We’re flying to Guam tonight so this is our dedicated dry day in Palau. We actually slept in today until about 7:00 a.m. – it felt great! We met most of the group for breakfast and made morning plans from there. Scott decided he would join Terry and Ian (or “the rebreather guys” as they have been come to be known) to Fish ‘N Fins (a dive shop) and then to Neco Marine to pick up their gear.

I decided I would go with Pat, Jon and Mike to the prison in Koror. A strange morning journey, one might think, but we had been told (and read) that the prison is really the only place on Palau to buy authentic Palauan-made storyboards (most of the ones available in stores are made in the Philippines and imported). What’s more, the proceeds from the sale of the storyboards goes to the artist – he receives the money when he gets out of prison. Each of the storyboards is handcarved out of Mahogany (grown on the island) and each one correlates to a legend. The room in the jail where all of the storyboards are displayed is, in a word, amazing. There were hundreds of intricately carved storyboards of all shapes and sizes. Apparently learning the craft and being able to sell your art is a reward for good behavior.

The storyboard I bought tells the story of stone money (the people of Yap would paddle some 300 miles to Palau to get the limestone to carve into money – the more difficult the journey, the more valuable the money). I actually got to meet the artist who was very nice (and very talented). It turns out he is the cousin of the taxi driver who took us to the jail. The taxi driver is also the cousin of Tangie (who gave us the Peleliu tour) and his father was the head of the justice department in Palau. What’s more, the artist is the cousin of the gentleman who worked the front desk at the hotel. It is a small world, but Palau is also a small country!

Scott and I met back at Cliffside and took care of some of our dive gear before heading back to Neco Marine with Jon, John & Mike for lunch at the Drop Off Bar & Grill and to get a few souvenirs.