Boondoggle 4

Yesterday I went up skiing at Crystal Mountain.  The snow was amazing, the foot or more (in places) of dry fluffy powder was awesome!  It had snowed 6" the night before, and 18" in the previous 24 hours.  You really can't beat that, plus the temps never got above mid-20's - ideal for ensuring it doesn't become Cascade Concrete.

We checked out the new Northway lift, which just opened up a week ago.  It was placed in what used to be back country territory.  I remember back when you had to hike up into back country, and then the associated awesomeness as you wandered through generally uncut terrain.  You finished down a mile or two from the resort alongside the entry road, and were picked up by a shuttle every 30-60 minutes.  We usually saved this for our last run of the day, due to the amount of time it took.

The new lift has some awesome wide open entry bowls, and then funnels down pretty quickly into a few different slim runs/chutes.  The upper part was very nice early in the morning - but the lower portion was starting to get fairly well skied by late morning.  I suspect that by mid-afternoon without new snow it would be a pretty undesirable lower half.

After that we checked out the true 'summit' of Crystal (which isn't where Rainier Express drops you off), which tops out at 7,012 feet.   The snow was amazing down the front side, just below and around the lift (in the upper half of the photo below).

One of the more entertaining runs we found was a run called Boondoggle.  It wound down through some trees and had some light moguls in it - but was mostly an awesome powder field.  It's located just off the Quicksilver lift.

My brother and I remembered when we were in racing that one of our favorite races of the year - the Cherry Tree Charge - was held right off the top of that lift.  It was a downhill course that basically started at the top of Quicksilver and then hugged the tree line down to what used to be the midpoint of the chairlift.  The festivus was always held on the three day holiday weekend in February, and it involved the whole ski team (and their families) staying at the Alpine Inn - which at the time was basically the only hotel up there.  The hotel were the rooms only contained bunk beds, and the bathrooms were down the hall and shared.  It worked pretty well for skiing though since you basically just needed a place to sleep.  It had/has a huge wax room downstairs for doing prep for the next day's race, as well as a restaurant below the hotel.

One of the coolest things about Crystal is it's proximity to Mt. Rainier - just a few miles away by air.  On a clear day the view is incredible.  But it wasn't exactly a clear yesterday, so the top of the mountain was cut off.  Nonetheless, here's a photo - Mt. Rainier is the big bright blob in the middle.

All in all - because of the super-dry powder, it was probably the best day of Western Washington skiing I've had in the last 3-4 years.

Boondoggle 0

Yesterday I went up skiing at Crystal Mountain.  The snow was amazing, the foot or more (in places) of dry fluffy powder was awesome!  It had snowed 6" the night before, and 18" in the previous 24 hours.  You really can't beat that, plus the temps never got above mid-20's - ideal for ensuring it doesn't become Cascade Concrete.

We checked out the new Northway lift, which just opened up a week ago.  It was placed in what used to be back country territory.  I remember back when you had to hike up into back country, and then the associated awesomeness as you wandered through generally uncut terrain.  You finished down a mile or two from the resort alongside the entry road, and were picked up by a shuttle every 30-60 minutes.  We usually saved this for our last run of the day, due to the amount of time it took.

The new lift has some awesome wide open entry bowls, and then funnels down pretty quickly into a few different slim runs/chutes.  The upper part was very nice early in the morning - but the lower portion was starting to get fairly well skied by late morning.  I suspect that by mid-afternoon without new snow it would be a pretty undesirable lower half.

After that we checked out the true 'summit' of Crystal (which isn't where Rainier Express drops you off), which tops out at 7,012 feet.   The snow was amazing down the front side, just below and around the lift (in the upper half of the photo below).

One of the more entertaining runs we found was a run called Boondoggle.  It wound down through some trees and had some light moguls in it - but was mostly an awesome powder field.  It's located just off the Quicksilver lift.

My brother and I remembered when we were in racing that one of our favorite races of the year - the Cherry Tree Charge - was held right off the top of that lift.  It was a downhill course that basically started at the top of Quicksilver and then hugged the tree line down to what used to be the midpoint of the chairlift.  The festivus was always held on the three day holiday weekend in February, and it involved the whole ski team (and their families) staying at the Alpine Inn - which at the time was basically the only hotel up there.  The hotel were the rooms only contained bunk beds, and the bathrooms were down the hall and shared.  It worked pretty well for skiing though since you basically just needed a place to sleep.  It had/has a huge wax room downstairs for doing prep for the next day's race, as well as a restaurant below the hotel.

One of the coolest things about Crystal is it's proximity to Mt. Rainier - just a few miles away by air.  On a clear day the view is incredible.  But it wasn't exactly a clear yesterday, so the top of the mountain was cut off.  Nonetheless, here's a photo - Mt. Rainier is the big bright blob in the middle.

All in all - because of the super-dry powder, it was probably the best day of Western Washington skiing I've had in the last 3-4 years.

How to practice falling off your bike 6

In this week's rendition of TGIF video's I give you the dude who cycles on one leg. Well, one leg at a time anyway. And we're not just talking about doing it locked in place on a trainer. Nope, that's for pansies. We're talking about doing it on a pair of rollers...with no hands.

Oh - and I'll award 500 points* to the first person who films themselves replicating this (no hands on rollers with one leg drill). You get 1,000 points if you crash trying and upload that video. I'll even link to your blog if ya do.

*Note: Points have no actual value. They cannot be redeemed, utilized or otherwise spent. It's like having one coin left in your bag from travel to foreign country. You can't do anything with it other than look at it like it's pretty.

*Note Part 2: This video is not of me. If it were of me, I'd be on the ground within a few seconds.

Random Note Part 3: To the one individual yesterday who Googled on the exact term "my fish is spinning around in circles" and was returned this post as your best shot at an answer... I'm sorry. I really will try to stop laughing eventually...but the mental image of a little goldfish going in continual circles - is you have to admit - pretty darn funny.

Have a great weekend everyone!

How to practice falling off your bike 0

In this week's rendition of TGIF video's I give you the dude who cycles on one leg. Well, one leg at a time anyway. And we're not just talking about doing it locked in place on a trainer. Nope, that's for pansies. We're talking about doing it on a pair of rollers...with no hands.

Oh - and I'll award 500 points* to the first person who films themselves replicating this (no hands on rollers with one leg drill). You get 1,000 points if you crash trying and upload that video. I'll even link to your blog if ya do.

*Note: Points have no actual value. They cannot be redeemed, utilized or otherwise spent. It's like having one coin left in your bag from travel to foreign country. You can't do anything with it other than look at it like it's pretty.

*Note Part 2: This video is not of me. If it were of me, I'd be on the ground within a few seconds.

Random Note Part 3: To the one individual yesterday who Googled on the exact term "my fish is spinning around in circles" and was returned this post as your best shot at an answer... I'm sorry. I really will try to stop laughing eventually...but the mental image of a little goldfish going in continual circles - is you have to admit - pretty darn funny.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Fuji Newest 3.0 Road Bike Review 21

(And now... I present a return to Tri/Running stuff...)

I do a lot of traveling.  In particular, I travel quite a bit to Seattle (where I'm originally from) for both work and leisure.  The problem with travel is that it has the potential to hose up your training plans.  Running is fairly easy to get in as you can pretty much run anywhere.  And finding a swimming pool isn't too hard if you take a few minutes to check out the Swimmers Guide.  But biking...that's where things get tricky.  The primary issue being a lack of bike.  In particular - a road bike.  Finding a mountain bike isn't super-hard.  Finding a road-bike is downright near impossible, let alone expensive.

For the first few weeks of going back and forth to Seattle earlier this summer I tried renting a road bike.  I was quickly spending $40-60 a shot to rent it for 2 days.  Forget that, I had to find a better solution.

The problem is I didn't want to spend $1000+ on yet another bike.  This wasn't my primary bike and wasn't something I rode all of the time.  I would ride it a few times (2-6) a month.

I first tried the source of all things cheap: Craigslist. The problem there though is that most 'good deals' on Craigslist tend to last about 12 seconds.  Because I didn't live in Seattle I would have to negotiate with the seller around a time I was in Seattle (which could be days or weeks in advance), and then there was the issue of bike condition, etc...  It just seemed like a painful experience in the making.

I then tried the second source of all things cheap: eBay.  I had found a few bikes that were new that were cheap.  By cheap I mean sub-$500.  But after some discussions with some cycling folks, it was determined the parts were somewhat crap.

So that left me at a physical bike shop.  I tried a few local places for a used bike, but they were all WAY too expensive.  I tend to shop quite a bit at Performance Bike, because it's super-cheap.  It's also a 10 minute drive from my house in DC.  Even better they have a number of places in Seattle.  I also like the fact that they will perform maintenance on the bike for free for life.  That's really handy since I'm not quite adept at all things bike yet.

The cheapest road bike they had was the Fuji Newest 3.0.  Weighing in at $450 (on sale, which is every other week), it seemed like a viable option.  Adding in a slew of Performance points I had (credits basically), it would bring it down towards $375.  At this point, short of the thing falling apart before I left the store it seemed like a good deal.  So I bought it.

The major parts are:

• Frame: Fuji Altair 1 Compact aluminum
• Wheels: Formula Alloy Road with Kenda K-152, 700 X 25c tires
• Fork: Bonded Carbon
• Front/Rear Shifter: Shimano 2203 shifter/brake, 24-speed
• Derailleur's: Shimano Sora
• Crankset: Fuji Forged Aluminum Road 30/42/52T Chainring
• Brake Set: ProMax Dual Pivot Forged Road

After about 200 miles on the bike (spread out over a few months) I'm not entirely sure I made the right decision.  Sure the bike works fairly well and all.  And I can certainly keep up with folks I ride with in Seattle.  But there are a number of little things that I don't particularly like:

1. The bike is 6.5 pounds heavier than my Fuji Roubaix RC.  This is noticeable on hills and flats.
2. The tires on the bike are a touch wider than I like - and they've got all these stupid little tread thingies sticking out of them.  Of course, I could/should fix this problem by just buying new tires.  But this is how the bike was 'as-is'.
3. The handlebars have two sets of brakes.  One on the drops and one on the main horizontal portion of the handlebars, closer to the front fork.  I have yet to figure out when I'd use the second set.  Waste of space and weight in my opinion.
4. I did toss the seat before I even rode it.  It was this massive fluffy thing.  Seriously...on a road bike?
5. The shifting is sorta crap.  There is a very fine line when shifting up onto the big gear in the front, depending on what gear I use in the back where it will drop the chain.  I brought it back to Performance and this seemingly sharp guy worked on it for about 30 minutes tweaking it a bit and making it slightly better but simply admitted that the parts weren't that great and that was the primary cause to my shifting issues.
6. It's a three-ring bike.  Nuff said.

Now - to be clear: The bike is perfectly fine for a secondary training bike in a remote city and I even used it in a sprint tri race.  But it's just a lot of little things that are annoying.  I can't say I 'look forward' to riding it.  Once I'm on it, it's fine.  It would probably be good for a first time road bike person who isn't sure they want to enter the sport and you don't want to spend a lot of money on a 'lost cause' so to speak.  So that's something to consider.

But I don't get this overwhelming urge to just go ride it for the fun of it.  In retrospective, I somewhat wish I had spent a few hundred more dollars to get something that I would be 'happy' with.

Fuji Newest 3.0 Road Bike Review 0

(And now... I present a return to Tri/Running stuff...)

I do a lot of traveling.  In particular, I travel quite a bit to Seattle (where I'm originally from) for both work and leisure.  The problem with travel is that it has the potential to hose up your training plans.  Running is fairly easy to get in as you can pretty much run anywhere.  And finding a swimming pool isn't too hard if you take a few minutes to check out the Swimmers Guide.  But biking...that's where things get tricky.  The primary issue being a lack of bike.  In particular - a road bike.  Finding a mountain bike isn't super-hard.  Finding a road-bike is downright near impossible, let alone expensive.

For the first few weeks of going back and forth to Seattle earlier this summer I tried renting a road bike.  I was quickly spending $40-60 a shot to rent it for 2 days.  Forget that, I had to find a better solution.

The problem is I didn't want to spend $1000+ on yet another bike.  This wasn't my primary bike and wasn't something I rode all of the time.  I would ride it a few times (2-6) a month.

I first tried the source of all things cheap: Craigslist. The problem there though is that most 'good deals' on Craigslist tend to last about 12 seconds.  Because I didn't live in Seattle I would have to negotiate with the seller around a time I was in Seattle (which could be days or weeks in advance), and then there was the issue of bike condition, etc...  It just seemed like a painful experience in the making.

I then tried the second source of all things cheap: eBay.  I had found a few bikes that were new that were cheap.  By cheap I mean sub-$500.  But after some discussions with some cycling folks, it was determined the parts were somewhat crap.

So that left me at a physical bike shop.  I tried a few local places for a used bike, but they were all WAY too expensive.  I tend to shop quite a bit at Performance Bike, because it's super-cheap.  It's also a 10 minute drive from my house in DC.  Even better they have a number of places in Seattle.  I also like the fact that they will perform maintenance on the bike for free for life.  That's really handy since I'm not quite adept at all things bike yet.

The cheapest road bike they had was the Fuji Newest 3.0.  Weighing in at $450 (on sale, which is every other week), it seemed like a viable option.  Adding in a slew of Performance points I had (credits basically), it would bring it down towards $375.  At this point, short of the thing falling apart before I left the store it seemed like a good deal.  So I bought it.

The major parts are:

• Frame: Fuji Altair 1 Compact aluminum
• Wheels: Formula Alloy Road with Kenda K-152, 700 X 25c tires
• Fork: Bonded Carbon
• Front/Rear Shifter: Shimano 2203 shifter/brake, 24-speed
• Derailleur's: Shimano Sora
• Crankset: Fuji Forged Aluminum Road 30/42/52T Chainring
• Brake Set: ProMax Dual Pivot Forged Road

After about 200 miles on the bike (spread out over a few months) I'm not entirely sure I made the right decision.  Sure the bike works fairly well and all.  And I can certainly keep up with folks I ride with in Seattle.  But there are a number of little things that I don't particularly like:

1. The bike is 6.5 pounds heavier than my Fuji Roubaix RC.  This is noticeable on hills and flats.
2. The tires on the bike are a touch wider than I like - and they've got all these stupid little tread thingies sticking out of them.  Of course, I could/should fix this problem by just buying new tires.  But this is how the bike was 'as-is'.
3. The handlebars have two sets of brakes.  One on the drops and one on the main horizontal portion of the handlebars, closer to the front fork.  I have yet to figure out when I'd use the second set.  Waste of space and weight in my opinion.
4. I did toss the seat before I even rode it.  It was this massive fluffy thing.  Seriously...on a road bike?
5. The shifting is sorta crap.  There is a very fine line when shifting up onto the big gear in the front, depending on what gear I use in the back where it will drop the chain.  I brought it back to Performance and this seemingly sharp guy worked on it for about 30 minutes tweaking it a bit and making it slightly better but simply admitted that the parts weren't that great and that was the primary cause to my shifting issues.
6. It's a three-ring bike.  Nuff said.

Now - to be clear: The bike is perfectly fine for a secondary training bike in a remote city and I even used it in a sprint tri race.  But it's just a lot of little things that are annoying.  I can't say I 'look forward' to riding it.  Once I'm on it, it's fine.  It would probably be good for a first time road bike person who isn't sure they want to enter the sport and you don't want to spend a lot of money on a 'lost cause' so to speak.  So that's something to consider.

But I don't get this overwhelming urge to just go ride it for the fun of it.  In retrospective, I somewhat wish I had spent a few hundred more dollars to get something that I would be 'happy' with.

Palau Travel Information and Logistics 2

As I mentioned in yesterday's post - I wanted to do a roundup of travel related information for Palau.  Information on travel to Palau is fairly sparse as I found out - so I figured anything I can add to the pile would help.  This post isn't so much for my regular readers as it is for folks that stumble on my blog while looking for various Palau information.  Do keep in mind that this post really only represents my perspective and what I experienced in Palau, and that others experiences may differ.  With that, here's the roundup of my Palau (and Guam) posts, in order of posting:

Guam Recap: The Tour de Guam
Scuba Diving: One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish
Kayaking Day 1: For the love of all raindrops holy, please stop raining!
Kayaking Day 2: Here comes the sun!
Kayaking Day 3: Jellyfish Lake
Helicopters and Peleliu: From the Air

First up: How to get there

There are basically two options with respect to getting to Palau, but all options go through Guam.  You can either fly via Honolulu or via some other major Asian city (Tokyo/Hong Kong/Manilla).  The most common route for Americans is via Honolulu, where Continental flies.  From there you pick up another Continental flight from Honolulu to Guam, and then the last Continental flight from Guam to Palau.  Continental operates what's called "Continental Micronesia" from Guam, with TONS of flights to all over the place in the region.  It's like a mini-hub for them. This is good for two reasons - it makes booking flights easy.  And you can use any of the SkyTeam alliance members; such a Delta and Northwest to redeem miles for tickets.

We actually went via Tokyo instead of Honolulu.  This is because I have a pretty strong United affiliation due to business travel, so I was able to get to Tokyo easily on miles (Tokyo is a big United hub).  And then from there catch the 3.5 hour flight to Guam and the tow hour flight to Palau.  I redeemed Delta miles for the Continental flights - only 25K roundtrip from Tokyo to Palau (it would have only been 12.5K roundtrip if I was using Continental miles!).  This allowed us a day stopover in Guam, which was just about right to check out the island.

There is an Asiana Airways flight that you'll see nonstop from Seoul to Korror (Palau).  Don't even bother trying to book it.  It's actually a charter flight operated by a tour company in Korea.  It will show up in your airline search results, but it will error on when you try to book it.  I called dozens of travel agencies... I tried for weeks to get to speak to someone in English about it, but eventually gave up. 

As a general rule, basically all of the Palau flights arrive late at night, and leave around 12AM to 2AM.  It sucks...but you just find ways to keep yourself busy on your last day.

Where to stay

Once you arrive you've got a selection of hotels to choose from.  Well...really not that many actually.  I ended up choosing the Palau Pacific Resort (PPR as it's called by the locals).  It's a fairly nice place that's centrally located to everything you want to be near.  They've got a dive shop (Splash) onsite, as well as a few restaurants, tennis courts and a fitness center.  It's got a really long sandy beach in front of it and a coral reef out in front for snorkeling as well.

I don't know the other resorts that well, but if I were going to Peleliu, I would stay at the Dolphin Bay Resort, which is just recently redone.  We swung by there for a few minutes and it seemed like a really nice quiet place with good friendly owners.  Some folks in our dive group stayed at the Cliffside Hotel, and it seemed pretty nice as well.  

If you're going to be out and about every day and don't need a 'romantic' setting - then go with something other than PPR to save money (like Cliffside).  If you're looking for 'romantic', then PPR is probably your best bet.  Do keep in mind that compared to other places I've been to - I wouldn't consider Palau a hugely romantic location - more an active persons location.  For romantic, I'd recommend going to the Maldives or Tahiti - and still get great diving in.

With respect to choosing between the main island (Korror) and Peleliu, I would generally suggest Korror.  Quite simply you'll run out of things to do on Peleliu within two or so days.  Of course, it does have excellent proximity to many of the southern dive sites (such as Blue Corner) - reducing the boat trip time from 45-60 minutes down to 15 minutes.

Activities (Diving/Kayaking/Etc...)

Some folks I know did diving live-aboards (which are dive boats that you stay on for a number of days).  To be honest, I guess I'm not sure why you would do that (live-aboard) in Palau given how easily accessible the vast majority of the dive sites are from shore.  If you want to be able to pull off 3+ dives a day - then it makes sense, but for 2-3 dives a day... just go from shore.

We did all of our diving/kayaking through Sam's Dive Shop.  I can't say enough how much Sam's rocked!  I was able to sort all my pre-trip information out via e-mail with someone who spoke/wrote excellent English.  Don't underestimate the value of clear communications when you're on a tight timeline.

They picked us up most morning in front of our hotel via boat for the short 5-7 minute ride to the dive shop.   Upon arrival at the dive shop (which was just recently renovated), they were incredibly friendly and more than willing to help. They were clearly focused on the customer.

Hands down you can't beat Ron at Sam's Dive Shop for going the extra mile.  He worked to lay out a kayaking route/plan, as well as give tons of great suggestions along the way.  He was able to put together activities and itineraries that weren't on the menu - 'on the fly'.  We got the feeling that anything we could think of - he could execute on.  This included putting together the custom helicopter charter and flight down to Peleliu, the custom Kayak/Jellyfish lake trip - as well as of course the custom kayak trip.  Despite thier name, don't look at them as just a dive shop - they'll pretty much arrange anything you want for you - be it diving, snorkeling, fishing or kayaking.  Heck...they even helped us get grocery shopping done for our trip.

Speaking of helicopters...we actually went up in the helicopter twice - once as part of our charter flight, and then a second time as part of a published helicopter tour.  For a 10-15 minute flight it was $79 to see the major attractions by air.  WAY worth it!  Best deal in town. The helicopter seats three passengers - however in the very near future they'll have a new one that will seat four passengers. There is only one helicopter shop in town, so everyone knows who it is.  If you're looking for the helicopter pilot's e-mail addresses - just shoot me an e-mail and I'd be happy to help get you connected; although all of the hotels have this information too.  Also, the intra-island flights you may read about in the guide books are gone now.  The company closed down after runway construction put them out of business.  Helicopter is your only air choice once you get to the islands.

As for Kayaking - lots of fun.  The weather did put a bit of a damper on the first day, but the second day was awesome.  If you at all enjoy paddling - then definitely do a few days in a kayak.  We did everything through Sam's, well technically Blue Planet (partnered with, but essentially part of Sam's).  As an FYI, I had originally tried contacting Paddling Palau, but they are apparently Blue Plane now, so just contact Sam's instead.

Jellyfish Lake - you have to see it if you go to Palau.  If you don't see it when in Palau...you need to be bonked over the head or something.  All of the dive operators will stop by the lake every few days on the way back/to a dive.  So you don't have to worry about scheduling an extra day just for Jellyfish Lake - just add it to one of your dive days and save the time.  You'll spend about 30-45 minutes floating in the lake after a short 5-10 minute hike.

The weather... there is no 'best season' to go to Palau.  It's basically the same all year round (based on my numerous conversations with locals).  It rained a little (or a lot) every day we were there, but was generally sunny out.  You sorta get used to the rain...sorta.  Don't bother trying to plan around it...just go with the flow.

At any rate, if there's something I didn't cover here (and there is probably tons of stuff), feel free to e-mail me (address on the upper right side) and I'll be happy to answer.  Even if ya find this post a few years from now.

Palau Travel Information and Logistics 0

As I mentioned in yesterday's post - I wanted to do a roundup of travel related information for Palau.  Information on travel to Palau is fairly sparse as I found out - so I figured anything I can add to the pile would help.  This post isn't so much for my regular readers as it is for folks that stumble on my blog while looking for various Palau information.  Do keep in mind that this post really only represents my perspective and what I experienced in Palau, and that others experiences may differ.  With that, here's the roundup of my Palau (and Guam) posts, in order of posting:

Guam Recap: The Tour de Guam
Scuba Diving: One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish
Kayaking Day 1: For the love of all raindrops holy, please stop raining!
Kayaking Day 2: Here comes the sun!
Kayaking Day 3: Jellyfish Lake
Helicopters and Peleliu: From the Air

First up: How to get there

There are basically two options with respect to getting to Palau, but all options go through Guam.  You can either fly via Honolulu or via some other major Asian city (Tokyo/Hong Kong/Manilla).  The most common route for Americans is via Honolulu, where Continental flies.  From there you pick up another Continental flight from Honolulu to Guam, and then the last Continental flight from Guam to Palau.  Continental operates what's called "Continental Micronesia" from Guam, with TONS of flights to all over the place in the region.  It's like a mini-hub for them. This is good for two reasons - it makes booking flights easy.  And you can use any of the SkyTeam alliance members; such a Delta and Northwest to redeem miles for tickets.

We actually went via Tokyo instead of Honolulu.  This is because I have a pretty strong United affiliation due to business travel, so I was able to get to Tokyo easily on miles (Tokyo is a big United hub).  And then from there catch the 3.5 hour flight to Guam and the tow hour flight to Palau.  I redeemed Delta miles for the Continental flights - only 25K roundtrip from Tokyo to Palau (it would have only been 12.5K roundtrip if I was using Continental miles!).  This allowed us a day stopover in Guam, which was just about right to check out the island.

There is an Asiana Airways flight that you'll see nonstop from Seoul to Korror (Palau).  Don't even bother trying to book it.  It's actually a charter flight operated by a tour company in Korea.  It will show up in your airline search results, but it will error on when you try to book it.  I called dozens of travel agencies... I tried for weeks to get to speak to someone in English about it, but eventually gave up. 

As a general rule, basically all of the Palau flights arrive late at night, and leave around 12AM to 2AM.  It sucks...but you just find ways to keep yourself busy on your last day.

Where to stay

Once you arrive you've got a selection of hotels to choose from.  Well...really not that many actually.  I ended up choosing the Palau Pacific Resort (PPR as it's called by the locals).  It's a fairly nice place that's centrally located to everything you want to be near.  They've got a dive shop (Splash) onsite, as well as a few restaurants, tennis courts and a fitness center.  It's got a really long sandy beach in front of it and a coral reef out in front for snorkeling as well.

I don't know the other resorts that well, but if I were going to Peleliu, I would stay at the Dolphin Bay Resort, which is just recently redone.  We swung by there for a few minutes and it seemed like a really nice quiet place with good friendly owners.  Some folks in our dive group stayed at the Cliffside Hotel, and it seemed pretty nice as well.  

If you're going to be out and about every day and don't need a 'romantic' setting - then go with something other than PPR to save money (like Cliffside).  If you're looking for 'romantic', then PPR is probably your best bet.  Do keep in mind that compared to other places I've been to - I wouldn't consider Palau a hugely romantic location - more an active persons location.  For romantic, I'd recommend going to the Maldives or Tahiti - and still get great diving in.

With respect to choosing between the main island (Korror) and Peleliu, I would generally suggest Korror.  Quite simply you'll run out of things to do on Peleliu within two or so days.  Of course, it does have excellent proximity to many of the southern dive sites (such as Blue Corner) - reducing the boat trip time from 45-60 minutes down to 15 minutes.

Activities (Diving/Kayaking/Etc...)

Some folks I know did diving live-aboards (which are dive boats that you stay on for a number of days).  To be honest, I guess I'm not sure why you would do that (live-aboard) in Palau given how easily accessible the vast majority of the dive sites are from shore.  If you want to be able to pull off 3+ dives a day - then it makes sense, but for 2-3 dives a day... just go from shore.

We did all of our diving/kayaking through Sam's Dive Shop.  I can't say enough how much Sam's rocked!  I was able to sort all my pre-trip information out via e-mail with someone who spoke/wrote excellent English.  Don't underestimate the value of clear communications when you're on a tight timeline.

They picked us up most morning in front of our hotel via boat for the short 5-7 minute ride to the dive shop.   Upon arrival at the dive shop (which was just recently renovated), they were incredibly friendly and more than willing to help. They were clearly focused on the customer.

Hands down you can't beat Ron at Sam's Dive Shop for going the extra mile.  He worked to lay out a kayaking route/plan, as well as give tons of great suggestions along the way.  He was able to put together activities and itineraries that weren't on the menu - 'on the fly'.  We got the feeling that anything we could think of - he could execute on.  This included putting together the custom helicopter charter and flight down to Peleliu, the custom Kayak/Jellyfish lake trip - as well as of course the custom kayak trip.  Despite thier name, don't look at them as just a dive shop - they'll pretty much arrange anything you want for you - be it diving, snorkeling, fishing or kayaking.  Heck...they even helped us get grocery shopping done for our trip.

Speaking of helicopters...we actually went up in the helicopter twice - once as part of our charter flight, and then a second time as part of a published helicopter tour.  For a 10-15 minute flight it was $79 to see the major attractions by air.  WAY worth it!  Best deal in town. The helicopter seats three passengers - however in the very near future they'll have a new one that will seat four passengers. There is only one helicopter shop in town, so everyone knows who it is.  If you're looking for the helicopter pilot's e-mail addresses - just shoot me an e-mail and I'd be happy to help get you connected; although all of the hotels have this information too.  Also, the intra-island flights you may read about in the guide books are gone now.  The company closed down after runway construction put them out of business.  Helicopter is your only air choice once you get to the islands.

As for Kayaking - lots of fun.  The weather did put a bit of a damper on the first day, but the second day was awesome.  If you at all enjoy paddling - then definitely do a few days in a kayak.  We did everything through Sam's, well technically Blue Planet (partnered with, but essentially part of Sam's).  As an FYI, I had originally tried contacting Paddling Palau, but they are apparently Blue Plane now, so just contact Sam's instead.

Jellyfish Lake - you have to see it if you go to Palau.  If you don't see it when in Palau...you need to be bonked over the head or something.  All of the dive operators will stop by the lake every few days on the way back/to a dive.  So you don't have to worry about scheduling an extra day just for Jellyfish Lake - just add it to one of your dive days and save the time.  You'll spend about 30-45 minutes floating in the lake after a short 5-10 minute hike.

The weather... there is no 'best season' to go to Palau.  It's basically the same all year round (based on my numerous conversations with locals).  It rained a little (or a lot) every day we were there, but was generally sunny out.  You sorta get used to the rain...sorta.  Don't bother trying to plan around it...just go with the flow.

At any rate, if there's something I didn't cover here (and there is probably tons of stuff), feel free to e-mail me (address on the upper right side) and I'll be happy to answer.  Even if ya find this post a few years from now.

Palau: From the Air 4

After we had completed enough kayaking through Palau, we decided to take to the air.  Our intent was to get to the island of Peleliu, which was where a large World War II battle occurred - the Battle of Peleliu.  Over 1,500 Americas died and nearly 11,000 Japanese were lost (in this one battle alone).

We had two options for getting there - either take a rough speedboat ride for 90+ minutes each way, or...take to the air.  With the help of Ron at Sam's Tour's we ended up chartering a helicopter for half a day.  It was a bit cheaper than I would have expected actually, to have it for 6 hours.  Sam's provided an awesome guide (TJ) to show off the island, and then the helicopter company provided the pilot (an awesome Aussie) to do the flying - and supporting guide work on the island.

We set off at around 8AM and headed south to Peleliu, via a very scenic route over the Rock Islands, Jellyfish Lake and a slew of other interesting places. Here's a shot from the chopper on the way down to the island.  It was a bit overcast, otherwise it would have really been spectacular.

Once we arrived on the island, the sky decided to rain a more.  Which seems to be par for the course.  But we soldiered on into the rain.  We stopped first by White Beach, which is where the Americans came onto shore.  After that we swung by countless other locations and fighting machines - left pretty much wherever they were left 60+ years ago.  Here's a few photos from around the island.

(An overturned American tank)

 (American aircraft pieces in the Jungle)

(Above: Memorial for American Marines)

(Above: Memorial for American Army)

(Japanese Grenades)

As I mentioned a few days ago, also intersecting is that numerous items (such as the helmet and grenades above) are just left out.  Nobody steels them - which is nice that things can be left like that for decades without being disturbed.  If you're interested in more of the battle information, here's a good link.

It isn't until you get to Peleliu that you realize the sheer amount of cave work completed by the Japanese.  Caves are everywhere.  And we're not just talking digging in few feet and that's it - we're talking extensive networks with everything from full medical centers built in to storage locations.  People actually lived in these caves for years.  Equally astounding is to remember that during the battles - this area was basically barren.  Now it's incredibly dense jungle.

After we completed our multi-hour tour of the island, it was time to take to the air for our return flight back to the main island.  Of course, like the journey down this would be 35+ minute flight of fancy through the islands.  Here's a few aerial shots I took on the way back.

(Above: Blue Corner - a popular dive spot)

The above two photos are of the 70 Islands, which is a restricted preserve within Palau.  Most of the aerial photos you see of Palau are of this set of islands.

I thought the above was a neat shot, with the cockpit in the foreground.

(A semi-sunken ship)

(This is the hill up to the Japanese Lighthouse that we hiked up the previous day)

 
(I got really good at taking photos with my hand out of the helicopter - there were no doors on it)

We did some awesome super-low flights down a lake called Long Lake.  Just barely off the deck.  Here's a shot as we exited the canyon/channel.  I'd guess about 50' off the ground at some locations.  Our pilot was awesome - we couldn't have asked for a better guy.  Super-flexible and very reasonable...and the fact that he might be just a bit crazy was awesome.

After all was said and done - he actually dropped us off at the hotel.  Do you know how stylish it is to get dropped off at your hotel on via helicopter?  Everyone was watching, it was pretty funny.

I've got one more post on Palau before I return to regular blogging.  More a 'logistics' post for those that find my blog while trying to find info about Palau.  It'll include all the little tips and tricks I picked up about traveling there.

Palau: From the Air 0

After we had completed enough kayaking through Palau, we decided to take to the air.  Our intent was to get to the island of Peleliu, which was where a large World War II battle occurred - the Battle of Peleliu.  Over 1,500 Americas died and nearly 11,000 Japanese were lost (in this one battle alone).

We had two options for getting there - either take a rough speedboat ride for 90+ minutes each way, or...take to the air.  With the help of Ron at Sam's Tour's we ended up chartering a helicopter for half a day.  It was a bit cheaper than I would have expected actually, to have it for 6 hours.  Sam's provided an awesome guide (TJ) to show off the island, and then the helicopter company provided the pilot (an awesome Aussie) to do the flying - and supporting guide work on the island.

We set off at around 8AM and headed south to Peleliu, via a very scenic route over the Rock Islands, Jellyfish Lake and a slew of other interesting places. Here's a shot from the chopper on the way down to the island.  It was a bit overcast, otherwise it would have really been spectacular.

Once we arrived on the island, the sky decided to rain a more.  Which seems to be par for the course.  But we soldiered on into the rain.  We stopped first by White Beach, which is where the Americans came onto shore.  After that we swung by countless other locations and fighting machines - left pretty much wherever they were left 60+ years ago.  Here's a few photos from around the island.

(An overturned American tank)

 (American aircraft pieces in the Jungle)

(Above: Memorial for American Marines)

(Above: Memorial for American Army)

(Japanese Grenades)

As I mentioned a few days ago, also intersecting is that numerous items (such as the helmet and grenades above) are just left out.  Nobody steels them - which is nice that things can be left like that for decades without being disturbed.  If you're interested in more of the battle information, here's a good link.

It isn't until you get to Peleliu that you realize the sheer amount of cave work completed by the Japanese.  Caves are everywhere.  And we're not just talking digging in few feet and that's it - we're talking extensive networks with everything from full medical centers built in to storage locations.  People actually lived in these caves for years.  Equally astounding is to remember that during the battles - this area was basically barren.  Now it's incredibly dense jungle.

After we completed our multi-hour tour of the island, it was time to take to the air for our return flight back to the main island.  Of course, like the journey down this would be 35+ minute flight of fancy through the islands.  Here's a few aerial shots I took on the way back.

(Above: Blue Corner - a popular dive spot)

The above two photos are of the 70 Islands, which is a restricted preserve within Palau.  Most of the aerial photos you see of Palau are of this set of islands.

I thought the above was a neat shot, with the cockpit in the foreground.

(A semi-sunken ship)

(This is the hill up to the Japanese Lighthouse that we hiked up the previous day)

 
(I got really good at taking photos with my hand out of the helicopter - there were no doors on it)

We did some awesome super-low flights down a lake called Long Lake.  Just barely off the deck.  Here's a shot as we exited the canyon/channel.  I'd guess about 50' off the ground at some locations.  Our pilot was awesome - we couldn't have asked for a better guy.  Super-flexible and very reasonable...and the fact that he might be just a bit crazy was awesome.

After all was said and done - he actually dropped us off at the hotel.  Do you know how stylish it is to get dropped off at your hotel on via helicopter?  Everyone was watching, it was pretty funny.

I've got one more post on Palau before I return to regular blogging.  More a 'logistics' post for those that find my blog while trying to find info about Palau.  It'll include all the little tips and tricks I picked up about traveling there.

Kayaking Day 3: Jellyfish Lake 8

After coming back a day ahead of schedule (we were cruisin'!) from our kayak camping trip, we got persuaded into going back out in the kayaks for another day (although after a good nights sleep in a real bed). It's pretty much a requirement to hit up Jellyfish Lake when in Palau, and we were working with the folks at the dive shop (Sam's Dive Shop) to get it to all fit in. That was when they came up with the idea to combine a half-day kayak trip down an inland lake called 'Long Lake' (about a mile or so long), with some snorkeling and the famed Jellyfish Lake. The plan was to take a speedboat to Jellyfish lake, then afterwards swing by a deserted beach for lunch, and then go for a few hour kayak journey. We jumped at the opportunity.

We set off early on a speedboat to Jellyfish Lake, which is an inland lake on an island. The lake is isolated from any direct ocean water contact to the sea, but it's maintained it's salt water status via the porous rock in the lake's walls. Many years ago some jellyfish got into the lake. There is considerable debate over how it happened - but the two opinions are either the larvae seeped through underwater cracks/pores, or some nearby birds picked up the larvae and dropped it in the lake. Either way, over time they adapted to the new environment, which lacked any real natural predators. In doing so, they lost their stinging tentacles - making them nothing more than a bowl full of jelly. Without any natural predators their population bloomed exponentially. Interestingly, about 15 or so years ago in a El Nino year, the lake actually overheated so much it killed off every single jellyfish. However, through an incredibly complex process that I cannot remember, the jellies eggs can remain dormant on the bottom of lake for a long time. The population was able to completely replenish itself in a matter of months. Just a couple million Jellyfish, give or take a few.

This lake was made 'popular' in the mid/late nineties with a cover feature on National Geographic. Since then it's been featured in numerous movies, TV shows (i.e. Survivor), and documentaries. Now in the peak season some 300 visitors a day visit the lake to snorkel and see the jellies (and pay the steep $35 park entrance fee).

With all of that background complete, it's time to get to the action! When we first got into the water we didn't see any jellies immediately. The jellies follow the sun, and fear the shade. For the shade brings their only natural enemy in the lake - sea enemies that cling to the walls in the darker areas. But as you swim out into the lake you see an occasional jelly floating by.

At first your natural reaction is to avoid them - as that's what you've always been taught. When you bump into one for the first few times, your body instinctively reflexes away from it - fearing oncoming pain.

However as you go further into the lake, the jelly population gets denser and denser, until you can do nothing but bump into them. They feel very much like Jello - just sliding around and bouncy when you touch them. You don't feel any pain or any irritation from contact with them.

They are all constantly pulsing, as that is how they move. It's rather surreal to watch - and even more so to float in the middle of it all. With all that said, here's a few photos I took. I think the next one is probably my favorite out of all of them. (Favorite photo that is...I don't have a favorite jellyfish)

I got my brother to take one of me, diving down into the jelly abyss.

The below photos is taken when they were at the densest point that I swam into. Apparently they can get so dense that you can't even move.

And lastly, here's a short video clip I took of the pulsing action and what it looks like underwater:

I could show you the kayaking photos from the remainder of the day and talk about paddling through deep mangroves - but really...they aren't as cool as above. So I'll just keep it to one simple photo I took of my kayak later in the day. Yes, the water really is that crystal clear turquoise color.

And tomorrow (or whenever I post next) - we've got some serious aerial adventure action. Sweet!

Kayaking Day 3: Jellyfish Lake 0

After coming back a day ahead of schedule (we were cruisin'!) from our kayak camping trip, we got persuaded into going back out in the kayaks for another day (although after a good nights sleep in a real bed). It's pretty much a requirement to hit up Jellyfish Lake when in Palau, and we were working with the folks at the dive shop (Sam's Dive Shop) to get it to all fit in. That was when they came up with the idea to combine a half-day kayak trip down an inland lake called 'Long Lake' (about a mile or so long), with some snorkeling and the famed Jellyfish Lake. The plan was to take a speedboat to Jellyfish lake, then afterwards swing by a deserted beach for lunch, and then go for a few hour kayak journey. We jumped at the opportunity.

We set off early on a speedboat to Jellyfish Lake, which is an inland lake on an island. The lake is isolated from any direct ocean water contact to the sea, but it's maintained it's salt water status via the porous rock in the lake's walls. Many years ago some jellyfish got into the lake. There is considerable debate over how it happened - but the two opinions are either the larvae seeped through underwater cracks/pores, or some nearby birds picked up the larvae and dropped it in the lake. Either way, over time they adapted to the new environment, which lacked any real natural predators. In doing so, they lost their stinging tentacles - making them nothing more than a bowl full of jelly. Without any natural predators their population bloomed exponentially. Interestingly, about 15 or so years ago in a El Nino year, the lake actually overheated so much it killed off every single jellyfish. However, through an incredibly complex process that I cannot remember, the jellies eggs can remain dormant on the bottom of lake for a long time. The population was able to completely replenish itself in a matter of months. Just a couple million Jellyfish, give or take a few.

This lake was made 'popular' in the mid/late nineties with a cover feature on National Geographic. Since then it's been featured in numerous movies, TV shows (i.e. Survivor), and documentaries. Now in the peak season some 300 visitors a day visit the lake to snorkel and see the jellies (and pay the steep $35 park entrance fee).

With all of that background complete, it's time to get to the action! When we first got into the water we didn't see any jellies immediately. The jellies follow the sun, and fear the shade. For the shade brings their only natural enemy in the lake - sea enemies that cling to the walls in the darker areas. But as you swim out into the lake you see an occasional jelly floating by.

At first your natural reaction is to avoid them - as that's what you've always been taught. When you bump into one for the first few times, your body instinctively reflexes away from it - fearing oncoming pain.

However as you go further into the lake, the jelly population gets denser and denser, until you can do nothing but bump into them. They feel very much like Jello - just sliding around and bouncy when you touch them. You don't feel any pain or any irritation from contact with them.

They are all constantly pulsing, as that is how they move. It's rather surreal to watch - and even more so to float in the middle of it all. With all that said, here's a few photos I took. I think the next one is probably my favorite out of all of them. (Favorite photo that is...I don't have a favorite jellyfish)

I got my brother to take one of me, diving down into the jelly abyss.

The below photos is taken when they were at the densest point that I swam into. Apparently they can get so dense that you can't even move.

And lastly, here's a short video clip I took of the pulsing action and what it looks like underwater:

I could show you the kayaking photos from the remainder of the day and talk about paddling through deep mangroves - but really...they aren't as cool as above. So I'll just keep it to one simple photo I took of my kayak later in the day. Yes, the water really is that crystal clear turquoise color.

And tomorrow (or whenever I post next) - we've got some serious aerial adventure action. Sweet!