Sailing with the wind

For those who do not have the chance, guts or opportunity to go diving and experience Palau’s underwater wonders, one alternative the island has to offer not only for tourists but for locals as well is sailing.

Sailing is one thrilling experience where you let all your cares go and allow the wind rule your route, says Royal Belau Yacht Club (RBYC) secretary Rachel Walton, who has been sailing for the past 25 years.
Since most visitors travel to Palau for the best diving in the world, they miss much else that makes Palau unique.
Sailing through Palau’s calm waterways, protected lagoon and dense tropical forest between the famous Rock Islands can be quite an experience to really explore the island, without the fear for getting seasick.
Sam’s Tours offers free sailing lessons for interested participants, including the opportunity to sail to distant island paradises as actual lessons. Sam’s gives even those new to sailing ample opportunity to take the wheel and feel the joy of steering a fast boat and surge through warm tropical seas under a full press of canvas.

Despite the rough and windy weather, there was a good turnout of participants who joined the Youth Sailing Sampler arranged by the RBYC at Sam’s Tours in Malakal last Saturday. It was an opportunity for the young (and the not so young) to try their hand at sailing, assisted and coached by RBYC members who were on hand to help them enjoy and have fun in the water.

The young people got a chance to sail out in the three Hobie Cat sailing catamarans and the kayaks the club provided. Other kids just swam and snorkeled near the dingy.

Dermot Keane, Sam’s Tours manager and RBYC Port Captain earlier said that the club is holding at least a couple of events every month not only for members but for outsiders, too.
“RBYC offers activities that are designed not only for enjoyment but for environmental awareness, too,” Keane said. RCB

Rock Island café: A pizza-lover’s hangout

If it’s pizza, relaxation, conversation and satisfaction you’re looking for, the best place to go to, not only in Palau but in Micronesia as well is Rock Island Café, one building you could not miss which is located across the Palau High School gymnasium.

Here is a place where tourists from all parts of the world mingle with students and locals to satisfy gustatory demands with delicious pizza, swap stories over glasses of coffee, tea or beer, or simply pass time nibbling on finger foods and other services the restaurant offers.
“The tables here had been mute witnesses to so many victories, parties, celebrations, whether in sports or any other events that had been celebrated here,” a regular said.

Rock Island Café is aptly named by the owner High Chief Yutaka Gibbons after the famous Rock Islands where he spends most of his time when he’s not at his office, says Sinobo Merep, the company’s secretary/treasurer.

Stepping into the doorway of Rock Island Café is an experience customers relish, and they keep coming back, not only for the pizza, sandwiches, salads, and soup but for the casual dining atmosphere.

The place is another variation if you just want to relax and unwind from the daily pressures of life. A tourist or a local can have many choices of activities in Palau from diving to snorkeling to other water sports or inland recreation but at Rock Island Café, one will enjoy Palau's best pizza, like cheese pizza, pizza with one or five or as many toppings as you would like to have, and combinations like the house special, beef eater, meat lovers, bacon cheeseburger, vegetarian, and Hawaiian delight.
Rock Island Café also serves a wide variety of choices of international cuisine for breakfast, lunch, dinner from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. only on Saturdays.

Reviving a lost art

Pottery is a traditional skill practiced by Palauans in the early 1970s but has become a lost art. Potsherds (broken pieces of pottery) found all over Babeldaob and other parts of the island show that early Palauans utilized resources they found in the island to make pottery for their own use like jars, cooking pots, plates, lamps and other functional pottery used all over Palau. The women used to make pottery using the coiling method and open pit fire. Ethnographic records show that the raw clay of Palau is ideal for pottery making. Archaelogist Jolie Liston believes that 90 percent of Babeldaob is covered with potsherds

To revive an interest in this lost art which could be an avenue to uplift the economic status of the talented artists, the Belau National Museum in joint cooperation with the Olechotel Belau Fair 2006 organizing committee conducted a two-day Palau pottery exhibit which drew in a fair share of both local and foreign visitors at the Koror State assembly hall.
The exhibit was highlighted by the pottery-making demonstration by Aui, a Maori potter taught Frieda Erungel, Palau’s talented potter how to use the coiling method in making pottery. Koror, Airai and Ngardmau States showcased local and exported pottery and vessels during the exhibit.

Committee organizing chairperson Meked Besebes said that a ceramic class was held for students at the Palau High School from 1970 to 1977 but this was stopped after the instructor, Sandy Vitarelli left the island for good. Vitarrelli used to teach pottery making using Palau clay and the students sold their work, receiving half of the proceeds for themselves. Besebes said there was a pottery factory in Kles, Ngersuul in Ngchesar state in the early 1970s owned by David Vitarelli and Eldebechel family but it closed down.
BNM would like to extend thanks to Sandy Vitarelli, Margo Vitarelli, Frieda Erungel, Umai Basilius, Jolie Liston, Rita Olsudong, Rischel Haynie, BNM staff, SWEP and volunteers, Koror State Government, Airai State and Ngardmau State government for their invaluable contributions which made the exhibit possible, and to the School of the Pacific Island, Janns Foundation for funding assistance.

OBF ’06: A display of rich cultural heritage

They were not afraid of the rain, both the participants and the visitors of the 6th Olechotel Belau Fair (OBF). When it fell, everybody ran for shelter but when the rain stopped, everybody continued on just like a deluge did not happen at all, an indication that nothing could hinder the people from enjoying the two-day event last Sunday and Monday.

Guests had a superb time visiting booths of participating states and private sectors, taking their fill of the rich culture and displays of each. Business was brisk as guests bought goodies and products as soon as they land at the display tables. Guests grabbed the chance to see, hear, smell and taste Palau's traditional to contemporary dances, music, and foods in what could be lumped as a “superb” celebration.

One of the unique features of this year’s OBF is the participation of neighboring islands which added more color to the festivities. Yap’s dancers in their colorful costumes and their weavers attracted a large number of people, while Guam’s booth offered unique services, like massage, a “cartoon-yourself” corner where a guest poses while an artist draws his or her caricature, breast enlargement services (this raised a lot of eyebrows) and an array of Guam’s traditional and contemporary products.

Palau Visitors Authority (PVA) Community & Support Services Manager Anna Hideo said that moving the OBF schedule to July proved to be perfect because it resulted into a great turnout of participants, even if the activities were held in different venues. This year’s theme is “Belau Oudiukes” (Palau’s Rich Cultural Heritage).

Among the highlights of the event were visual exhibition and presentation of performing arts participated in mostly by the younger generation. This included weaving, jewelry and body ornaments like the tattooing which resulted to children running around with differently-designed tattoos on their faces, flora competition, display and presentation of local medicinal plants, film viewing, Palauan pottery exhibition and literary art. There was also a presentation of performing arts like music solo contest, group singing contest, traditional chanting, story telling, food wrapping contest, traditional sports, men and women traditional dances.

PVA managing director Darin de Leon said the island can expect more participation for the OBF next year, even as far as Japan because plans are underway to make this event open not only for Micronesian Islands but in other places as well. All in all, it was the best OBF ever held, thanks to the joint effort of the Community and Cultural Affairs office and the PVA.

Off to the Big Island

With tourism as the backbone of the economy and with hundreds of tourists scouring the island everyday, locals may tend to take for granted the scenic attractions Palau has to offer.

Come with me on a day’s tour to Babeldaob, (the Big Island) with the Palau Visitors Authority (PVA) at the helm as they conduct a familiarization tour to a batch of tour operators and travel agents from Australia. The group was composed of Kristyn Ward and Fern Fraser from Dive Adventures, Cheryleigh Jacobs from Continental Airlines, Michael O’Leary from Travelscene, Bill Coleman, Lisa Edwards from Nautilus Scuba Centre Toowong Pty. Ltd., Michael Harris from Harris Park Holdings Pty. Ltd., Steve and Lee Grow from Aquatic Explorer and from Tweed Seasports.

The day started with a brief visit to the NECO Marine compound in Malakal, with guide Jessica then the group proceeded to the Etpison Museum, where they took photos and bought souvenirs of Palau. The long but scenic ride to Babeldaob proved interesting for the guests.
We had a brief stopover at the Capitol in Melekeok State before proceeding to northernmost tip of Ngarchelong, in Badrulchau where the famed stone faces and monoliths are located. Open cottages with tempting benches are available. Guests were treated to a soothing cool breeze and a superb view of the stone faces and monoliths down the valley. A short distance away, we can see the waves crashing on the shore endlessly.
To get to the monoliths, we had to go down more than a hundred crudely-built stairways and walk under the heat of the noonday sun (don’t think about the return trip yet). But the walk and the heat was worth it.

It felt awesome to be standing in the site of the ancient stone monoliths which are mysterious in origin. After a quick lunch under the shade of the open huts, we got back on the bus and proceeded to the island’s highest waterfalls in Ngardmau State. I hesitated to go down as I was warned that the trail was not easy, but I had to complete the trip. We had to go down steep slopes with the aid of thin wooden canes, pass through rivers and bubbling Jacuzzi-like lagoons, enticing us to take a dip.

Very soon, we heard the splashing and the huge waterfalls with its curtain of water cascading down met our eyes. The group, except me bathed in the cold water. It was time to go back and I realized the warning was wrong. The return trip was not hard. It was very hard. Going up the hill with the sun beating down your back and your sweat steaming down is not fun, but again, it was worth it.

Tired but happy, the group boarded the bus again, it was time to go back to Koror, and for the group to go back home the next day, this time to entice their countrymen to come and experience the wonders of Palau.

Over a cup of coffee

They faithfully come everyday in groups ranging from eight to twenty people within a particular time in a specific restaurant and within a span of about one to two hours, dallying over cups of coffee or tea between cigarettes or the other way around.

Rain or shine, these groups of men (not to stress that they’re already in their 50’s) never miss a single day to gather in different restaurants in Koror where they talk about politics, economy, social issues, fishing, farming, health, latest issues and just about anything under the sun, including one topic which these groups all have in common- that is women. (!!!) But among these groups, nothing personal or family problems are being spilled out.

The regulars from the Furusato Restaurant group come in between 6:30 to 8:00 without fail every morning.
“For the past ten years, even if there’s a typhoon, we always find a way to come. Before we gather at the old Furusato Building before it was transferred to its new location,” Tangy Anastacio said.

He added “So many of the bills which were forwarded to the OEK were made from the discussions from this table,” Anastacio added. He also said that when election time is nearing, the group increases in number but after the elections, the number dwindles and goes back to the regular group.

The Emmaimelei group comes in later, sometime from 8 to 10 o’clock in the morning. Sometimes they occupy a very long table but those who can not come in the morning comes in the afternoon session- around 4 o’clock. One thing about this group is they do not smoke or chew. They just have coffee or tea and the regular dosage of oatmeal. One politician (whose name he doesn’t want to be mentioned) even comes all the way from Ngarchelong every morning without fail, come sleet or hail.

“The length of time we spend everyday depends on the topic we are discussing,” one of them said. Another added that they are all (or almost all) retired and doesn’t know what to do with the time. Also, they said the bonding they get from the group “connects” them to the world of work they have left.

The Red Rooster “session” usually starts at ten in the morning and lasts from one to one hour and a half. They come and swap stories about long-ago adventures or recall memories of the past years.

Other groups also gather at other restaurants in Koror like the Penthouse, Ramen Express and other places. These guys look like ordinary “retired folks” but behind their coffees and laughter and story-swapping are years of extensive experiences. The regular morning rendezvous is a part of their daily existence.

Paddling through Ngchesar waters

If you’ve always thought of Babeldaob as one jungle, here’s a special treat for you. Ngchesar State has just launched its kayaking site, a picturesque water trail along the Ngerdorch River (called in Japanese as Shimizu river) that offers “post-card perfect scenery”.
Ngchesar State governor Duane Hideo said that they tied up with Planet Blue and a group of 12 American tourists sampled the kayaking site early this year.

“Kayaking in the Ngerdorch River gives one an all-in-one package, you can lustily feast your eyes and your senses to the wonders of the mangrove, countless pure waterfalls, rainforests, traditional villages and remnants of the Japanese era,” Hideo said.

A whole day kayaking along the pristine rivers also offers a hundred and one attractions including going through nypa palm groves (toechel) and a curtain of hanging ferns, viewing WW11 artifacts, seeing Palau’s rare orchids and plants and the flycatcher, or enjoying your own private Jacuzzi as you take a dip in the bubbling cascades of the numerous waterfalls.

For a really local feel, the village women prepares the lunches in baskets. Discarding the use of plastics and styrofoam, the meals are served in leaves. Columba Augusto, president of Ngaratlok (tradisional women’s organization composed of 60 members in Ngchesar), said this project will boost the tourism potential of the state. She said that the proceeds of the lunches will go to whoever prepared the food but if all of them help, then they will decide whether to split the proceeds or to put it in the group’s account.
“I am encouraging all the ladies’ groups in Palau to promote local food in all gatherings and events,” Augusto said.
The prepared lunch is a mouth-watering basket of crab, oyster, fish, tapioca pudding, taro, potatoes, chicken, and local fruits-pineapple, banana, and papaya. For drinks, forget sodas and softdrinks. Refreshing coconut juice is served straight from its husk.

Instead of allowing a multi-million dollar facility to be put up in the area which can only benefit a chosen few, Hideo said the kayaking package will benefit the community.
“A $10 fee will be collected by the State for each guest. The women gets $25 each for the lunches, and the tour guides will get $75/day,” Hideo said. He added that they will be using local produce for the meals readily available in the State.

Hideo added that the best part of this package is that locals will have a chance to interact with the guests and this will enhance an awareness within them of the paradise they are living in that they have always taken for granted.

Hideo said they will be coming up with materials like brochures, DVD’s and a website to better promote Ngchesar especially to the high-end market from Europe, Japan, Taiwan and other places. They will also be tapping the Palau Visitors Authority and the Belau Tourism Association to assist them market their product. Very soon, the Ngchesar kayaking package will be among the list of priority destinations in the island. For more information, please call Ngchesar State office at tel. number 488-2636 or Planet Blue Sea Kayak Tours at 488-1062.