“Hi Baby Estelle….Hi Mama Estelle. Good morning…” Terencia says from one of
the decks of the South Seas Schooner that sits right across from our room
terrace. The schooner is a restaurant now and Terencia is one of the servers
there…but she is also one of the reasons I love Yap so much…the spirit of the
people.
“Good morning Terencia,” Mom and I chime in unison as we are sitting on the
terrace having our morning coffee as we overlook the harbor and revel in the
beauty of sunny skies meeting crystal clear waters. Mornings are not usually my
favorite time of day but if they could start with sipping coffee overlooking
idyllic scenery …well, maybe I would become a morning person…but since the
closest thing I have to a terrace in Brooklyn is a fire escape ….
“What are you going to do today?” Terencia asks us.
“We are going to tour the island with Richard and Helen … “, we tell her.
Mom is determined that before we leave Yap we must also see one of the outer
islands called Ma’ap (and pronounced map) so off we go to explore the island.
Tomorrow will be the more adventurous day with plans to go kayaking through the
mangroves and snorkeling amidst the coral reef (yes, the very same one that we
managed to get stuck on during the canoe festival ride).
As we make our way down the one road that circumnavigates the island (I
think that word is longer than the road itself), we see lots of green and lots
of pretty tropical flowers from shrimp plants to hibiscus and beyond. We also
pass a fair amount of villages showing off their wealth in the form of the local
stone money currency. Some very wealthy villages if the size of the stones have
anything to say about it…which they do….the size, the weight and where they were
quarried from and how far they have traveled all enters into the value of the
stone money equation.
As the morning progresses so does the temperature…we arrive at a beach that
has the swaying palm trees that one would expect and beautiful turquoise waters
that one would expect and a fabulously shady thatched roof seating area with a
table to just sit and enjoy the surroundings and the slight breeze.. We have not
done anything of great consequence and yet it is time to rest.
“Helen, are we going to go to Ma’ap because you know Mom has to see Ma’ap
or else…”
“This is Ma’ap”, Helen replies…
Ma’ap looks a lot like Yap….and we must have crossed a bridge somewhere
during our drive…so yeah, here we are.
“Mom. This is Ma’ap”, I say….smiling because who knew?
“Of course it is. We knew that,” Mom says knowing full well we had no
clue.
Taking a little walk down the beach we find some very colorful
seashells….and then we see a palm tree that has a rope hanging from it with a
wooden pole tied horizontally at the end of it…
“Ooooohhhh, a swing”….it wasn’t until I got back to NYC that I realized
that I was probably meant to stand on this wooden pole and then swing back and
forth. Instead I sit on that wooden pole…and yes, I did swing from that palm
tree barely skimming the sand but there was a lot more of my behind swinging in
the air as opposed to actually coming in contact with that wooden pole. A tree…a
rope…and a stick….just made for the best swing ever….the beautiful
we-have-it-all-to-ourselves beach wasn’t too shabby either. Just
gorgeous….
All that swinging tired us out. I wish I could tell you we did more than
tour about, see some thatched roof meeting houses, see where the betel nuts are
processed into their hallucinogenic concoction, visit the beach and the stone
money locales but that was it….and it was perfect.
“Richard . Helen, thank you for a wonderful morning but I think it is time
for us to head back to the hotel…swim in the pool and relax”. It could be argued
that all we have done since our arrival in Yap is relax…but now we want to relax
some more.
Back at the hotel, we do just that….and then dinner is on the immovable
schooner where fish soup and fish tacos and sashimi (yes, more fish) are the
items Mom and I are gravitating toward. Keep in mind that everything from meat
to vegetables has to be brought by container ships from Guam, the Philippines
and points beyond…but if you want guaranteed fresh fish? Yap is the place to
go.
“Did you have a good day, Mama and Baby?”, Joci and Terencia ask us as we
are checking out the menu. Yes, I find it funny to be called Baby at 51 years of
age but they are correct. If my Mom is Estelle and so am I….then it stands to
reason that I am Baby Estelle.
“The best day ever. And tomorrow is going to be even better”….
The beauty of Yap….one of the very many reasons why I like it so much is in
the “not doing”. The simple pleasures of just swinging on a rope….talking with
the Yapese people, exchanging ideas, thoughts and opinions about anything and
everything under the sun….no rigid, time-sensitive tours to commit to (except a
sensitivity to when high tide is for the optimum kayaking experience through the
mangroves)…a place where the day begins when one wants it to…not based on an
alarm clock and watch dictating the pace of the day…..
Whilst swimming in the pool, we are told that the tides will be just right
for our kayaking through the mangroves experience in the morning. Mom and I have
only been kayaking once before so we stress that our kayaking skills are very
basic….so calm, placid waters are imperative. The next day we take a speedboat to the lagoon
where our kayaks are lowered into the water….and then we are lowered into the
kayaks. Mom first….always…because if something happens to her such as the kayak
tipping over, I can learn from her mistake and not have that happen to me. I
know…very thoughtful J
Richard is our lead and into the mangroves we go. Mosquito repellant is a
must as is an ability to be silent. Other than occasional dialogue between
Richard, Mom and I, the only other sounds we hear are that of insects buzzing
and the sound of our oars as they skim the surface of the water. It is the sound
of virtually nothing at all that I remember most vividly about Yap. I can not
remember the last time I heard such quasi-silence…the sound of nothing colliding
with a little bit of something. What I do know is that I wish I could bottle
that quasi-silence and bring it home with me. It is my most serene memory of
Yap. It is that sound that will pleasantly haunt me until I simply must hear it
again. That will be when I will know it is time to return to Yap.
Being amongst the mangroves is akin to being in a cornfield maze or an
English garden hedgerow maze….one wrong turn and I would be lost seemingly
forever.
“This wall to our right …the stones denote the boundary lines between
villages”, Richard tells us. So our kayaks are traveling along a main water
boulevard between villages and said waterway is about 2 feet wide. Turning the
kayaks into the waterway is an art form for me that I have yet to master…I
collided with my fair share of mangrove roots and uprooted tree trunks before I
finally navigated correctly.
Kayaking through mangroves was followed by snorkeling out near the corral
reef where we saw indigo blue-colored starfish and all sorts of aquatic life
that I have never seen before.
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