More general info on Palau and Truk Lagoon

Chuuk (the name was officially changed in 1986, though divers still call it Truk).

On Palau

A spectacular 400 mile long strand of pearls laid across blue sea best describes this jewel of the Pacific. Made of limestone coral reefs lifted above sea level and undercut by ocean currents which over time have notched the basis so that from the air they look like giant mushrooms, the Republic of Palau, in Micronesia, is truly nature at its most majestic.

The tightly clustered Palau archipelago consists of the high islands of Babeldaob, Koror, Peleliu and Angaur in the south, the low coral atolls of Kayangel to the north east and Ngeruangel and the limestone rock islands of which there are more than 200. Apart from Kayangel, Ngeruangel and Angaur all the islands are inside a single barrier reef. Only eight islands are inhabited, for the entire population is 17,235 with the majority of them living in the provisional capital of Koror. There are an additional 2,500 foreigners mostly Filipino labourers.

The Spaniards named the group Los Palos (the native name is Belau) and laid claim to them in 1898, selling them to Germany a year later. In 1946, Palau became one of the trust territories of the Pacific islands under the governance of the U.S.A. In 1994, it gained its independence and was admitted to the United Nations as its 185th member.

The island group is divided into 16 states each maintaining the traditional clan system with English and Palauan the official languages. The people are warm, hospitable and generous and, though they look more American than other Micronesians, they continue to follow their old matrilineal culture.

Koror, the capital, has breathtaking views of the islands, Japanese stone lanterns and the only Shinto Shrine outside Japan, a reminder of Japanese occupation during the war. There is a national museum founded in 1955 which displays a bounty of island treasure and on special occasions you can see young Palauan women dressed in grass skirts covered in coconut oil and turmeric perform ancient native dances on the museum's grass.


An advert from Diver Magazine, 1976