Day Trip: Peleliu

 

Over Christmas break we got to go for another visit to one of the islands that make up Palau's archipelago--Peleliu.  It takes at least an hour to boat there.  And then we get to ride in the backs of some little trucks that one of the church members got for us.  Chairs make them more comfy.

 We were just being tourists this time, so we got to see a lot of WWII sites.  One was the Thousand Man Cave.  It was created sometime around the war, and it has some artifacts still inside like boot soles and bottles from the 1940s.

 For lunch we got to picnic at a pretty spot on the coast which had a Japanese memorial for the people who died in the islands.  There were pine trees that reminded me of Maine, but the palm trees in the background were definitely not New England.

View at Bloody Nose Ridge

We also went to Bloody Nose Ridge and there was another memorial.

I think my favorite part was the ruins of a Japanese headquarters from before/during the war.  It was out on a little road, a big concrete shell of a building that has been reclaimed by jungle, but which still has important elements like the staircase and doors and rooms intact.

 Who knows how long the place will stand, but it was pretty incredible and a great place to explore.  I could have stayed there a lot longer.

 Anyway, we had a fun time being tourists, and saw a lot of history on a small island.  I wish it had been happier history, but it's all a part of Palau's past now.

 Hope you enjoyed this taste of Peleliu.