Homecoming in Hatohobei

As we sailed south to Hatohobei, I anticipated a handful of firsts in my life. At just three degrees north of the equator, Hatohobei marked the furthest south I had ever been. I had also never been so far away from a major city, as we were at least a two-day boat ride from Koror, and closer to parts of Indonesia than mainland Palau. Despite this remoteness, Hatohobei was home to a vibrant community of Tobians who have called the land below their feet home for generations.

As soon as we arrived in Tobi, we brought all the food, lumber, shovels, and luggage from the boat to a small pickup truck that brought everything down the road to the main village. We were flanked by dozens of coconut trees, which we harvested and enjoyed during our breaks. The beachhead was surrounded by a cemetery, and each grave was outlined by sake bottles that glowed in the afternoon sunlight. Right next to the cemetery was a radio tower that the American military installed in 2021. Along with the tower, the US military brought Starlink, which became and still is the only way the island communicates with the outside world.?

Shortly after sunset, the last load was packed onto the truck’s bed and I walked with Jeff back to the community house as mosquitos nipped at my ankles. Jeff gave me a stick with some leaves, Tobi mosquito repellent as he called it, to help ward off the hungry insects. Once we were on the north end of the island, the mosquitos had no chance against the powerful trade winds.?

In Palau, a bai is a community house - like a town square with four walls and a roof. Bai's are used for meetings with leaders and elders, for travelers to stay in, or as a place to store goods. The bai on Tobi, which I was told was rarely used outside of these quarterly trips, was bustling with kids running around as chefs stood on guard at the BBQ, cooking a chicken feast for literally the whole island.

Once the food was served, everyone gathered as the Governor, Ray Marino, and several legislative representatives, including Jeff, spoke directly to their constituents. They spoke in a mix of Palaun, Tobian, and English, as I was told is often done on the island, as they explained their efforts to help and represent the lives of their brothers and sisters in Palau’s capital. Jeff later said that local education and healthcare of the elderly are the biggest challenges on Tobi. While Starlink has been a huge asset in connecting the elementry school to the internet and offering telemedicine appointments for people in need, they are still working for more.?

After the meeting, I retreated to an older bai where I could lay my head down for the night. It was right next to the water, and in the corner of the wooden hut, I fell asleep listening to the rain fall and the waves crash just a couple feet from where I was sleeping.?

In the morning, I had coconut crab and rice for breakfast and began to walk around the island. I found the Starlink by the elementary school, which was quite popular among the other passengers who hadn’t been able to communicate with their families for five days. I continued to walk around as the kids gave an impromptu tour.?

They showed me their houses, the old phosphate mines from the times of the Japanese, and some of the weapons left over from WW2. For lunch, we had yellowfin tuna, which was caught earlier that morning and sashimied onto a plate for all to enjoy. Tuna, soy sauce, lime juice, and rice were a heavenly mixture and between that and the coconut crab, I was eating better on Tobi than I was back in Koror.

The afternoon brought with it two horn blows from the Ryoma, and so it was time to return. A similar task of loading and unloading was again at hand, only this time it was a recently butchered pig, branches of coconut and banana trees, and other goods that could be sold back in Koror.?

I returned to the Ryoma with my prescription-grade seasickness medicine, meaning I could finally move around the boat and eat with the other passengers. Throughout the trip back I had a haunting feeling that things would get bad again - that I would have to return to bed - and try not to move for the remainder of the trip. But thankfully the status quo prevailed, and I joined the kids and the crew in watching hours of movies on the central TV, eating pig intestines, and sailing for two days on the open ocean.?

Tobi and Helen’s Reef are two places on this blue marble I can confidently say I will never visit again. The finality of knowing this has made the whole trip all the more impactful. I will forever be thankful to Jeff for his invitation to join him and the opportunity to report on this story. I am equally grateful to the Tobian government, who offered a bed and allowed me to join them on their voyage. And enough thanks cannot be given to the Tobian people, who opened their hearts and homes to me, and let me experience a way of life I had never experienced before.

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