Mention ‘Palau’ to an ordinary individual and most probably he or she will mention of an island in the Pacific Ocean. Mention the same word to scuba divers and adventurers and you will get mountains of metaphors and similes and personifications. All of them bringing Palau into good light.
And who could blame them? One can bask in Palau’s glory with or without the scuba diving equipment. Palau has some of the world’s finest beaches and diving spots. The scenes under the waters of Palau offers divers and snorkel swimmers the beauty no one can find elsewhere. The corals, the fishes, the ecology of that makes Palau’s underwater scenes are truly a sight to behold.
But if you think that Palau’s magic can be found on the ocean, then clearly. You do not know Palau. There’s more to Palau than diving spots and fine beaches and World War II shipwrecks (yeah, they have sunken battle cruisers, destroyers, fighter planes and other war vessels from the Second World War scuttled and shot down in their waters). In the middle of the islands are saltwater lakes. How these lakes came to be are beyond me. Leave the prying to scientists and the native storytellers. But it is not the lake that holds the surprise. The appropriate question should be, “what’s on the lake?”
Straightforward answer, jellyfishes. Tons of jellyfishes. And not the ordinary, poisonous kind of jellyfishes. Orange jellyfishes. The non-stinging kind. And if these creatures does not freak you out, then jump it on to the lake and swim in their midst. People who have experienced swimming among these mystical lake creatures have one common thing to say. Being in that lake seems to take them to another place. Some say that swimming in the lake and sharing the waters with its creatures have given the calm and inner peace they could not find or get from someone or somewhere.
So the next time you think you need to be at ease with yourself, need to get away for a while, or just want a worthwhile vacation, then try Palau. Who knows, an orange jellyfish might touch on the inside.
