We don’t do any diving on our last day in Yap, because we will be flying out at midnight. We have the whole day to explore the island.

Sorin, Heather and I decided to hire a taxi to drive us around. The taxi arrives promptly at 8am, driven by a guy who almost looks too young to drive. Like most Yapese, he chews betel nut. This small soft nut grows like dates at the top of palm trees. The islanders bite the nut into halves, then sprinkle one half with ‘lime’, a white powder made by baking coral and then grinding it to a fine dust.  The lime and nut are then wrapped in betel leaf, which comes from an entirely different plant. Sometimes tobacco is added to the package. (Are you confused yet?)
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