Farewell to Palau

G'day!

Well, now it has actually come, our very last day in Palau. We almost felt at home here.

The wonderfully painted meeting houses everywhere (this tells the story of the islands' creation).

And then it's blooming on every corner, here are a few pictures of the grounds of Caroline's, where we lived for the last week.

So many colorful flowers. That's great, isn't it? And if I could now explain to you how wonderful it always smells when you walk past it. And the sunsets from our balcony are simply wonderful.

There's been a lot going on here since Christmas Eve.

My oldest went to church on Christmas Day. And they said they really liked it, "even though it was Catholic." I don't know much about these differences yet. But they said there was a lot of singing and the atmosphere was very inviting.

My older ones went diving in the water a few more times and brought back some nice pictures.

One time they left very early because something called "spawning" happens early in the morning just before the full moon. A lot of fish of the same species meet in one place, the females release their eggs into the water and a lot of males circle around it at the same time and fertilize the eggs. I remembered that my older ones had already explained something like this, namely that it always takes males and females to produce offspring. Aha, it's the same with fish...

The fertilized eggs then drift with the current into the open sea, where the small fish that eventually hatch have a better chance of survival than in the reef with so many predators.

My older ones were recently out and about with really nice people. Your diving guide was dear Anja from Germany, who has lived here for several years and was able to tell my adults a lot about how things are here. And of course she also looked after the two of them very well, so that I had peace of mind when they were underwater.

And of course the most important person on a boat like this is the captain. He's responsible for everything, he knows his way around very well and drives around everywhere as if the sea were his living room or something - and he always makes sure that everyone on the boat is okay and everyone gets back safely comes. He always has to keep a close eye on where the divers are going and then collect them again after the dive. This is a really important task, right? And Troy, who my older kids often went out with, mastered it brilliantly. Everyone was in good hands.

And not only that, he also stopped every now and then and showed historical sites.

And he showed us and my older ones a lot of things like that. He also always had stories ready about what people say about certain places.

You can see relics from the Second World War everywhere in this area. They also have some on display in the museum.

In any case, now it’s time to say goodbye to the island and the diving center.

By the way, it was my oldest’s birthday yesterday too. And in the evening we went to a really good Indian restaurant. Robert, the manager, already knew my adults and they had pre-ordered something called Dosa. Ciara, the friend from Fiji, recommended this. Everything must have been very tasty.

Of course I also went to the restaurant. After all, I can't let my older ones celebrate their birthday alone.

By the way, my oldest said that this was a very special birthday for her. I didn't understand it exactly, but there are probably several things behind it that also have something to do with her family. Maybe it's a bit just me. After all, this was her first birthday in the company of Travis the Buddy Bear, and I'm kind of like family too. Whatever - in a place like Palau, a birthday is something special anyway.

It's just so beautiful here. But I repeat myself. Sorry.

In any case, my oldest was very happy about the nice congratulations that she received from so many people from all over the place. And she promptly took a funny thank you photo underwater.

Well, now we're off to Guam soon. We're there over the New Year and we're staying in accommodation where you can see the sea straight away. I hope this will provide some comfort to my grown-ups about saying goodbye to Palau. And you could even go diving there if you wanted to. And what's even better: afterwards we go to Hawaii and my older ones meet two people who are really important to them. But more on that later.

I keep you updated. Until then, love from Travis the Buddy Bear.