Spring Break: Kayangel

Have you ever heard of the island of Kayangel?

Probably not.  I never had before coming to Palau. It's actually an atoll located north of the northernmost tip of Palau.  There are several islands included in it, and the biggest one is around 1.5 kilometers long.  With beaches, palm trees, and seashells, it's just a small tropical dot in the middle of the great Pacific ocean.  When we learned we were going there during spring break, I didn't know what to expect, but just the name seemed exotic and romantic.

We began our journey by traveling up through the Palau states...Airai, then Ngchesar, then Melekeok, then Ngiwal, then Ngaraard, all the way up to Ngarchelong.  It was a warm, overcast day with a breeze.  We saw jungle-carpeted hills, quick ocean views, and a young brown bull tethered by the road (that brought out our cameras quickly--cows are common in the U.S., but not on Palau).  Finally we arrived at the dock on the northern tip of the main island.  

The wind was strong when we began the voyage.  The waves were fairly high, and we had a somewhat wild ride getting there.  Plowing through the rolling waves, swooping up one side, being tossed in the air (literally) and landing with a heavy thud into the next valley.  It was more fun if you stood up and absorbed the shocks like you were skiing or surfing.  (Mr. Sanchez said the trip to Anguar last time was "ten times worse," and that everyone had gotten soaked head to toe, so I guess these waves were just ripples).  With the breeze against our faces, and unknown lands on the horizon, it felt like we were going on a real adventure again.  

Someone cried, "Look!" and pointed to the left, and we saw little fish skimming away over the waves like large blue moths.  The legendary flying fish.  Not one, but many sprang out of the water and glided away from the boat.  (I'm afraid they were very hard to take pictures of.)

Finally, we saw a faint haze of land on the starboard side of the boat.  As we got closer and closer, the land began to separate into several islands, and we saw beaches and palm trees beyond the turquoise-blue water.

 

Kayangel has less than 200 people on it, and I'm surprised it even has that many.  We arrived at the dock and waved hello to the few men who were hanging around. 

 

If you want to live on Kayangel, this could be your house

Monitor Lizard?

There were even fewer people here because many had gone to the mainland for a special week-long school event.  The 8 students on the island and their teachers were gone.  Kayangel was almost deserted except for a couple of pigs, some chickens, and what we thought was a monitor lizard.

Anybody home?

It didn't take us long to walk the length of most of the island

Kayangel has a lot of beaches

There were plenty of good shells

Kayangel School

 We walked a little ways, saw the school building (which was very nice), and then went shell-hunting on the beach.  We found a variety of cowries--yellow, lavender, tortoiseshell, and cream with dalmatian spots--plus cone shells, olive shells, top snails, cockleshells, wentletraps (I looked these up), and a bunch of hermit crabs that would not appreciate their intricate homes being taken.

 Then we decided to walk across to the island where we would picnic.  This involved fording the waist-deep ocean for several hundred feet, which felt even longer than it sounds, especially when you're stumbling over coral.

Yay!  Adventure in paradise!

This is how I really felt after slogging across the ocean from one island to the next

After our walk, shell hunt, and picnic, we decided to just head back since it was a long way back to Airai.  We got in the boat and had a much smoother ride back.  Though I wouldn't like to live on Kayangel, it was certainly worth coming.  Sandy beaches, palm trees, seashells, flying fish, and a wild boat ride...it was an adventure to remember.  It made me not only appreciate Palau's natural beauty all the more, but it made the main island seem more like home as we cruised back and saw its hazy hills in the distance...

We had a picnic on the beach and saw so many beautiful shells and some lovely flowers

Some of my favorites that I collected

It just makes you realize how diverse and gorgeous the world is.  There are so many different places, so many nooks and crannies and hidden treasures.  When you look at the shells, they're so perfect, detailed and artistic.  If you believe that God made everything, then you have to admit He is not only a superb artist, but He loves variety.  From snowflakes and mountains in Alaska, to rock formations and cactus flowers in the desert, to spring-green leaf buds and daffodils in Europe.  Chipmunks and chickadees to puffer fish and tropicbirds.  From the bizarre to the beautiful, from complex to comical...it never ceases to amaze you if you really take the time to explore.

And I don't think we'll ever see it all.  Kayangel was just a speck in the ocean, but it had so much to see.  Think how much more there is to see in the world...I think there will always be more to learn and discover and enjoy.  Hope you keep exploring, even if it's just in your own backyard.