Where the Streets Have No Name
Koror is a bustling, if not terribly picturesque, town.  It is the center of government and commerce in Palau.  Everything is on a small scale.  Its main street runs  east and west about two miles.   The commercial area extends a couple of blocks to the north and south.  None of the roads have names, so locations must be described in relation to one another.  The downtown area is a little over a mile long, so navigating isn't particularly difficult.  Within a day or two you'll get the hang of it.

Many of the side streets have a decidedly third world flair to them, with chickens and goats running around in the yards and a narrow open sewer one side of the street.

While much of Palau is familiar, there are a few indicators that you're not in Kansas any more.  For example, in addition to offering gas, tire repairs, ice
and cold beer, the gas stations in Koror (like the one below) carry betel nut, the ubiquitous "nut" that just about everyone (young, old, men, women) seems hooked on.  In its natural state, betel nut seems harmless enough.  The Palauans chop it up and mix it with tobacco and lime and then chew on it, much in the same way that some Americans chew tobacco. Once they start they don't seem to ever stop.

We were told it produces a mild narcotic high.  The betel nut quickly turns the saliva red, and eventually stains the teeth, coloring them red at first before staining them black.  The sight of this takes a little getting used to.  I don't think I'd want to be a dentist in Palau, though apparently betel nut does help prevent cavities.  I'll stick to toothpaste with flouride.

There are a dozen small convenience/ grocery stores (similar in size and function to  a 7-11)  and a couple of large supermarkets in central Koror.  Prices were almost identical to those in California. 

Internet cafes (costs for access were $6/hr) and several souvenir/dress shops can be found in the downtown area as well. 

There is also a major drug store that has just about anything you could ask for.

I doubt you'll be shopping for a computer or stereo, but if you are, there's an electronics store in the downtown area that should be able to address your needs.

There are a couple of laundromats on a side street that runs parallel to the main street, one block to the north in the downtown area.  They're reasonably priced and are open until 11:00.  They were a godsend, as our hotel didn't offer laundry service.  I suspect only the high end hotels do.

Palau's Congress with the flags of Micronesia's many states.

The Congress, Supreme Court, several ministries and the jail are all in downtown Koror in the same general area.   I was surprised to find that a nation of only 20,000 had a Supreme Court.  The Congress has two houses. The house of Delegates has sixteen members, with one from each state.  The Senate has fourteen members.  It is chosen based on popular vote.  Members of both houses and the President serve four year terms.  If that sounds to you like a lot of government for such a small place, you're not the only one.  As The Lonely Planet says: "It would be hard to find another nation where so few are governed by so many." 

We spent some time at the jail during our stay in Palau, though our visits were entirely of our own accord.  The inmates earn money by carving story boards depicting some of the legends from Palau's history.  Their works can be purchased in the office at the jail.  Many of them (the storyboards..... we didn't meet any of the inmates) are very nice.  The prices are comparable to those you'll find elsewhere.

There are 15-20 restaurants in central Koror, most of which serve Chinese or Japanese food.  All the restaurants we visited were passable but few were noteworthy.  Fans of steak, Mexican or vegetarian fare don't have much to choose from.  There is one Italian restaurant, but it's just okay.  The pasta dishes are fine but the pizza isn't anything to write home about.

 The cocktails are terrific as well.  Just writing about the place is making me hungry and thirsty.

The Belau Museum is in central Koror a few streets south of the main drag.  It has exhibits of art, carvings and photographs from Palau's history.  The museum only has a few rooms, but they document the cultural history of the island rather well.  The gift shop has an extensive set of storyboards for sale, along with posters, cards and some other wooden carvings.  There is a very large, well decorated Bai a few yards from the museum and a few rusty Japanese anti-aircraft guns left over from World War II. 

There is a lot more to Koror than the hustle and bustle of the downtown area.  Parts of the island are very scenic.  To the west you'll find sandy beaches, a great little bar right on the water, a few marinas and a public aquarium.  The bar is particularly enticing.  Jimmy Buffet could have written "Margaritaville" after a visit.  We even called it that, though I'm sure it has another name.  We spent the better part of two days wandering around western Koror and were glad we did.  It's a long walk, but it's doable.  Taxis are usually around if you get tired of walking.

The program we did took most of the morning.  It was divided into two parts:

The first section consisted of a tour of the facilities and an introduction to the dolphins.  The facilities are very nice, with a dozen or so pens with walkways between them. Several of these are pictured at left.

There's also a large deck area under some trees that is pictured below at left.  We took a walking tour of the facility and met several of the dolphins.  They did the obligatory Seaworld tricks for us, jumping and tailwalking on cue.

The second section was even more fun.  Our a brief introduction our group put on our masks and fins and got into a pen with two dolphins, both of whom were about six feet long.  

Most of the guests in our group were Chinese or Korean.  They stayed at the surface, playing with the dolphins as they'd swim by.  We took a different tack.  

We would dive down to the bottom of the pen and play with them.  After seeing us dive the dolphins would rapidly converge on us.  You could grab hold of their dorsal fin and have them pull you through the water and then back to the surface.

Sometimes both dolphins would join you, allowing you to be towed by two of them at once.  I took the picture on the right above as I was being towed to the surface.  We did this dozens of times over the 45 minutes we were in the water with them.  That was a real thrill.  It was a bit like starring in  your very own episode of Flipper.  It was a magical experience we won't soon forget.

The grace of the dolphins was incredible.  Several times I saw them converging underwater and was sure they were going collide, possibly with me in between......  yet every time they'd turn at the last second, sometimes when they were only an inch apart, and gracefully swim in parallel.  While the dolphins seem to be enjoying their interactions with us, they're also trained to do it.  The instructors tossed them a fish each time they broke the surface with us in tow.  

You can also scuba dive with the dolphins, though we declined to do so.  We had a blast snorkeling with them.  I can't imagine being on scuba would add much.  All that gear on would restrict your movement and might even make it less fun.

A staff videographer tapes all of the dolphin encounters.  You can buy the tape shortly after. I normally don't go for that sort of thing but chose to this time.  I'm very glad I did.  The video is very well done, and includes shots of all your encounters, along with some added information on the program and the dolphins. It's well worth the cost.

That was the end of my adventures in Palau.  I jumped on a plane that night for the dreaded flight back to reality.  Twenty-four hours later I was home, somewhat sleep-deprived but none the worse for my Micronesian adventures.  It was an extraordinary experience, one I won't soon forget.

My buddy stayed an extra day and spent it kayaking in the Rock Islands.  Here's her report:

The kayak trip starts out with a short 10 minute boat ride to the rock  islands. Our guide's name was Butler, a native Palauan college educated  in the US. He studied biology then switched to a vocational school where he became an electrician.  

He knew an incredible amount about the local flora and fauna and was eager to answer any questions.  He also had a great sense of humor which made the voyage even more interesting.  We started off kayaking through mirror like calm waters amidst the rock islands. We had our first snorkel site in a fairly shallow and boring cove.