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Palmyra trip
offers holiday gifts

If the holiday season is about gifts -- let's just admit it -- then my Christmas here in Palmyra is lining up to be one of my best ever.

My first terrific present came Dec. 14 from people I hadn't even met yet. When I came limping toward the atoll in my broken sailboat, Palmyra residents launched a powerboat and escorted me into the lagoon. My flagging spirits soared over this thoughtful act, and I now enjoy these people's continued friendship.

My new friends live and work in the field station here for various amounts of time. A few are volunteers for the Nature Conservancy, a private owner of some parts of this atoll. Others are employees of that organization.

My first mate, Alex, and I are volunteers for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Alex is also a UH graduate student, another category in the populace here. Scientists from a Palmyra consortium can also apply to study at the atoll, and media members can ask for permission from FWS to document the atoll's many charms.

The FWS has a presence here because the atoll, its lagoons and the waters 12 miles around it are a National Wildlife Refuge. Palmyra's management is a cooperative effort between TNC and FWS.

As I arrived in the main lagoon that first day, another special welcome came my way: Two black-tipped reef sharks glided to the boat, one port, one starboard, and, like ushers, swam alongside to my anchorage.

These sharks are creamy white in color, and a few days later, while wading in the shallows, I saw the advantage. Against the sand, these small sharks are hard to see. It was their dorsal fins cutting the water's surface that gave away their presence.

(You can visit a few of these sharks' relatives at the Waikiki Aquarium. The black-tips there came from here.)

I travel between boat and shore in my inflatable dinghy, and it is during those 10-minute rowing trips that I often receive one of the ocean's finest gifts: manta rays.

The lagoon is full of them. Day and night, mantas glide near the surface, directing plankton into their mouths.

This week, I unintentionally rowed into the middle of a manta feeding spot, and four rays surrounded the dinghy. I drifted in silence, watching these magnificent animals feed at the water's surface. The rays were so close, and the water so clear, I could distinguish individuals by their varied white markings.

Surprisingly, I'm also getting my dose of dog love here from the much-pampered Dadu. No one is sure how Dadu came to Palmyra, but this sweet-natured, well-behaved mutt is the island darling.

And so this Christmas, I'm surrounded by the animals of my dreams, on a fine boat, in a tropical atoll with friendly people. Still, something isn't quite right, and here's what it is: The holidays aren't just about gifts. They're about family, too, and I am missing mine dearly.

Tomorrow, my best gift will be my satellite phone when I call home.

Happy holidays from Palmyra.