On March 1, the captain announced that we were not able to negotiate a safe and convenient docking berth at Koror, so the decision was made to skip this stop and stay in Manila for a second day. Since about 30 percent of the crew is from the Philippines, this decision was very popular. Arnaldo, our wine steward, and Jimpul, the cook who makes our morning omelets, were two of the crew members who were very bubbly today. Jimpul told us how his father used to take him fishing and they would take only a cast iron pan to cook their catch. He said his father just sprinkled sea water over the fish to salt it.

Arnaldo was more explicit: he plans to start a baby. That may be TMI, but he was just bursting with enthusiasm. Most of the Filipino crew were the same way. For a few days at least, we have a REALLY happy ship! The only people who will miss the stop at Koror are the scuba divers, some of whom had arranged a dive on the Internet and will not get to do it. Apparently Palau is known as a special place for diving.

While we were cruising, I took some pictures of sea birds I will share with you instead of pictures of Palau.