Palau

Vonnett texted that maybe we should switch to another country. I had told her to only get the easy things like cucumbers and cherry tomatoes for our Palauan meal, but she was distracted by the banana leaves to cook the fish in and jackfruit in syrup for the halo halo. It took me awhile to convince her that it was okay, there is a Pacific Island market on the corner of Redlands Blvd and Mountain View in Loma Linda, and they would have everything we need. The workers in this crowded store were patient with me as I asked them where to find the macapuno (coconut strings), Coco de Nata (cubes of coconut gel), and all the other ingredients that would stump the average shopper.

I’m so glad we were able to make the meal because it is one of the best ones we have had yet. The salad was delicious (I’ll admit we used some of the baked fish in it because we didn’t want to go raw), the baked fish so good with the sauce on the rice, and the halo halo was the surprise of the evening as something I could eat over and over. Check out the recipes here and if you don’t try anything else, at least try the halo halo. You can order the ingredients from Amazon if you don't have a convenient Asian market and use your food processor to finely crush the ice if you don’t have a machine to shave it with: https://www.internationalcuisine.com/about-food-and-culture-of-palau/

Palau is one of the most beautiful places in the world according to my sister Carmyn. She might know because besides living in Saipan for ten years, she has traveled to many places in the Pacific and around the world. She says the water is crystal clear in greens and blues. On one of her three visits, she went snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPNUsDfp0kk

She hasn’t made it out to the Shark Sanctuary yet, but here is a glimpse of what it is like to SCUBA there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH7YxVir9Oo

For more of that amazing scenery, I’m recommending the reality TV show Survivor. Through the years, I have watched Survivor with Suzy and Dad, and I recently had a chance to watch Survivor with Lorie and Rileigh. Remember when Cirie, Natalie, Amanda, and Parvati tried to convince Eric to give up his immunity necklace during Season 16, “Fans vs. Favorites?” That was on Palau. Besides rewatching “Fans vs Favorites” for this blog, I also went back and watched Season 10, the first time Survivor was filmed on Palau. Both seasons are available on Hulu.

There are plenty of books on World War II as experienced in the islands of Palau. Landing in Hell by Peter Margaritis and Vanished by Wil S. Hylton are both available as audiobooks on Overdrive from the San Bernardino County Library. Dive Palau by Rod Macdonald shows the many Japanese ships and planes in the waters around Palau that are available to dive. It is available online from the Los Angeles County Library.

There is also a description of the Battle of Peleliu, along with a collection of maps, photographs, paintings, diagrams, and sidebars, compiled by Brigadier General Gordon D. Gayle who served at Peleliu as a marine. This work called Bloody Beaches: The Marines at Peleliu is published by the Department of Defense as part of a series and is included on Project Gutenberg. I want to particularly point out the paintings by Tom Lea, an artist on assignment from Life magazine who accompanied the Marines on Peleliu: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49032

There are several more videos to experience life in and around these islands:

· The Living Sea shows a glimpse of Palau near the beginning and some quality time in the last half. You can find it on Kanopy, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.

· The Coral Republic can be found here: https://www.distro.tv/show/green-paradise/palau-the-coral-republic/

· I can’t go to a Pacific island without finding the dancers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXzE0YhpWdU

· I searched YouTube for Best Popular Palauan Songs 2022 and listened for hours while I was working on a spreadsheet for work. These are so upbeat and fun. Start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJbVj9lfKtk&list=PLZ6afNou8CGsGQLcplWvKSlQhrCGXi952

Woodcarving is a well-known art in Palau, with these examples:

· An inlaid bowl: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-oceania/oceania-peoples-and-places/micronesia/a/inlaid-bird-bowl-from-belau

· A story board: https://tebangwoodcarving.com/about-storyboard/

· A glimpse of an artist in this photoessay: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/life-in-palau-ephemera-documentary/vAXxRE0F9fzKdQ?hl=en

If you are looking for more information on Palau, Geography Now is one of my favorite sources of interesting facts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOM09fA8miU

There are great things to do in Palau https://worldwidewilbur.com/palau-travel-guide/ and yes, I would love to go! I look forward to a time when we can all travel, and hope we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Palau and throughout the world.

Photo credit: Hiroko Yoshii https://unsplash.com/photos/_Y1zaKeFj50