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| Ngerchong Beach |
Since arriving in Palau 6 months ago, I have been treated to many amazing experiences and seen things I never thought possible. I have seen orange spine unicorn fish spawning, up to 30 grey reef sharks hunting, schools of trevally, snapper and barracuda larger than a football pitch and more manta encounters than you can imagine. As a dive guide and someone that has a connection with the sea that I cannot put into words, living in Palau has fulfilled many dreams.
As a child I was always fascinated with water. Having said that, I learnt to swim quite late in my childhood; I think I was around 10 years old. I was never a strong swimmer.
But I immediately had an affinity with water.
Living on a boat is something I always wanted to do but I never imagined I would be able to do it. We have a multinational crew on board and like any big family we have our ups and downs. But we work really well as a team and we have great leadership which is essential in any successful business or on any boat.
We have a vast mixture of guests and nationalities that come on board. Every guest is unique and it is always so nice to show them the jewels of Palau. And hopefully to send them away with memories that will last a lifetime.
There are however a few things that make life in Palau a little difficult. One of those things is the lack of internet and lack of connection with the outside world. Imagine going back in time 15 or 20 years and dealing with slow dial up connections or holding your phone in the air to maintain a hotspot. That’s what the internet is like here. But you do get used to it. Like everything in life I try to look for the positives in the negatives. It makes you appreciate the world that is before your eyes rather than the world that is in front of you on a screen.
The other thing is the rain. Having lived in a Egypt for the past 3 years previous to my arrival in Palau; nothing could have prepared me for the amount of rain that falls here. One can count on 1 hand the amount of times it rains in the area where I was based in Egypt. Having been born in the UK, and having grown up in Ireland, I never imagined I would find a country that experiences more rain annually than either of my home countries put together. But I certainly found it in Palau. When I arrived here at the beginning of the season, it rained for a whole month. I didn’t see the sun shine at all in that month. But then when it did shine, and the wind died down it was like being in paradise. I almost completely forgot about the month of rain that I had just experienced.
So, all in all, living in Palau is a positive experience. I have seen many wondrous creatures and met some amazing people. I have formed friendships that will last for a long time and learnt many life lessons. I am sure I will continue to learn more as my journey continues……..
