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A summer to remember in Palau
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Posted on Aug 24 2008
Our summer vacation to Palau, originally scheduled for three weeks, turned into almost seven weeks total for 12 members of the Aughenbaugh family—grandma, mom and dad, four sons, one daughter, a daughter-in-law, two granddaughters, and a cousin.
A family project and the 18-and-Under Palau Youth Games—highlighted in Wednesday’s Saipan Tribune issue—contributed to our extended stay.
But what a blessing the additional time brought for all of us. In many ways the quality of life is currently better in Palau; 24-hour power and 24-hour water that you can drink right out of the faucet in my mother-in-law Mechelins’ (Kumangai) village of Ngardmau, about 20 miles from the new Japan/Palau Friendship Bridge, connecting Babeldoap Island to the commercial center of Koror.
The pace of life is slower in Palau, especially in Ngardmau, where only several hundred people live. You can actually spend quality time with your family. There are so many things to do together: fishing, viewing marine and coral life, swimming in the rivers, hiking to the waterfalls, picnicking at the Rock Islands, visiting the Dolphin Exhibit, the Palau National Museum, and crocodiles at the Palau Aquarium or driving on the new 50-mile Compact Road around the lush, undeveloped main island of Babeldoap with a stop at the new Capitol Complex of the Palau government in Melekeok.
A wonderful summer to remember and a definite place to visit!
