I've mentioned the waterfall up in Ngardmau several times, right? It's that 100-foot high waterfall located in the jungle in one of the northwest states on Babeldaob. Getting to the waterfall requires a half-hour hike, including wading in the waste-high water of the river formed by the waterfall. I've done it a few times, and it's a fun, sweaty hike. When I first arrived in Palau in October, I did the hike with just a few folks, paid a few bucks, and didn't see more than 2 or 3 other hikers along the way. When we finished up the hike, we bought a few coconuts, ate them, and went on our way. Not a bad way to spend a morning!
It's a pretty fantastic experience. Here are a few photos of the path to the waterfall...
(The path to the waterfall follows railroad tracks from the bauxite mining done during the Japanese occupation)
(The river path to the waterfall gets to be waste-deep at certain points...watch out for crocs!)
(Happy as a clam after trudging through mud and river)
Well, the state of Ngardmau has realized how fantastic its waterfall is, and wanted to figure out a way to somehow add to the experience. How do add to the experience of hiking through a jungle, wading through a river, and bathing under a natural waterfall? Flying of course! So the state paired up with a Korean company called Zipsky, and they've been working together to install a zipline and monorail system to get interested tourists up and down the hike in a much faster and more exciting way.
Now, when I first heard about this project, I believe my exact reaction was "I'm afraid of heights and I just don't trust a zipline. I'm never doing that." Famous last words. Not only did I do it, but I was a guinea pig for the unfinished zipline route. I'm nothing if not true to my word and incredibly cautious.
But it was completely justified (maybe) and a ton of fun (definitely). One of my neighbors is an incredibly sweet Korean family. Chris, the father, is involved with the Korean company that has been installing the zipline over the past year or so. He's been installing ziplines in other places in this part of the world, and Palau is the company's most recent endeavor. Because the zipline is an attraction, the company developed a love theme, combining a Palauan and Korean legend. The Palauan legend is the creation of the waterfall by a one-eyed snake, and the Korean legend is a love story between two one-eyed fish. Here's the combined story...
Once in a small pond, there lived two one-eyed fish,
one with a left eye, and the other with a right eye. They were deep in love.
Other fish mocked them for lacking one eye,
but they didn't believe they lacked anything.
Because together they had more than enough eyes
to see how beautiful the world was.
The two one-eyed fish made each other perfect by filling one half of the other.
At first it seemed the day's outing was sweet as usual
as the two of them were swimming gently side by side in calm water.
But then a sudden storm turned it bitter.
The unpredictable temper of the jealous sky hit them with threatening roars,
and swallowed them with cruel torrents.
The two one-eyed fish struggled hard
not to be swept away, not to be separated.
"Hang on!"
They desperately cried to each other.
But alas! The fish with the left eye quickly felt worn out.
The moment the right-eyed fish turned around to lead the way,
the left-eyed fish shrieked.
A fierce current took the left-eyed fish out of the pond
and it fell over a precipice.
After a while, silence came over the pond.
The whole world seemed still as if nothing had happened,
or as if there were nothing more to happen.
The right-eyed fish could hear a faraway cry,
a cry for no one but him to recognize as his beloved's.
He followed the cry, but could not reply to it.
The steep distance between them threw him in despair.
"Now that you are gone, I see no reason to be here myself."
Guilt often leads the one who survived to a hopeless decision.
Just as the right-eyed fish was about to throw himself down into the deep void,
a stranger wrapped him with its long body and saved him.
It was an old eel, one-eyed himself, who had been watching the right-eyed fish.
The old eel listened to the sad story of the right-eyed fish with
tears in his eyes.
The story resonated with what he had been through a long time ago--
the painful parting with the one he loved
and the intense desire to meet her again.
The old eel wished the story would end differently for this young fish.
Differently, that is, happily.
"I pray my body, though old and infirm, be allowed to be used
to span the distance between these two loving fish."
Perhaps his heartfelt prayer was answered.
Because upon saying these words,
the old eel's body began to grow longer and longer
until it finally transformed into a waterfall over the precipice.
The right-eyed fish leapt into the waterfall,
with his heart full of love and gratitude.
When he reached the bottom of the cliff,
he looked up at the sky and saw a beautiful rainbow.
It was as if the old eel were giving his best wishes for the two fish.
Splash!
The right-eyed fish turned around to find the left-eyed fish swimming
towards him
Tears of joy sprang from his eye.
Love, gained despite the painful trial.
They knew being together would make them a perfect and whole being.
Isn't that the true and genuine meaning of love?
Sweet, right? Along the path to the waterfall, Zipsky installed certain "love seats," and created a small platform in the shape of the heart...it's all very sweet...
(Veronica and Alexis on the love seat--it's slanted inward to avoid any confusion about its purpose.)
(This heart-shaped deck was built under a "love tree," two trees with separate roots that grew together. The story is that if you bring the one you love here, they'll be yours forever.)
Anywho, to publish this story on wooden panels along the hike to the waterfall, my neighbor needed to translate it from Korean to English. And so he asked me to help out with the translation. That led to several other translation projects throughout the past six months or so. As repayment, he offered to take me and a few friends out to try out the ziplines once they were in working order.
It took a little convincing though. He told me that there would be three separate ziplines, starting from about the start of the hike all the way down to the waterfall. During the second zipline, the rider is actually 300 feet in the air, traveling at about 30 mph. Chris wanted me to try out the first two ziplines. He assured me that several groups of tourists have tried the two that were up and running, and they all loved it. I still needed convincing, but once he showed me a video of a 250 pound man successfully riding the line, I decided to give it a whirl.
So one Sunday morning, Veronica, Alexis, Ben, and I headed up the Ngardmau. After not signing any releases and joking about four American lawyers trying out an unfinished project like this, we ziplined! There was definitely a few moments of panic before the very first line, but each of the two ziplines only lasted about 30 seconds. Here are a few shots...
(I may have been a little nervous. See My Backwards Helmet.)
(Alexis, cool as a cucumber...If that teddy bear can do it, so can we, right?)
(Ahhhhhhh!)
Afterwards, because the third zipline was not yet "safe for humans," we opted to climb down the ride of the jungle hill, hike through the river, and enjoy some time at the waterfall, and then get VIP seats on the newly installed monoline...happy to avoid the long hike back up...
(The monoline is powered by what looks to be a lawn mower motor...worked like a charm!)
The zipline opened to the public about a month after we tried it, and apparently it's been such a hit that there are a total of five ziplines in working order. Not a bad way to add a little more adventure to a hike through a jungle river!
