(524) PAX WINS 3 OF LAST 4 GAMES (TBN-Oct. 12-18, 2007)

IT WAS the most hectic week of the Palau Royal Resort rating chess tournament that 27 games were played with Paquito 'Pax' Suringa, Jr. on a winning surge and even almost upsetting the 2 frontrunners.

He upset Paul Garcia by employing the same tactic that Garcia used in trouncing current 2nd placer Nino Flores.

Pax have been patient all game long and outlasted Garcia in a marathon 70 moves of Giocco Piano. He followed it up with a 52 moves error-filled French Defence game with Arnold Rivera where the latter captured with the wrong piece that will give him the advantage of a queen.

He became overconfident with his game against Zaldy Ranopa with overwhelming material and positional advantage and lost instead to snap a rare two-game winning streak.

He clobbered Erick Ventinilla in 34 moves of King's Pawn Opening in the middle of his 10-day annual leave that gives him fresh mind and more concentration to the game.

OTHER RESULTS OF LAST WEEK'S GAMES:
     Flores upended Arnel Pama in 38 moves of Bishop Opening; Ranopa drubbed Ventinilla in 37 moves of Danish Gambit where he also won over Manny Dulay in 46 moves of another Bishop Opening; Ventinilla and Flores nipped Randy Sioson in 45 moves of Ruy Lopez and in 22 moves of Bishop Opening respectively; the ever-improving Dulay outwitted Suringa in 45 moves of yet another Bishop Opening, the most widely used defence in this tourney at 7 times this week; Laurence Abuton took the measure of Sioson in 37 moves of Petroff Defence.

     Top seed Roberto Hernandez played 3 games at a time and defeated them all with Dulay blundering in the middle game where he should have captured Hernandez' queen with his knight plus a check that would have given him an enormous advantage. He lost instead in 32 moves of Sicilian Defence (Alapin Variation).

     Abuton lost in just 20 moves of King' Gambit Accepted while Ventinilla left his bishop undefended and lost in 51 moves of another Sicilian Defence.

     Ranopa couldn't sustain his advantage and accepted the draw with Abraham 'Abe' Francisco in 49 moves of Bishop Opening; Dennis Lara scored a point over Paxin 61 moves of Nimzo-Indian Defence (Classical Variation); Flores overcame a blunder of his own and beat Pax in 28 moves of Bishop Opening; Pax bounced back from defeat and demolished Sioson in 30 moves of King's Pawn Opening; Pama overlooked a neat rook sacrifice of Abuton to draw by stalemate in 43 moves of Two Knights Defence; 

     Pama touted Dulay in 38 moves of another King's Pawn Opening; Garcia made short work on Dulay to win in just 15 moves of Sicilian Defence and snapped Flores' 11-game winning streak with a victory in 36 moves of Bishop Opening; Abuton outlasted Dulay in 43 moves of Scotch Four Knights Defence but lost to Robert "Tube Ice" Tubice.

     Hernandez seized the lead again after conquering Ivan II "The Conqueror" Chess Computer in 39 moves of Benko Gambit and Pama toppled Ventinilla in the last game of the week in 26 moves of Reti Opening.

     The champion of this tourney will receive a trophy and $50.00 from Mr. Allan Tuppil, the Food and Beverage Manager of PRR. 

     The 2nd and 3rd placer will get $30.00 and $20.00 respectively while the 4th and 5th placer will get a medal each.

STANDINGS OF PLAYERS AND THEIR WIN-LOSS-DRAW SLATE:
     1. Roberto Hernandez (17-2-0) 2. Nino Flores (15-3-0) 3. Laurence Abuton (13-8-2) 4. Zaldy Ranopa (12-3-2) 5. Arnel Pama (12-9-1) 6. Jaime Guevarra (10-4-3) 7. Dennis Lara (11-4-0) 8. Robert Tubice (10-8-2) 9. Abe Francisco (9-5-2) 10. Paul Garcia (9-5-0) 11. Paquito Suringa, Jr. (9-14-0) 12. Tony Penas (8-6-0) 13. Erick Ventinilla (6-13-1) 14. Excalibur (5-9-1) 15. Manny Dulay (5-18-0) 16. Ivan II (3-10-0) 17. Randy Sioson (3-15-0) 18. Arnold Rivera (1-3-0) 19. Zuenie Mirabueno (0-18-0).

Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
           Tia Belau Newspaper
           Page 13
           Volume 17
           October 12-18, 2007     
        

Paquito Suringa, Jr., right, receiving his certificate of appreciation for participating in the 2012 Palau National Chess Championship from Secretary/Treasurer of Palau Chess Federation Roberto Hernandez. Paquito improved a lot since joining his first tournament in Palau--the PRR Rating Chess Tournament in July-Oct. 2007. He was Palau's no. 4 chess player in 2011 and currently no. 6 this year.
                                                                  (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)

(523) ABUTON IN SOLO 3RD SPOT (TBN-Oct. 05-11, 2007)

LAURENCE Abuton, a maintenance crew of Palau Royal Resort, surged into the top 3 spot in the resumption of PRR rating chess tournament after a week break when he demolished Ivan II Chess Computer in 55 moves of Caro-Kahn Defence.

He is only half point away from the 2 frontrunners Nino Flores and Roberto Hernandez and trailing him by a whole point are 1st round leader Jaime Guevarra and Zaldy Ranopa.

In the crowded 6th to 8th place are Dennis Lara, Arnel Pama and Robert Tubice, who ended his skid by trouncing Arnold Rivera in 30 moves of King's Pawn Opening. 

In solo 9th and 10th are Abraham 'Abe' Francisco and Tony Penas respectively while Paul Garcia played only 3 games since coming back from vacation, winning 2 and losing 1 to Ranopa in just 18 moves of Bishop Opening.

He made 2 weak moves in the middle game. He escaped with a win over Penas when he forked his adversary's king and bishop to go ahead by with a whole piece and 
checkmated Penas in 44 moves of Sicilian Defence.

Excalibur Chess Computer scored 2 victories over Penas in 36 moves of French Defence and over Randy Sioson in 19 moves of Sicilian Defence (Alapin Variation) to grad solo 13th place, just a point behind Erick Ventinilla.

The game of the week belongs to Manny Dulay when he executed a neat deviation from Ivan vs. Pama game that resulted in a masterful conquest of the talking and taunting machine in 41 moves of another Sicilian Defence (Dragon Variation).

The last game of the week was between Pama and Hernandez at 11:00 pm, a very rare time of play with Hernandez employing his pet Modern Defence to outwit Pama in 24 moves and tie Flores again for the lead.

Pama, the elected Chairman of King Royal Chess Club of PRR, made a 2nd list of pairings of available players but still many players can't make it.

The other officers agreed with his suggestion that the tourney will be finished at the end of this month and whoever has the highest score wins the championship.

With this idea, players have no more excuses especially the ones who are contenders to the top 3 spots.

Lone lady entrant Zueni Miraubueno asked Hernandez to cancel his name as participant. She was given another chance to play on her day off but failed to show up.

Her 16 first round games were all awarded to her opponents and if she like to catch up in the 2nd round, this is her last chance.

STANDINGS OF PLAYERS AND THEIR WIN-LOSS-DRAW RECORD:
     1. Nino Flores (12-2-0) 2. Roberto Hernandez (12-2-0) 3. Laurence Abuton (11-6-1) 3. Zaldy Ranopa (10-3-1) 4. Zaldy Ranopa (10-3-1) 5. Jaime Guevarra (9-4-3) 6. Dennis Lara (10-4-0) 7. Arnel Pama (10-8-0) 8. Robert Tubice (9-7-2) 9. Abe Francisco (9-5-1) 10. Tony Penas (8-6-0) 11. Paul Garcia (7-4-0) 12. Erick Ventinilla (6-9-1) 13. Exclibur (5-9-1) 14. Paquito Suringa, Jr. (5-11-0) 15. Manny Dulay (4-13-0) 16. Ivan II (3-9-0) 17. Randy Sioson (3-12-0) 18. Arnold Rivera (1-2-0) 19. Zuenie Mirabueno (0-18-0).

Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
                Tia Belau Newspaper
                Page 13
                Volume 17
                October 05-11, 2007         


    

(522) MUSIC AND ME (July 25, 2013) Japanese or Taiwanese?

WHICH NATIONALITY?
    I'm confuse with this boy's nationality. He can sing-along with Japanese song "Oribia O Kikinagara" but when I asked him "O namae wa?" or what is your name?, he doesn't understand me.
                          (Photo by Roberto Hernandez) 


On Sunday, July 21, 2013, I attended the Sunday School/Service of Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ 4th Watch (Palau Locale) where I was the President in the year 2008-2010.

My tithe is $10.00 and my offering is another $10.00. My love offering during Sunday school is $5.00.

It's the 7th birthday of Sis. Mariekor Salvador and we had lunch at the church of pancit, fruit salad, fried chicken, ice cream, papaitan, pork dish and rice. 

I brought some pancit and fruit salad to my wife Flor before going back to Palau Royal Resort.

When I started to play piano at Waves Restaurant, there are Japanese already in a long table with 4 kids.

When I played Japanese songs, they started to pay attention to my music.
 
One chubby boy comes close to me, looking at my calling cards and at my feet, that are alternating in their pressing the 2 damper pedals (sustain and loudness control).

I gave him my card. He showed it to the other kids. They come to me pretending to listen but I know they want to have my card also.

I gave one to each of them. They showed to their moms. The chubby boy's mother gave me $10.00 tip and videoed my performance of a Japanese song. 

The boy is beside me while I'm playing it. In the middle of my playing, I ask him, "O namae wa?" (What is your name?)

He didn't understand what I said. When his mom finished recording/videoed my performance, I ask her the same question. She didn't understand also so I ask it in English and she responded. THEY ARE TAIWANESE OR KOREAN!


Source: Chess And Music (Perfect Combination)
            The Beginning of Chess In Palau
            To be made as a book in the future 

         

(521) 2013 PNCC STARTS AUG. 04 (TBN-July 22, 2013)

THE 2013 PNCC IS A FAMILY AFFAIR
     Women's Division top seed Angie Parrado, middle, and her 2 daughters
are participating in 2013 PNCC while Palau's top player Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr., right, and his daughter Cyrelle Ann, Tito Cabunagan and his wife Lilibeth, Eric Ksau Whipps and his wife Joy and son Ksau Anthony, Rafael Paloma and his wife Gladys and Roberto Hernandez and his wife Flor are all participants. TRULY A FAMILY CHESS AFFAIR! Paquito 'Pax' Suringa, Jr., left, split his match vs. Cyril in this photo of 2013 Blitz Chess Championship.                                     (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)




      

  

      2013 PNCC STARTS AUG. 4

THE 2013 edition of Palau National Chess Championship will go down in Palau chess history as the most family-oriented national championship.

The participants in the Top 12 Division are:

1. Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr.
2. Roberto Hernandez
3. Tito Cabunagan
4. Jose Celiz
5. CM Bernardo Garcia
6. Paquito Suringa, Jr.
7. Eugenio Pastrana
8. Dennis Gonzales
9. Jeffrey Balbalosa
10. Nilo de Jesus
11. Gonzalo Escapatoria
12. Rafael Paloma
The time control in this division is the same time control of World Chess Olympiad --90 minutes for each player to make 40 moves, an additional 30 more minutes to finish the game with 30 seconds increment starting from move 1.
Reserves Division:

1.   Miguel Hilario, Jr.  

2. Mohammad Manik Hossain

3. Jaime dela Cruz
4. Jon Manuel Reyes
5. Eric Ksau Whipps
6. Elpidio Manaligod
7. Remrel Dizon
8. Eugene Labarda
9. John Joseph Pabiona
10. Alfredo Pacenos, Jr.
11. Rustum Cabuso
12. Herbert Galiza
13. Fernan John Velarde

TIME CONTROL -- 90 minutes for each player to finish the game with 30 seconds increment starting from move 1.

WOMEN'S DIVISION:

1. Angie Parrado
2. Gladys Paloma
3. Baby Edna Mission
4. Joy Flores Whipps
5. Lilibeth Cabunagan
6. Paz Ngiratechekii
7. Ma. Florida Hernandez
8. Leizl Michael
9. Remelyn Pascual

TIME CONTROL -- 75 MINUTES for each player to finish the game with 30 seconds increment starting from move 1.

JUNIORS DIVISION:

1. Cyrelle Ann Montel
2. Ksau Anthony Whipps
3. George Anzawa
4. Destiny Sisior
5. Zachary Techall Whipps
6. Angelil Sisior
7. Ron-Ron Mission

TIME CONTROL -- 60 minutes for each player to finish the game with 30 seconds increment starting from move 1.


THE DATE OF THE TOURNAMENT IS AUGUST 04- OCTOBER 06, 2013.

The women's division is exactly the order of Boards to the 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway from August 01-14, 2014.

Board 1 - Angie Parrado
Board 2- Gladys Paloma
Board 3- Baby Edna Mission
Board 4- Joy Flores Whipps
Reserve - Elizabeth Manuel
Team Captain - Lilibeth Cabunagan

Men's (Open) Division:

Board 1 - Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr.
Board 2 - Menandro Manuel
Board 3 - CM Bernardo Garcia
Board 4 - Tito Cabunagan
Reserve - Roberto Hernandez
Team Captain - Jamie Kenmure (Australia)
Delegate - Jan Berglund (Sweden)

* If Hernandez will be the Head of Delegation, the reserve slot will be contested by Mohammad Manik Hossain, Jeffrey Balbalosa and Paquito Suringa, Jr. via playoff.

* If Eric Ksau Whipps will be the Head of Delegation, Manuel will be Board 2 and Hernandez will be the reserve and the reserve spot will be closed for Manik, Jeff and Paquito.
    If this happens, there will be 3 husbands and wives in the Palau Chess Team to 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway--Menandro and Elizabeth Manuel, Tito and Lilibeth Cabunagan and Eric Ksau and Joy Flores Whipps.
     Another option to accommodate Manik, Jeff and Paquito is to have Hernandez be the Delegate if there is no communication with Mr. Berglund till March 2014. Mr. Berglund is Palau's Delegate to 3 consecutive Olympiads.

Other players with relations to each other are:
   Top player Cyril Tomas Montel, Jr. has a daughter, Cyrelle Ann Montel, who is also the top junior player of Palau.

   Palau's top woman chess player Angie Parrado has 2 daughters, Angelil and Destiny Sisior who are among the top junior players of Palau.

   Newly elected Palau Chess Federation President Eric Ksau Whipps had a wife and a son that represent Palau in 2013 Guam International Chess tournament held from Feb. 15-21, 2013. Eric's nephew Zachery Techall Whipps is also listed in the junior division.

   Gladys Paloma, Palau's 2nd ranked woman player, is married to Rafael Paloma, who is rapidly gaining ground after making it to the semifinals of 2013 Palau Rapid Chess Championship in Feb. - April.

   Roberto Hernandez is married to Ma. Florida Hernandez for 30 years. Flor was the women's champion of the inaugural Ambassador Marino Cup Rapid Chess tournament in June-July 2006.

    Eugenio Pastrana has a son, Ken, who was the only undefeated champion of the junior division of Ambassador Marino Cup Rapid Chess tournament.

    Ken is inactive now in chess and was taught by Roberto Hernandez how to play keyboard. He's been Roberto's best student so far and he's now playing professionally with The U Juan Band.

   Baby Edna Mission has a 16-year-old son who will be joining for the first time in a Palau chess tournament. He is interested to join the team in Norway but it’s a very slim chance to make it because of the crowded situation in the Men’s (Open) team.
   If that happens, it will really be a family-oriented Palau Chess Team to Tromso, Norway’s 2014 World Chess Olympiad!


Solution to last week’s puzzle: 1. Rh5+!! gxh5 2. Qf5+ Kh4 3. Qxh5 mate.
     This week’s puzzle: White to move and mates in 3
                                      (Solution next issue)

 Source: Chessmate by Roberto Hernandez
             Tia Belau Newspaper
             Pages 9 & 11
             Volume 22
             Issue 58
             July 22, 2013  


 

(520) THREE PERFECT DAYS: PALAU

LINE MAN
     Local jack-of-all-trades Gary Esplago.


   THREE PERFECT DAYS: PALAU
                                            By Jacqueline Detwiler
                                   Photographs by Whitney Tressel
                      From: Hemispheres Magazine of United Airlines

THE appeal of an island paradise usually ends at a point where water meets land, but the attractions of this Pacific idyll go much deeper than that. All the way to the ocean floor, in fact.

                           DAY ONE
Trailing a sea turtle into a coral forest, relaxing to a soundtrack of jungle birds, swapping diving tales at the bar.

                                           DAY TWO
Venturing among the jellyfish, taking own nature's beauty treatment, making a foodie pilgrimage to The Taj.

                           DAY THREE
Repairing to a private island retreat and kicking back by the sea with fresh-caught fish and good conversation.



AS THE WORLD INCREASINGLY retreats into an echo chamber of car horns and email alerts, it's nice to know that somewhere in the middle of the Pacific there's a whole nation of smiling slightly salt-frosted people deftly navigating speedboats around idyllic islands, pausing here and there to lop the tops off of coconuts or admire a well-formed brain coral.

That's not to say Palauans never have a tough day at the office, but in general this 300-island-plus archipelago feels insulated from the clamor of modern life.

This feeling stems in large part from the exceedingly low ratio of concrete buildings to half-hidden lagoons and sighing palm groves, but also from the influence of Palauans themselves. 

One of the most close-knit populations on earth, they still hold traditional festivals to provide money and support for neighbors with newborns. 

As Palau increasingly becomes known for more than a diving meccas that made it famous, however, one can only hope that the country's track record of ecological preservation will keep it prestine for many years to come. Paradise, after all, are notoriously fleeting.

DAY ONE
Your ceiling fan is spinning lazily as the midmorning sun slants through your windows at Palau Pacific Resort. The pool has already been taken by kids in water wings, but beyond it is a beach laced with coconut palms that remains pristine and untrampled by tiny feet.

To the sound of chirping birds, you wander down an elevated outdoor walkway to the resort's Coconut Terrace where you load up on croissants, fresh papaya, honeydew and pineapple from the breakfast buffet in preparation for a long day in the water.

And let's be clear: You will be spending much of your time here in the water. A shark sanctuary and dive destination nonpareil.

Palau offers 944 miles of coastline, plus coral reefs, lagoons and little mushroom-like islands so teeming with rare and beautiful fauna that they were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites last year.

A speedboat from Fish 'n Fins, one of the major dive operators in these parts, is waiting for you at the resort dock. It ferries you to a dive center, where you admit to being more of a pool diver than a pro. "This will be like learning to walk-- and then standing on the summit of Everest," promises the attendant helping you to fill out the paperwork. "You will be ruined forever." 

Properly outfitted, you will visit some of the popular dive spots around Ngemelis, a southerly member of the Rock Islands that sits like a finial on a long banister of coral reef.

At Blue Corner, you pause in awe mere feet from a tremendous school of wahoo. Next up is New Drop Off, where you follow a majestic sea turtle about 40 feet underwater to where a half dozen divers have anchored themselves with reef hooks among the purple and red sea fans, holding as still as possible to observe the more elusive creatures. You begin to understand what the attendant meant about Everest.

Around lunch time, your boat glides to a stop at an unspoiled beach dotted with picnic tables and monitor lizards. Your guide has brought a selection of traditional Palauan foods from Yano's Market in Koror: boiled bricks of yellow tapioka, a whole roast parrot fish, the simmered meat of a giant clam, pork roasted in banana leaves, and a sweet mixture of pumpkin and coconut milk. Now that there aren't hundreds of sea creatures vying for your attention, you're shocked at how hungry you are, and devour quite a bit of the spread.


                    PALAU BY THE NUMBERS 
                                                 POPULATION
                                                       21,032

                                          NUMBER OF MAIN ISLANDS
                                                              8

                                              NUMBER OF ISLETS 
                                                            300+

                      NUMBER OF TOURIST VISITORS IN 2001
                                                        45,866

                      NUMBER OF TOURIST VISITORS IN 2012
                                                       118,754

                     NUMBER OF JELLYFISH IN JELLYFISH LAKE
                                                      5 MILLION +

                     NUMBER OF TIMES PALAU HAS BEEN USED AS A 
                                     LOCATION FOR "SURVIVOR"
                                                             2

                     NUMBER OF SPONGES, GIANT CLAMS OR HARD CORALS
                              THAT CAN BE EXPORTED UNDER PALAUAN LAW
                                                              0               

                        THIS MEANS WAR
                     For history aficionados, there's deeper meaning to be found   in Palau waters. 

Among World War II buffs, Palau is famous not for its aquatic life but for its role in the Pacific battles between the Allied forces and Japan. 

Particularly notable is the Battle of Peleliu, one of the most devastating amphibian conflicts in U. S. military history and a key focus of the 2010 HBO miniseries "The Pacific".

Though the soldiers are long gone, Peleliu and other spots in southernmost Palau are still littered with abandoned war machines. Many of the underwater artifacts are sunken Japanese warships that are open to intermediate and advanced divers, while a few that languish in shallower water are appropriate for beginners.

Non-divers will find rusting tanks and concrete bunkers hidden amid Peleliu's greenery and they might want to visit the Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum, which opened in 2004 on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Peleliu. Though small, it hold a treasure trove of artifacts, including helmets and weapons, plus the found personal effects of soldiers.

You're practically in meditative trance by the time you return to the resort, where you shower off the salt before wandering through progressively more jungle-like elevated walkways to the resort's Elilai Spa.

During a two-hour "frangipani body glow" treatment there, you are rubbed with lime and ginger salt and scented monoi oil while alternating between drowsing and trying to determine which bird calls and surf sounds are real and which are part of spa's own soundtrack.

Having to pry yourself off the massage table is made bearable only by the promise of dinner, which you have planned at Elilai Restaurant and Bar (elilai, Palauan for plumeria flower, is a popular name around here). 

In this charming eatery perched atop a cliff of tropical greenery, you order a tangy papaya and cucumber salad with clams and scallops from the island's mangrove swamps, along with bread so fluffy it seems on the verge of floating off your plate, and follow it with a juicy bacon-wrapped tenderloin over potato cakes.

Perhaps because they can't talk to each other while submerged, divers often enjoy garrulous evening recap over a few beers. 

After dinner, you join them on the turquoise deck of Kramers. The more you hear, the more you're convinced that everyone who goes diving in Palau is, in fact, ruined by it forever.

And that, no matter what else happens, you have to see a shark.  

    
 DAY TWO

The local fruit is ambrosial, but if you're going to be chasing ocean predators all day, you'll need something a little heartier for breakfast.

On your way to the dive operator Sam's Tours, you stop at Blue House Market to pick up a few tama, which are a bit like condensed, sweetened balls of funnel cake.

Nibbling at the confections  to keep them from burning your mouth (they're fresh from the fryer), you board a boat filled with sightseers chattering excitedly  about their piscine wish lists.

After some thought, you decide that in addition to a shark, you'll look for a giant clam of the sort you ate yesterday. Clams can't swim, you think. How hard could it be?

Your first stop underwater is a shallow, sandy reef called Fairyland, which is clamless but ethereal and serene. Light-colored corals conceal cuttlefish; oddly graceful hawksbill turtles drift around you. 

A blacktip shark slides by glowering. You back away instinctively but it's too busy to be concerned with you as it surveys its domain. Scattering smaller fish with its approach, the blacktip possesses the majesty of a lion.

You emerge from the water invigorated to have seen it.

At your next stop, the coral garden at the end of German Channel, you pop your face into the water with "mwooogh" (which is what 'wow' sounds like through a snorkel).

Snorkeling here is like swimming in the aquarium of a ritzy dentist's office. Phalanxes of triggerfish, parrotfish and Moorish idols navigate a field of vibrant corals studded with teal-mouthed clams the size of a love seats.

You free-dive until you're inches away from one of the things, with its pursed lips and nacreous stripes. In spits in your face. Mwooogh, indeed.

After polishing off a quick coastal lunch of roast chicken, salad and rice, you head to the center of one of the Rock Islands to check out Jellyfish Lake, which is famous of being chockablock with golden jellyfish.

Having spent eons in an environment with no predators, the jellyfish lost their ability to sting--something that you only really believe once you swan into a horde of thousands. As you gingerly tread water, the jellyfish bouncing off you body like slippery little hacky sacks, the scene you take in through your goggles is very much like something from outer space.

Finally, you visit Milky Way Lagoon, whose bottom consists of white mud so good for the skin that it's harvested for use in Japanese beauty products. Hopping off the boat, you cover your body with the stuff. Once it dries and you start to look like a powdered doughnut, you snap a few pictures, wash it off and admire the results, feeling only slightly pampered than you did after yesterday's spa treatment.

Back at the resort, you shower, change and take a taxi to The Taj. Overseen by a Kerala, India native Robert Scaria, it's been recommended to you by several of your boatmates.

Soon you're surrounded by metal bowls aloo gobi (spiced cauliflower and potatoes), vegetable-studded rice and lamb vindaloo, plus a hefty glass of Australian chardonnay.

The way you see it, any calorific excess here is canceled out by your swimming. In fact, this may be the first vacation ever where you've actually lost weight. 

For a nightcap, you join a few of your fellow divers at Drop Off Bar & Grill, an open-air jam bar that resembles nothing so much as a beachfront porch. It was built during the taping of "Survivor" in 2004, for crew members who wanted to take it a little easier than the cast. 

Looking across at the island where the reality show was shot, you raised a frozen daiquiri to those silly enough to rough it in a place this perfect.

DAY THREE
Since you didn't come all the way to Palau to do the back-to-nature thing halfway, you head to the boat depot after breakfast to be transported to Ngellil Island Resort, a no-frills eco-resort built in the style of traditional Palauan bai (meetinghouse).
 el
An outpost of the cushier Palau Plantation Resort, it stands alone on a small limestone island, has limited running water and power and is accessible only by boat. Chickens and dogs herald your arrival, and Gary Esplago, the resort's Filipino factotum, hacks a hole in a coconut and hands it to you with a straw.

Along with Gary, the only people you see on the island are a receptionist, a cook and an older Palauan who goes by the name "Uncle". 

After settling in, you take a boat back to Fish n' Fins, where you secure an all-terrain vehicle and a guide to show around Palau's biggest island, Babeldaob.

You spend the afternoon careening through red mud tracks with your heart in your throat, stopping at one point to splash around in a chilly waterfall  deepp in the humid jungle. Getting to the falls involves negotiating slippery rocks, water crossings and rope. 

It's a far cry from a liability -free hikes you've been on in the past. The feeling is of wandering lost in a prehistoric forest, but with better lunch.

Back on Ngellil Island, torches have been stuck into the lawn and an array steaming victuals is sizzling on a tiny grill. Gary is stalking fish for tomorrow's lunch, crouching with a spear and a net in the gloaming. "How can you find them in this light?" you ask. 

He dives and emerges with a silver fish flopping on his spear.Shrugging, he then lifts a bag of smaller fish and says, "Should we fry these?"

At dinner, plates lined with coconut leaves appear one after the other at your table by the sea. There is barbecue pork, sweet corn, smoky grilled oysters and crispy grilled rice cakes shaped like hearts. 

A platter of fried sardines--the same fish Gary pulled from the lagoon-- is presented along with ramekin of tartar sauce.

After dinner, Uncle and the others show up bearing a six-pack of Filipino Red Horse beer. You retire to hammocks to drink, watch fireflies and listen to the waves slipping over the rocks. 

You know that your email is pringing back home, and there's undoubtedly someone you should call, but Gary is preparing to show the four of you a card trick. 

The world you're on the run from hums along far away.



Much to her co-worker's annoyance, senior editor JACQUELINE DETWILER has started to say "mwooogh" in response to particularly interesting work emails.



BOARDING PASS   From stunning coral reefs to lush jungles, the South Pacific island nation of Palau offers a getaway to remember. United can take you there with connecting service via nearby Guam or Manila, which are served by a number of Asian hubs, as well as Honolulu. Before you go, remember Premier Access, the fast lane through the airport. An earlier place in line and the opportunity to board and get comfortable sooner will make your trip even more relaxing.
For detailed schedule information or to book your flight, go to united.com.             
        

  
DAY ONE

Palau Pacific Resort
Meyuns, Koror
Tel. 680-488-2600

Fish 'n Fins   Koror Island,
Koror, Tel. 680-488-2637

Blue Corner Reef

New Drop Off Reef

Yano's Market  Main Street,
Koror Island, Koror

Elilai Spa   Palau Pacific Resort
Meyuns, Koror
Tel. 680-488-2600

Elilai Restaurant and Bar
Ngerkebesang Island, Koror,
Tel. 680-488-8866

Kramers Pirate's Cove
Malakal, Koror
Tel. 680-488-8448


DAY TWO

Sam's Tour   Malakal, Koror
Tel. 680-488-7267

Blue House Market   Koror Island, Koror
Tel. 680-488-1701

Fairyland Reef
German Channel Reef
Jellyfish Lake     El Malk, Rock Islands

Milky Way Lagoon
Rock Islands

The Taj      PDC Building
2nd Fl., Koror Island, Koror
Tel. 680-488-2227

Drop Off Bar & Grill
Neco Marine, Malakal, Koror
Tel. 680-488-1755


DAY THREE

Ngellil Nature Island Resort
Ngellil Island, Airai
Tel. 680-488-3631

Babeldaob Island