Photos


We planned a trip to Palau, known for its amazing scuba diving and snorkeling, and then just before our trip Covid-19 hit. We decided to go through with the trip and I actually had a connecting flight through Seoul, which was one of the early Covid hotspots. When I was at the Seoul airport everyone was wearing masks and I thought they were so silly at the time. Little did I know that I'd end up wearing a mask myself for several years straight after that. Fortunately, neither of us contracted the virus.

We started out doing scuba and I got my nitrox certification as part of the dive trip, but we only went diving for one day because Miranda had a lingering ear issue leftover from a dive we did in Monterey a year or two earlier. The diving was amazing! There were so many creatures, turtles, fish, sharks, and even a manta ray.

On other days, we rented a car and drove to some culture sites and went on a snorkeling boat tour that included swimming in a lake full of jellyfish that don't sting, so we could hold them in our hands. There were so many of them! We also went on a kayaking trip through the limestone islands.

We ended the trip with a day in Peleliu, the site of a famous World War II battle. There was a rundown building that included a pillar that still had a bullet lodged in it from the battle and also rusted out tanks. There were lots of caves where Japanese soldiers had hid out during the invasion and the caves still had glass bottles and trash they left behind.

What a wonderful trip with an amazing mix of underwater creatures, beautiful landscapes, and history.