I just want to check in with you from time to time so that you know that we still exist. Everything went a little differently than planned because my oldest got pretty sick after 2.5 days of diving.

Since then she has spent most of her time lying in bed.

Of course I couldn't do too much about it. Because I kept her company while my oldest went diving during the day. It's definitely less fun for him alone. However, my oldest wanted to at least see the pictures of what she was missing.

And lots and lots of manta rays...! Four or five at once from very close and for a very long time. And because the manta rays have basically made themselves at home there and are always there, they also call the dive site a “regulars’ table”.

Well, we hope that this strange virus leaves them alone soon. It's exciting that these viruses are so tiny - even I'm a real giant in comparison - and that they can be so annoying at the same time. What do I learn from this? Size doesn't matter!

Luckily there is a cat in the house who also takes great care of my oldest. Or she just likes having someone lying around to pet her. Either way, it's a win-win situation.

My oldest and I spend most of our time in the room at the moment.

But I think that my oldest would much rather see the sea from underwater and can't really enjoy the view with me. I don't take it personally. I can understand her well. Hopefully she'll be well again soon. In any case, here in Yap there won't be any more diving for them. Tomorrow we fly back to Palau.

We'll be there until after Christmas. I'll be in touch again to let you know what's going on.

Until then, warm greetings from Travis the Buddy Bear

I actually wanted to tell you about our trips to Palau recently. And from our visit there to the museum. There were really some exciting things we saw and learned.

Aaabut: I have to tell you something even more exciting!! Yesterday we flew from Palau to Yap in a small plane. Because it's so small, you can't take that much luggage with you (at least not for free). That's why we limited ourselves to the most important things for the 6 nights and traveled light. Well, my big ones - I don't need any luggage.

Everything is much smaller when checking in than usual at the airports:

And the way to the plane is also rather relaxed, just quickly through the hall. It looks a bit like a large garage, but when flying it is called a hangar.

Normally a maximum of 9 people fit on the plane.

But we were just 4 paying passengers - and me. I'm always there for free. Although not for free. The pilot, his name was Paul, said when boarding that you could sit anywhere you liked. And now it comes: also to the seat next to him! Where the person flying with the pilot usually sits. The person is then called the co-pilot. And my oldest and I actually sat there. In the co-pilot seat! Man, was I excited!

I've already flown a few times. But something like that...

And Paul allowed me to look at everything and sit anywhere. He even explained something about how everything works and what the displays mean.

But I couldn't remember everything. There are so many different things to know.

In any case, Paul knew everything really well. And that's why I felt completely safe up there. Because my oldest isn't really a co-pilot. She probably couldn't have flown the plane better than me. That's why I occasionally thought: "What if we actually needed a co-pilot now?!" But Paul apparently read my mind and explained to me that the plane has an autopilot function. That's why he's allowed to fly it alone.

Just so you understand correctly - I was confused at first. Not a car like a car (on the road), but a car like a car (by itself - that's Latin, you know. Or was it Greek? Dude, I forgot.)).

And nice Paul had four stripes on the top of his shoulder. I think that's a good thing about pilots.

Everything actually went well, even if it took us a little longer because of the headwind. I didn't think it was bad at all. This meant I could enjoy the amazing view for even longer.

By the way, Yap looks really nice from above.

By the way, Yap is part of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). These include other island states, namely Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei. Never heard? Me neither so far.

The airport is nice and clear and we immediately met the security chief chewing betel nuts at the entrance. He said he was off work now. This is the last flight today. And it was maybe 11 a.m. by then. Everything is very chilled here.

We drove to the hotel from the airport. Everything is set up like Manta. That's what Yap is known for among divers - the manta ray population that lives here all the time.

In the evening (after a check dive with my two older ones) we sat on the large discarded ship in front of the hotel at sunset. They built a bar and restaurant there. It was very quaint and we had a beautiful view of the island.

There is also some of Yap's famous Stone Money on the ship. This comes from Palau. But that's a story in itself and I'll tell you about it when I hopefully manage to tell you about our excursions and the museum on Palau.

Back to the evening view:

My older ones also went diving here today. But because of the weather, they couldn't take the boat north yet. That would be where the manta rays are.

They still hit some nice fish...

Let's see what pictures they bring back tomorrow. Maybe it will work with the manta rays.

For now, I wish you all the best and look forward to telling you again soon how things are going for us.

Warm greetings from Travis the Buddy Bear.

On the night of July 18th to 19th, our flight from Honiara to Pohnpei via Nauru was supposed to take off at 1:00 AM. We arrived at the airport at 11 PM. We were informed that the plane had turned back to Brisbane due to technical issues. So, we had to wait to see if the plane would still come and if we would catch our connecting flight in Nauru. We kept our fingers crossed because the onward flight from Nauru only operates once a week. Finally, we took off at 4:00 AM. Fortunately, our connecting flight in Nauru was still there. It was our own aircraft, so it couldn't have left earlier. After two more layovers, we finally landed on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Micronesia consists of the states of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. And each of these states is made up of countless islands and atolls. Some of these islands used to have American military bases. The American influence can still be seen today in the design of the shops, accommodations, and few restaurants. The island of Pohnpei itself doesn't have any beaches, the coastline is dominated by mangroves. Our first priority was to get some rest and then we visited one of the waterfalls and the ancient ruins of Nan Madol. Near the sea, there are old walls, tombs, tunnels, cooking areas, and stones. Unfortunately, not much is known about the city built by human hands. It was constructed from different basalt stones on a total of 92 islands. The question is, how were tons of stones transported here from the other side of the island? It is an impressive wonder which is also referred to as the Venice of the South Pacific.