Palau

Palau, the nation you probably didn't know was a nation, unless of course you saw it on Survivor. We're doing some countries this week that have been featured, leading up to Wednesday's finale. We had hoped to play Suvivor here on Wednesday- but appointments have been racking up that day, so we might have to either abbreviate it, or reschedule. 

Palau is a  Micronesian country. Ok, so everyone knows there's Micronesia and Polynesia (and apparently there's also a Melanesia), but I had no idea what the difference was. So, we looked into it. Here's the low down as we understand it. 

What separates these regions isn't neccessarily geography, it's more the diversity of the people. 

But, broken down by geography, Polynesia forms a basic equilateral triangle. Hawaii is at the top, and it spans from New Zealand on the west to Easter Island on the east.  Polynesia is diverse. It's home to people coming from all kinds of cultural backgrounds. They were originally sea migrants who navigated their way by the assistance of stars (think Moana!) It's more sophisticated, and developed.The name Polynesia, it'self means 'many islands. 

Melanesia, meaning 'black islands' is bean shaped and located  just to the north of Australia, from New Guinea to Fiji. They are less diverse, with most of the population having roots in New Guinea or Australia. They are less developed and sophisticated than Polynesia, but noted for their artistry. 

And finally, Micronesia, meaning 'small islands', where where Palau is located, it's just north of the Melanesian islands and stretches from Palau to Kiribati. They're kind of a mix of the other two, in that the people are diverse and come from all over like Polynesia. But they are less developed like Melanesia. 

These areas are made up of about 30,000 islands. Palau accounts for around 200 of those, but only 8 of them are inhabited (which I guess makes for an excellent Survivor location). The whole thing is about 177 square miles. That's somewhere between the size of Los Angeles and Rhode Island, for reference. 

It's not just a small area, it is the third tiniest country by population. The smallest is Vatican City, and that hardly counts. The second is Tuvalu (which we'll be doing soon, but it's an island country near Fiji), and then Palau. A whopping 20,918 people call one of those 8 inhabited islands home. That's nearly 10,000 less than Land O Lakes. Bananas! 

Like you'd expect from any island nation, the real star of the landscape here is the water. Palau is apparently world-renowned for its scuba diving. The waters here are full of reefs, deep-blue holes, caves, tunnels, and WWII wreckage.  You also might find one of the giant 3 foot in diameter, clams that can live for more than a century. 

The most famous spot for diving in Palau is the Ngemelis Wall, or the big drop off. Home to thousands of brightly colored fish, the 'big drop off' is a vertical drop of 900 feet. 

But the ocean isn't the only place with something to offer. Sealed off from the ocean, Palau Jellyfish lake is unique in that the jellyfish here have lost their ability to sting. The lake and it's jellyfish is included in the category of natural phenomenon and scientific mysteries.  The Jellyfish here live off of the algae in the lake and spend their days bobbing to the surface and instinctively follow the sun wherever it moves. 

Many people went on tours of Jellyfish lake and swam risk free with the golden, friendly jellyfish. But sadly,  hammered by a drought, the jellyfish are disappearing from the lake, and all tours have been halted indefinitely. That article is from a year ago, but I couldn't find any updates on the status today. Hopefully conditions for the jellyfish have improved. 

The boys made their Palau postcards. 

Calib's featured the W.A.V.E signs that are everywhere in Palau. It stands for: Welcome All Visitors Enthusiastically. 

Peyton put some Survivor torches on the beach, and some Jellyfish in his lake. 

And Hayden's featured the 900 foot drop off. 

For dinner we had chicken (with a marinade Asa got from randomly googling on his phone, so I don't have the recipe- but it involved lime), sushi and mangos, all of which are popular in Palau. 

But then Asa also made Palauan Ulkoy Shrimp Fritters, and Seboseb (topped with whipped cream). 

This dinner earned five spoons up. 

First of all, our shrimp were less fritters and more breaded, but they were some of my favorite shrimp I've ever had. and it might have been fried- but there's squash in the batter, so it totally counts as a veggie, right? And dipped in the thai chili sauce, it was kind of my favorite thing ever. This is one I have to file away. It's birthday dinner worthy. 

The chicken was good, with just enough lime flavor, and moist. And the sushi and the jarred mangoes from Publix are always favorites. 

But the Seboseb? Blah. I mean, I ate it, or some of it. And it really needed the whipped cream on top. It came from a blog called 'Edibal against all odds' so that should have been my first clue. But you try finding Palau recipes, it's not super easy. 

Bottom line: Make the shrimp, skip the seboseb (even though it's totally fun to say). 

We made a dot somewhere between my poorly drawn Philippines and Indonesia. 

81 down, 112 to go. 

Next Up: Nicaragua