Thursday, March 14, 2024

Sailing toward Palau

Palau consists of approximately 340 islands with a total area of 180 sq miles, making it one of the smallest countries in the world, but not historically insignificant. Palau is a republic in “free association” with the United States, which provides defense, funding, and access to social services. As we roam, we find America has an impact or involvement in every corner of the world, often to improve lives, ecology or recover from wars or disasters.

We’ve sailed almost 17,000 nautical miles since we left Florida on Jan. 5. Where in the world are we? We awake and ponder our location every morning. So, we are learning about the geography of this big blue planet, grasping the enormity of the Pacific, and the significance of these little island specks on the map. Oceania is the immense area that encompasses Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Australasia. Our planet is truly a blue planet: over seventy percent of it is covered by water and the Pacific Ocean alone covers half the globe.

Yesterday we crossed the equator for the second time on this journey and will cross it again as we go around Africa in May. There are some funny ceremonies involving King Neptune and kissing a fish for first time Equator crossings, so as veterans we didn’t have to get intimate with any fish!

Unique sea life found in this part of the Pacific is the sea turtle, which we keep hoping to see, and the coral that makes up the coral reefs. In addition to my rudimentary online research, onboard experts speak about the significant wildlife, cultures, history and other points of interest we might encounter. Today we heard from a conservationist about sea turtles, which are protected by international treaty and have become an icon for wildlife conservation around the world. Of course, coral is widely renown and all have huge economic impact on these islands where tourists like us come to observe these sea animals.

Coral reefs form some of the world's most productive ecosystems, providing marine habitats that support a wide range of organisms including fish, sponges, crustaceans, and sea turtles. Much has been reported about coral reef destruction and bleaching, but there has been some promising success in coral reefs regenerated and protected. Good news!