On both Yap and Palau you can go kayaking in between the mangroves or rock islands. It is a great day out!

In Yap we went to visit a typical Yapese village. Our guide Francis, eating Beatle nut like everyone on the island led us over a stone path which connects the different villages to his village. Along these stone pathways you will find resting places at regular intervals as well as certain places with plants with giant leaves that can be used as an embrella in case it starts raining.

At the entrance of the village you can find giant stone money or rai. The value of the stone money does not depend on the size, but on how difficult it was to get the stone money (or how many people died in order to get the money) It is amazing how big and heavy this money is. The entrance of the village looks like a bank with all the money displayed at the entrance of the city. (maybe an idea for Argentina, so the money can not be stolen as easily...)

Although most people dress in Western clothes, a number of people still wear bright colored loincloths. And everyone in Yap chews betel nut. Even the cement floor of the airport was painted red, so you would not see the stains from spitting. (the juice is too strong for the stomach, so they spit it out) In the village they still use the Mens houses build from traditional wood, tatch, rope and bamboo. Some of these houses by the sea are really beautiful.

And of course, there is nothing like cruising past the beautiful shores looking at nature. On one dive, we encountered some dolphins and went down in the water with them. Being tagged alongside the boat, moving slowly forward, I was surrounded by fourtysome dolphins giving a great underwater show. Wonderful!