of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
(Sources: Wikipedia and various
websites such as
National Wildlife Federation)
Entering the Jellyfish Lake requires a bit of a jungle trip. Hannah and Magnus are on their way.
Does the color of the nail polish fit with the color of the jellyfish?
The sea anemone.
Napoleon (Humphead) Wrasse
We met one unusually curious
Napoleon Wrasse
(Humphead Wrasse) during one of our dives. It seemed to be even more
interested in us than vice versa.
Our friend was slightly smaller...
White tip reef sharks are everywhere.
And so are morey eels.
And turtles.
You find all kinds of fishes in the anemons.
Endless schools of barracudas.
Frogfishes are often hard to find since they adjust very well to the background colors.
The ## is like a street canyon.
Huge sea fans just outside the Virgin Hole (suitable place perhaps...?)
Blue hole.
A mermaid?
Keith had two boats which quickly and comfortably took us to the dive sites.
Keith had prepared a presentation for each dive site with maps, expected fishes, etc.
Palau is a popular place for diving so you had better hire a dive guide who can bring you away from the crowds...
Magnus is considering previous and coming dives.
Some dolphins joined us at one site, but unfortunately they left before we got into the water.
Boat Captain ## maintained the engines while we were diving.
You get hungry from diving.
Most days were sunny - but some were not...
Trip around the island
The last day we
rented a car and headed for a tour around the island.
Most road were excellent, but some were not that excellent...
Plenty of water falls - of course...
Most of the time you are the only car on the road.
And sometimes a bit surprising signboards...
but maybe they refer to what is needed after a visit at this kind of place, which you unfortunately - I'm sorry to say - see too frequently...
It is green - and green - and greener - and green again...
There was small scale mining for a period of time, but Nature - luckily - often recovers what man has messed up...
A monument. ## Have to check...
There are areas of stone circles. The actual meaning and purpose is not totally known.
There is an entrance fee and the site was not overly crowded.
And the entrance fee is not spent to actually inform the visitors about the site...
The most northern point of the Babeldaob island.
Overlooking Koror.
The main street.
Palau National Congress.
Unfortunately, this is a rather common sight.
This place is just beside the harbor where Keith kept his boat.
Traditional dancing
One day when we came back we just happened to pass this shed close to the harbor. There was some music and it turned out to be a group of females practicing traditional dances.
The females were a varying ages - and the most
photogenic was the youngest...
We stayed at the Carolines Hotel.
It is good, but a bit pricy and you need to take a
taxi every time you want to go somewhere.
The first day we ordered breakfast from the hotel; the rest of the stay we bought our own breakfast at the supermarket.
The view from the breakfast table.
We visited the Palau Pacific Resort, which is supposed to be the fanciest hotel on the island.
It is said to be very popular among honeymooners from countries like Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.
However, I am not sure if this kind of place is my
idea of a vacation - or even for a honeymoon. I would rather stay at a
reasonably priced place and spend the budget on diving than staying at a
lonely, sandy beach and go around for a while on a "water tricycle"...
Dinners at various places
The first night we met with Keith for dinner and planning of the week.
Another evening Patty and I celebrated at an Indian restaurant "down town".
And another night we dined at Palau Pacific Resort.
Please note the jug of beer for me. You do loose a lot of liquid during diving... (The local beer is not too bad...)
In Keith's backyard there was a friendly guy...
Well, that's it. Thank you for coming along all this way to the end. I hope you enjoyed it!
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