This was it. Our big day! This was our first day to get out and do some stand up paddling in Palau. Let me cut right to the chase and tell you ---- it was everything we had hoped. It was utterly fabulous, wonderful and I feel like I'm living a dream.

We Mickey-Moused a way to secure our boards to our roof. We stuck a couple of boat fenders underneath and made our own tie downs (bought straps and cams and put them together).

The weight of the boards was indenting our roof a bit, but we'd deal with that later. This small problem wasn't keeping us from the water today. We just drove very slowly so the boards wouldn't bounce and break through the roof.

For our very first paddle, we launched from the dock area near IMPAC and the Jive Café. This was perfect. By the way - we are so thankful for the board bags we got from Warren at Stand Up Paddle Sports back in Santa Barbara (as well as our boards, paddles and all sorts of other stuff). This makes hauling, carrying, and taking care of our boards so much better.

The water was amazing. It was warm, clear, flat, and calm. We paddled off toward Sam's Tours, where we spent a lot of time last May. We cruised almost effortlessly through the tiny islands. It's just amazing what you can see from atop a stand up paddle board. We saw fish galore, sea cucumbers, starfish, coral of all types, boat wrecks, different shades of water, and visibility that would just blow your mind.

It got a bit warm as we cruised around exploring, so we jumped into the water and took a swim for a bit. Perfect.

We paddled into a lagoon that was so quiet, so still. It was gorgeous. We didn't talk, we just paddled and explored, and listened to the birds in the trees. We even found another sunken ship here.

My guess - it was a Japanese supply boat, sunk during WWII. We saw one just like it over in Nikko Bay last May in our kayaks.

We would have loved to go farther, but we hadn't brought food and my tummy said it was lunch time. So back we went. WOW! How completely amazing. We are here, in Palau, paddling in paradise.

Since we didn't feel really good about our initial board transport setup, after lunch we set out in search of roof racks. No luck finding the real thing here. So we got creative.

A couple of steel clothing rods (meant to find a home in a closet), and four rubber bungee cords and OILA! A roof rack! A good sturdy one too. All for under $20!

We were right! Palau is the perfect place to stand up paddle. Take note all you who love to paddle the flat-waters. Make plans to come to Palau. You won't be disappointed. As far as flat-water paddling, this could well be the best place in the world. There are even waves over at Melekeok. Maybe sometime we'll head over there and see about paddling in the surf. There are so many amazing flat-water places to explore, it may be awhile before we hit the surf.