Arrival – after two days at see, we had finally made it to Palau – the last stop for this trip. One highlight was still head of us – a boat trip around and between the Palau Rock Islands.

These small islands – hundreds of them – are made of risen-up limestone or coral and come in all sorts of shapes. Some look like mushrooms, others have nice beaches – all together they are stunningly beautiful.

In the morning after breakfast we made it from the big ship to small local boats – to then cover the journey to and through the Rock Islands – with various photo stops on the way, a stop for snorkeling – and a beach stop with more snorkeling opportunities and an amazing shark encounter (at one point I must have had ten or more reef sharks around me – simply stunning).

On the way back – we could already see from far, that we were heading for hard rain – I made it back to the (big) ship trenched – hungry – and just in time for lunch.