Camping and the Sea

Forgive the long silence from us.  We were essentially offline for the seven days we were in Palau – but it was a magnificent week!  I have been in heaven being active with the sea and camping in the wild – not only that but it was a week full of new things.  All told, those are probably my three favorite activities:  being active in the sea, camping in the wild, and new things.

I was waterlogged for much of the week.  We kayaked around the Rock Islands of Palau for four long and full days, had four hour-long scuba dives over two days, and had many, many long snorkels in the sea and in marine lakes around the islands.  While wet, I saw all sorts of new things including:  dancing manta rays doing flips while feasting on plankton; giant clams which were so big that Maya could lay down inside them (really!); tiny colorful nudibranchs swimming in marine lakes; batfish camouflaged among leaves floating in the harbor; two new varieties of Cassiopia Andromeda upside down jelly fish; and the amazingly colorful and tiny mandarin fish of Palau.

I also relished the solitude of camping on deserted beaches with my family.  Having lived in a big crowded city in the desert in Jordan for the five years leading up to this trip, I couldn’t get enough of everything about these seven days: the glorious shades of blue and green of the water; being in “the now” as we gently paddled for hours through isolated, quiet lagoons; the sounds of the colorful birds in the thick trees; fruit bats and white-tailed tropic birds gliding over peaceful forests and bays; and watching the sun softly rise over untouched beaches.

It was a glorious and rejuvenating active week in Palau.  I’m ready for more days like these!

Love and Peace,   Nadia