After a nearly 400-day hiatus, Taiwanese are finally able to travel abroad again, and Palau — a country already familiar to Taiwanese travelers — has become the first “travel bubble” destination during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving members of the public a fresh opportunity to reacquaint themselves with an old friend.
Located in the Western Pacific and neighboring the Philippines, the combined land mass of Palau’s archipelago of islands and islets totals less than 500km2 — smaller than Taipei City — and it has a population of only 20,000. However, Palau’s abundant maritime resources, pristine environment and commitment to ecological conservation mean that visitors to the islands are treated to dream-like aquatic vistas, with shoals of dazzling tropical fish and sea turtles shuttling through the water. Palau’s underwater wonderland also contains majestic cliffs and dropoffs on the seabed, earning Palau the nickname “secret diver’s paradise.”
The first stop on our itinerary was Milky Way lagoon, whose spa waters, according to local legend, possess skin-rejuvenating properties that can knock years off one’s appearance. It is no exaggeration to call it a secret location, since the lagoon is actually a body of water hidden among a labyrinth of small islands. Getting there involves shuttling between numerous uninhabited islands by boat before one is finally able to dip one’s toes in the tranquil turquoise waters.
Photos: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報蕭玗欣
Due to Palau’s exceptionally rich maritime resources, nearly 90 percent of Palauans are employed in the tourism industry. Both Palau’s government and its residents therefore place a great deal of importance on marine ecology, which has ensured that its waters are a paradise on Earth for divers. Our first diving experience was at a stand-alone island reef located on the eastern side of Locke Islands. Beneath the deep blue sea we were welcomed by its famous multi-colored antler coral: some blue, some a light yellow, and some a whitish color as a result of warming sea temperatures in recent years. Out of the gaps in the coral reef, shoals of small and medium-sized tropical fish shuttled back and forth, which made for a thrilling dive.
The most amazing part of the trip was without a doubt Jellyfish Lake. According to locals, there are apparently five or six jellyfish lakes in Palau, but in order to maintain a balanced ecology and sustainable tourism, only one is open to tourists. Jellyfish Lake was previously a vast stretch of water within the open ocean, but geological shifts over time transformed the body of water into an inland lake. With their food supply cut off, marine life in the lake gradually died out, leaving just jellyfish, which survived by feeding on glucose released by algae through photosynthesis. This produced extraordinary jellyfish-filled lakes. Visitors need not worry, though, since they are not the poisonous variety.
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
Photos: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報蕭玗欣
睽違將近四百天，國門終於再度打開，帛琉，這個對許多台灣旅客來說不算太新鮮的國家，在疫情之後成為首個開放的旅遊地，讓台灣人有機會重新認識它。
帛琉位於西太平洋、鄰近菲律賓，島嶼總面積不到五百平方公里，還不到兩個台北市大，總人口數僅兩萬人，但海底資源豐富、純淨，當地致力於生態保育，旅客在此可一睹絢爛奪目的熱帶魚群、海龜穿梭的夢幻場景，以及海底峭壁等壯麗景觀，也因此帛琉享有「潛水者的祕境天堂」美名。
行程首站抵達傳聞中能「養顏美容」的牛奶湖，說這裡是祕境一點也不為過，因為牛奶湖為眾小島間的一片海域，船隻須穿梭在數個無人島之間，才輾轉來到這片靜謐的藍綠色海域。
Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報蕭玗欣
帛琉佔有得天獨厚的海洋資源，島上居民幾乎百分之九十都以觀光產業為生，因此當地政府及居民相當重視海洋生態，也讓這裡成為潛水客的天堂。迎接我們的首個潛水點是位於洛克群島東面海域的獨立島礁，沿著小島順延而下的深藍海面下，是有著各式顏色的鹿角珊瑚礁群，有些是藍色、有些則呈現淡黃色，更多的是因為近年海水暖化而白化的珊瑚群；珊瑚群縫隙中則可見中、小型熱帶魚群穿梭其間，場面熱鬧十足。
這趟行程最令人稱奇的應該就是水母湖了。據了解，帛琉境內共有五到六個水母湖，但當地為了平衡生態與觀光，僅開放一處給觀光客造訪。水母湖曾經也是汪洋中的一片海域，但在地形抬升作用下成為內陸湖，水域中生物因為無法覓食逐漸死去，最後剩下靠光合作用為生的水母存活，造就水母湖奇景，也因為沒有其他生物，因此水母湖的水母沒有毒性，旅客可放心下水。
（自由時報蕭玗欣）
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