Indonesia, Micronesia, and Palau

Ternate, Indonesia

Country number 45 was a brief one day stop in Indonesia, but we’ll be returning in a week or so.  Ternate was a new addition to our itinerary that was added when Saipan was removed.  It is a small volcanic island (still active) that is known for its clove production.  Indonesia is predominantly Islamic, so in respect for local customs we wore pants despite the heat.

The biggest surprise was just how friendly the local community was.  Several people waved, said hello, asked where we were from…and for once those weren’t an intro to a sales pitch.  A couple of people also asked us to take a picture with them.  We wandered around town and checked out Fort Oranje and the Palace of the Sultan of Ternate.  It was super hot out, so we only walked for a couple of hours before returning to the ship. 

Colonia (Yap), Micronesia

Colonia is the capital of Yap State, one of the Federated States of Micronesia.  It has a population of about 3200 people, so it’s very small.  We were supposed to anchor here, but our ship is too large to swing on anchor in the tight passages.  The community was able to have us dock at the pier even though we are the largest ship they’ve ever parked there. 

Unfortunately, during the three sea days on the way to Colonia I came down with a head cold.  I still wasn’t feeling great when we arrived, so Mike ventured out on his own.  He walked down to the Yap Stone Money Bank to see the famous Rai stones.  These are traditional money made from limestones, the larger the stone the more it’s worth.  He also wandered by the Yap Living History Museum showcasing traditional style buildings.

On our second day in Colonia, it was pouring rain in the morning.  Since Mike had pretty much seen everything there was to see in town and I still wasn’t feeling great, we stayed on the ship for the day.  Friends of ours took a tour of the island, which is 99% privately owned, so the only way to really see it is with a guide.  You must have permission from the local Chiefs to visit the villages on the island and even the beaches are privately owned. 

Koror, Palau

After another quiet sea day, we arrived in Koror.  Our ship anchored just off the coast of the Palau Pacific Resort, and we tendered to the resort’s pier.  There was a shuttle arranged to take us the five kilometers to town, but after so many sea days and being sick we decided to walk instead.  The island is beautiful although lacking in sidewalks, but luckily there wasn’t a lot of traffic.

When we reached town, we walked down past the WCTC Shopping Center to the Etpison Museum; although, we didn’t go in.  We saw lots of giant clam shells that the area is known for; they can grow to 4 feet in diameter and more than 440 pounds. Afterwards, we walked back through town and across a bridge to check out Long Island Park which has a beach, swimming area, and beach volleyball courts.  The water was crystal clear and we saw lots of fish without even going in the water, but it was also really shallow so not great for snorkeling until the tide comes in.  From here we walked all the way back through town to get back to the shopping center and we caught the shuttle back to the ship.

On our second day in Koror, we paid the resort fee for day use and spent the afternoon snorkeling off the beach of the Palau Pacific resort.  The first time we went out the coral was a little close for comfort, but as the tide came in it got better later in the afternoon.  I’ve never seen so many different types of fish all in one place; it was fascinating. The live giant clams were much prettier than the shells we saw in town.

For our third and final day we took the shuttle into town to check out the Palau Aquarium and International Coral Reef Center that had been closed over the weekend.  It’s a tiny aquarium, but it was cool to be able to put a name to many of the fish we had seen the day before.  They also had three nautiluses on display which were very interesting. 

On the way back to the shopping center we explored the grounds of the Belau National Museum where I found a cat to pet.  We didn’t have time to do the inside of the museum because the last tender back to the ship was at 3pm, so we headed back to catch the shuttle.

Palau was absolutely stunning, and we had a great time.

Bitung, Indonesia

Two sea days brought us back to Indonesia to the port of Bitung.  The people of Bitung welcomed us warmly with a traditional dance and music on the pier.  We arrived later than usual and the ship was not cleared until after 11am, so we decided to have lunch before venturing out.  Unfortunately, by the time we finished lunch it had started to rain…a lot.  We chose to stay on board, but we heard from others that the streets were flooding making it difficult to get around.  Not to mention the mud and debris.

On our second day the weather was much more cooperative, so we went out for our usually wander before lunch.  The people we passed were very excited to see us and several people said hello and waved.  The children were a little overeager and often stopped us for photos or to sign their notebooks.  It was endearing, but also a little overwhelming for me.  The town itself is interesting and has much less of an Islamic influence than our last stop in Indonesia.  We saw more churches than mosques and the women weren’t dressed quite as conservatively. 

On our third day it threatened more rain, but it never did arrive.  I wasn’t too keen on being a local celebrity again, so Mike went out for a short walk on his own.  He received an enthusiastic hug from an elderly woman and again wrote his name in notebooks for the kids.  I chose to remain on the ship and take care of a few housekeeping items.  We have two more sea days on our way to our next stop Sorong, Indonesia.

Sorong, Indonesia

We had another large welcome in Sorong and a fairly lengthy plaque exchange ceremony when we arrived.  Our ship exchanges plaques at each new port we arrive to, but it’s often just a quiet event in the background.  Sorong had a lot of people involved and a tent set up next the ship with covered chairs. 

When we finally got ourselves ready for the day we headed out for our usual meandering.  There wasn’t much for sidewalks leaving the port, so we made our way carefully down the main road.  Eventually we found more raised sidewalks and shop fronts.  We made our way to the Vihara Buddha Jaynati Buddhist Temple.  They were paving the road up to it, so we had to climb through the ditch for a short section.  On the other side I found a cat to pet before we reached the temple.   

After leaving the temple we were heading toward a mall when it started to rain, so we didn’t take many pictures after that.  The mall ended up just being a multilevel department store with a cinema on the top floor and a grocery store in the basement.  We explored each floor thoroughly as we waited for the rain to die down.  Once it did, we started back towards the ship, stopping at another ‘mall’ along the way.  Again, everyone was incredibly friendly and excited to see us. We also saw some wildlife on the walk back to the ship.

On the second day it was sunny and hot, and I decided to have a pool day.  Mike still wanted to get his steps in, so he headed out solo to explore the other direction from the port.  There wasn’t a whole lot to see, but he found another Buddhist temple, a market, and a new waterfront area that is still very much under construction.

Unfortunately, I should not be left to lay in the sun unsupervised and ended up a little bit crispy, so I stayed home on our final day in Sorong as well.  I put on a lot of after sun lotion and sat very still.  Mike went on another epic ramble by himself. He found the downtown area but it was really busy and it was raining, so he didn't take many photos.

We are wrapping up the Japan, Philippine Sea Segment with two stops in Australia. The second stop in Cairns will technically be the end as well as the beginning of the South Pacific Segment. As we explore the small islands in the South Pacific we'll hopefully be back with more snorkeling adventures. Provided we survive our stint in Australia where everything wants to kill us...😉