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© 2000 by Robert W. Bone
YAP ON THE MAP (1000 words, plus 200-word sidebar)
Colonia, Yap, Federated States of
Micronesia -- Divers know Yap, I found out recently -- at least those ones
with the freedom to indulge their sport to the fullest. They've been going
there for years.
"Sure. You just fly from Hawaii to Guam and turn left," one
scuba devotee said. "Great place; beautiful fish!"
"The mantas are awesome," said a younger man. "And the
girls aren't bad either," he added with a smile.
I had touched down at Yap a couple of times in travels through
Micronesia, but never left the plane there until recently. I recalled reading
in an old National Geographic something about large, heavy stone money with
holes in the middle. I vaguely wondered how that would pay for a gin and
tonic, and whether the change would come in small perforated pebbles.
Now in the 21st century, and in contrast to some other places, Yap has
definitely not gone all out for tourism, and that low-key approach to
the industry is certainly part of its charm. It's a place with strong
cultural traditions, however, and an apparent willingness to share this with
travelers who take Yap the way they find it.
Some find it startling right from the outset. You may have read about
South Seas islands where travelers are met by smiling young women, dressed
only in grass skirts and nothing at all above the waist. In most places in
the world, that has now been relegated to the mists of history.
But not in Yap.
The Yap Tourist Bureau often sends out a couple of young women to the
airport in just that sort of traditional garb. After clearing Customs, tall
newcomers bend down to receive the garland of flowers around their necks, and
many manage to mumble a heartfelt "thank you" before straightening
up again.
Those colorful skirts are full and thick, by the way. Right-minded Yapese ladies think it’s
disgraceful to show a hint of thigh.
Not all women in Yap run around bare breasted. Yet do you see them now
and then, and not just while in costume. Soon enough, it just becomes an
ordinary part of the local scene.
The men present their own unique picture, when you realize that many
seem to be carrying purses. These turn out to be woven baskets, the principal
purpose of which is to hold betel nuts and their associated accouterments --
usually powdered lime. Given the opportunity, many Yapese will chew this
mildly narcotic mixture all day long, turning their mouths bright red and
converting nearby waste baskets or any convenient bushes into colorful
spittoons.
There turns out to be plenty to do in a few days in Yap. Diving,
snorkeling, and fishing are tops, of course. The giant mantas are a protected
species, and underwater tours will guarantee you will see lots of them.
There's a dive site called Manta Ray Valley, which is a "cleaning
station" for hundreds of these large, gentle beasts. Here they present
themselves to tiny fish called the cleaner wrasse. It's a classic symbiotic
relationship in which the wrasses pick annoying parasites off the skin of the
mantas.
Some mantas fly through the water with wingspans of 12 feet or more,
flirting with each other and the divers who invade their domain. In contrast
to other places in the world, the mantas of Yap have no season. They can be
found here dependably all year long.
Divers count hundreds of species of other fish in other areas, and
debates run among them as to whether they see more varieties or greater
overall numbers in Yap as opposed to Palau, an island 250 miles to the south
of Yap. Both are now considered among the very top dive sites in the world. Sightseeing also
includes a few ruins left over from World War II, when Yap was occupied by
the Japanese. It was bombed several times, but U.S. invasion plans in 1945
were eventually cancelled. After the war, the entire Seventh Fleet was
anchored for a time in the lagoon, near the Yap island of Ulithi.
The island of Palau figures prominently in the history of Yap, and as
a result, so does a colorful American trader who ran things hereabouts for
nearly three decades in the latter half of the nineteenth century. A popular
book, "His Majesty O'Keefe" published some years ago outlines the
story. It was later made into a cinematic potboiler starring Burt Lancaster.
According to most accounts, David O'Keefe of Baltimore was shipwrecked
on Yap, where he was nursed back to health by a local shaman, and then
discovered the way to literally make money on Yap.
For hundreds of years, Yapese sailors had been sailing over the
treacherous route to Palau to bring back to their chiefs a tribute from a
product which does not exist on Yap -- large pieces of shiny calcite. These
they quarried on Palau, and then carved into round pieces, with a hole in the
middle to make it easier to carry. In time, these raai, as they are called,
came to be thought of as of money.
The heavy pieces may change ownership from time to time, but they are
seldom physically moved. Everyone knows who currently owns a particular raai.
For day-to-day expenses today, though, Yapese now use the American dollar.
O'Keefe discovered that
he could persuade the islanders to harvest the lucrative copra (dried
coconuts) and then-coveted beche de mer (sea cucumbers) in exchange for his
transporting raai on much larger and more reliable ships than the canoes the
Yapese were using. A flamboyant character, O'Keefe became rich, and dominated
the economy of Yap until he disappeared in a storm at sea in 1901. The ruins
of his house on a small island are now a tourist attraction.
There is talk of buried treasure on O'Keefe's island, but locals in a
position to know much about it remain mum on the subject. The remains of
O'Keefe's trading post, however, have been turned into a popular bar in the
town of Colonia, the seat of the state government. (You can buy a copy of
"His Majesty O’Keefe" there.) And as far as the
raai are concerned, they can be seen all over the island today, often lined
up in "banks" along stone pathways in the villages throughout Yap. They’re worth
money, all right. But none are for sale. ***
IF YOU GO Yap, one of four states in the Federated States of
Micronesia, can be reached from Hawaii via jet service on Continental
Micronesia (known as "Air Mike"), a subsidiary of Continental
Airlines, via Guam. Hawaii-Guam flights are daily, 8 hours elapsed time;
Guam-Yap service is currently twice a week, one hour elapsed time. (Frequent
flyers may notice that the three-letter airport designator for Yap is the
only one that spells out the entire name of the place.) A valid passport is
required. There are a half dozen comfortable hotels on the
island of Yap (also known as Yap Proper), notably Traders Ridge Resort
(http://www.tradersridgeresort.com), the Pathways Hotel
(http://www.pathwayshotel.com), the ESA Bay View Hotel
(http://www.esayap.com)and the Manta Ray Bay Hotel (http://www.mantaray.com).
There is only one hotel on the primitive outer island of Ulithi, the
well-managed Ulithi Adventure Resort (Falalop Ulithi, Yap, FSM 96943, email:
ulithiadventureresort@hotmail.com). Ulithi is reached from Yap Proper via
Pacific Missionary Aviation. It is known as the home of a large turtle
sanctuary. More information on Yap can be had from Continental
Micronesia, phone (800) 591-6599, (http://continental.com), Continental
Airline Vacations (800) 634-5555, (http://www.coolvacations.com) or from the
Yap Visitors Bureau, Colonia, Yap, FSM 96943, phone (691) 350-2298, website
http://www.visityap.com. END SIDEBAR END STORY |