Yap travel guide

Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is made up of four island states; Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk and Yap. The capital of the state of Yap is Colonia, a low-key settlement with just over 3000 people. Though it's located at the shore, there are no beaches, but plenty of sea views. There are all the things to keep a town going, like bank, police, fire department, court, some hotels, churches and an open-air museum (picture), but else it's a very quiet place.

This stretch of road has several sites, the first one is Gal stone money bank and stone path. The collection of money stones is impressive, though not as big as the one at Gilman further down the road. Mala'ay Sunset Park is a few miles further down on the same road.

The German Channel is a narrow and shallow sailing passage through a pristine mangrove forest. The dive boats go this route when heading to the manta sites in M'il Channel.

This is one of the biggest and most impressive stone money banks in Yam. There are stone money in all sizes and the biggest is taller than a man. Many are lined up along a grassy path. There is also a pathway of limestone. There is a sign at the main road, but from there you have to navigate the small backroads yourself. However, both Gilman and Gal stone money banks and Mala'ay Sunset Park are on the same road.

Yap has (as so many other Pacific islands) very few sandy beaches. Long stretches of Yap's coastline is pristine mangrove. Mala'ay Sunset Park is like that, but there is a lawn and picnic tables under shady trees. The view is nice over the lagoon and the patches of mangrove.

The sign at the road only states WWII memorial site, but the location has two interesting things. The first is the memorial for George O. Beall Jr. (and other brave men), who was killed in action in 1944. There is an information board explaining how it happened. The second thing is a nice surprise, a traditional Men's House with a stone money bank. Again, it can be hard to find, but there is the usual little sign at the road.

This is one of the easier "historical marker" to locate in Yam, as it's right next to the road. It's an American Hellcat fighter plane flown by Ensign Joseph E. who collided with another American plane and crashed during WWII.

There are three wreck sites around the old airstrip; the Continental from 1980, a Japanese torpedo bomber from WWII with codename "Kate", and the last sites which include a Japanese anti-aircraft gun and a Japanese fighter aircraft from WWII of type "Zero" made by Mitsubishi. As this is Yap, it possible to drive on the old airstrip, just enter where it meets the road.

In 1980 a Boing 727-100C from the airlines Continental Micronesia landed 4 meters short on landing strip. It lost the right landing gear and slided into the jungle. All crew members (6) and passengers (67) managed to evacuate the burning flight within minutes and everyone survived the accident. Today the broken wreck still lies in the jungle in three groups. The location is right next to the building on the airstrip, there is a sign too.

Japan occupied Yap throughout WWII. When they built the airstrip, Yap became an important transit hub for their air reinforcement. Though the Americans first tried to invaded Yap, they gave up on the idea and focused instead on isolating Yap from the Japanese supply chains. At the end of WWII, the US attacked Yap almost daily. It was Japanese fighter planes fending off US B-24 bombers. Across the old airstrip from the wreck of the Continental lies a fairly complete wreck of a "Kate", a Japanese torpedo bomber aircraft from WWII. There is a information board to give some insight.