From Malapascua to Palau

G'day.

Just a quick note so you know what's going on with us right now:

This morning we left Malapascua.

We went to Cebu by boat and then, right now, by car to the airport.

From Cebu we fly to Manila and from there to Palau. The city there is called Koror.

Before we go to the airport, my older ones want to go to a shop where they can buy diving equipment. My older one broke her beloved peek-a-boo thing. One of the guys on the boat wanted to have the mask (that's the real name) so that he could maybe repair it somehow for himself. Hopefully that will work. Well, first of all my oldest used a replacement. Now she wants to see if she can get a new one that she can love again.

Because the next destinations are Palau and Yap. These are islands in Micronesia that are pretty far away from anywhere. This is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! 😳

Who knows what there is to buy there. Or not.

Yesterday I was able to say hello again to Junil, the nice diving guide. He always took good care of my two older ones underwater. And of course I wanted to thank him personally.

Sometimes he looked a bit serious, but that was just for show, I think. He always had a funny saying ready and then laughed a lot about it.

Yesterday, on our last evening on the island, we (yes, I was there too) had dinner with two very lovely new friends of my two older ones: their names are Jan and Caroline. That was really nice. There were lively conversations about many common interests and a wonderfully quiet environment right on the beach.

Before that, my oldest went to a barber, that's what the hairdressers are called here. And although his workplace seems a bit adventurous, or at least unusual, the haircut turned out to be very satisfactory to her. I think my oldest thought it was a bit brave. But my oldest was quite relaxed.

The hairdresser told her that he has been living on the island for about 20 years. He taught himself to cut hair. For the children. And then until a few years ago he was the only hairdresser on the entire (small) island. Now there are two. So basically THE expert on site. 😅😉

Finally, my two older ones had a few nice dives the day before yesterday.

And yesterday during the day they took a little trip to the north of the island. Two boys rode them on their scooters. By the way, you'll find here that helmets on mopeds are totally overrated. So, baseball cap, flip-flops and let's go.

There are no cars at all on the island. It would also be superfluous because there are no suitable roads for it.

The north is nice and there is very little going on there.

They were there for lunch at a really nice little coffee shop. They had Tablea there. This is a special Filipino chocolate for drinking. So of course you drink the chocolate in dissolved form. You probably thought that.

This tablea is made in such a way that the cocoa butter stays in and is not sold somewhere where they make creams and stuff like that. You can taste it and see it...

The café itself, which is appropriately called Tablea Café, was cozy, the food was great and the owner was super nice and attentive. Clear recommendation if you ever happen to be in the area. Good thing my oldest found out that this existed.

So, that's it from me for now. I hope you continue to enjoy hearing me tell you something here every now and then.

Next destination: Palau.

All the best and best wishes from Travis the Buddy Bear