New Year's Trip to Micronesia's Pohnpei

We rang in the New Year (2012) in Micronesia's Pohnpei of the Caroline Islands archipelago, which was our first trip off Kwajalein since arriving in late June 2011.

Where in the world is Pohnpei?

"Pirakih me I pwahpwa." (What I have spoken is crooked.
A person never knows if he has found the whole truth.) --Pohnpei proverb

Source for many of the facts/quotes: Pohnpei, An Island Argosy by Gene Ashby.
 

A barrier reef surrounds Pohnpei, enclosing a 70-sq mile lagoon.
About 6,000 acres of mangrove forest encircle the island on the inner fringe reef, eliminating sandy beaches entirely.

Pohnpei's mountains are the highest in the Federated States of Micronesia. After spending six months on a flat coral atoll, the mountains were a welcome sight.

The Village sign, with the restaurant & bar named the “Tattooed Irishman” after seaman
James F. O’Connell, who was shipwrecked on Pohnpei for 5 years around 1830. He later published a highly imaginative and exaggerated account of his experience, including how the chief’s daughter tattooed him!

View from The Village's open-air dining room, where we enjoyed our meals. This historical hotel was built in the early 1970s in a hidden rainforest.

 

Our thatched roof hut had a gorgeous view! No A/C, but a nice breeze and a ceiling fan helped. Although the main living space had only half walls with window screens, huts were carefully built/spaced for privacy.

No television in our hut, but the kids still have their handheld device!

A dozen roosters and a billion birds woke Mom up early to capture this picture!

Sunrise beneath the mosquito net.

Gus with a nice view of Pohnpei in the background as we start our
Nan Madol day tour.

First stop is at an open water snorkeling site, where manta rays frequent.
Where are all the manta rays?

Lunch stop.

A new friend from Alaska showing Mason a blue seastar.

Gus can hardly wait for me to take the picture, so he can dig in!

Bento lunch of tuna, rice, vegetables, and hard-boiled egg wrapped in a banana leaf.

Outrigger canoe with fishing gear.

Micronesia's most historical site and archaeology's best kept secret is the ruins of Nan Madol. The site consists of 93 man-made rectangular shaped islets, covering 150 acres a foot deep at low tide. The origin of the huge basalt slabs is unknown, but believed to have been transported by raft from the opposite side of Pohnpei.

One of my favorite pictures of Nan Madol. The criss-cross formation of the columns and blocks are filled with coral rubble, reaching up to 50 feet! Some of these basalt stones weigh 50 tons, "perhaps raised into place on inclined palm tree trunks"? Mystery similar to the great pyramids! The construction indicates an organized effort by thousands of workers over centuries.



In 1985 the ruins were designated a natural historical landmark, the only site in Micronesia with this distinction.
Wall with a window, constructed of beautiful columnar basalt.



Pohnpeian oral history suggest the artificial islands of Nan Madol
was a center for the residences of the elite royalty.

Time-out hole? Just large enough for a human to slip down into...or forced into. Purpose unknown, but our smiling tour guide speculated this may have once held a prisoner.



Mason, our sweet boy, cooling off in one of Nan Madol's canals.
The Pohnpeian word madol refers to spaces between the structures (canals). "The romantic Venice of the Pacific."

Carrie, with canal on the left and basalt wall to the right.

Maegan (far left) and friends explore the ruins.

Thanks to our new friend Kim from Alaska, we have a picture together!

This gorgeous trail leads to the next tour stop: Kepirohi Waterfall.
We enjoyed our time at this waterfall so much, it warranted a second visit.

Father and Son

Father and Daughter

King of the Falls!
This 70-foot waterfall is due to the 400+ inches of annual mountain rainfall.

Surfing.

Our family at the waterfall.

Our nature girl.

Pohnpei has a rich history, most of it oral until the missionaries arrived mid-1800s. Basically it goes like this: Spain, Germany, Japan, US, and now self-governed. After the first Pohnpeian rebellion against the Spanish in 1887, a large stone and mortar protective wall was quickly built (The Spanish Wall). Above Mason stands under an original archway.

Later the German administration demolished a portion of it, and during the Japanese occupation much of the wall was removed. On the remaining portion the Japanese built a praying platform facing their homeland. The access stairs to the platform still stand.

Maegan, Gus, and Mason on the Spanish Wall.

The most photographed site on Pohnpei is this bell tower of the "old" Catholic Church. The Germans built the church in 1909 on land acquired by the Spanish. During World War II, the Japanese used the church as a barracks and food storage area. Just before the American occupation in 1945, the church was destroyed by the Japanese military, sparing only the bell tower. A new church was dedicated near the site a few years later.



Mason at the bell tower.

Mason exploring the bell tower's side staircase.

This school bus, just off the main road, seemed out of place.

Pohnpei, with an average monthly temperature of 80 degrees,
is ideal for growing bananas.

Dogs are everywhere; Maegan wanted to take them all home with us.
This puppy appeared to be one of the lucky ones, perhaps a child's pet.
Unfortunately they are valued by locals as watchdogs and food at feasts 
(along with pigs, chicken and fish).

Abandoned vehicles like this one were sprinkled alongside the roadways.

Local children are happy to pose for the camera.

Hiking down to Liduhduniap Falls, which are twin falls, one above the other. We braved the steep, mossy trail as it was a sunny day (in the rain it can be treacherous). 

Mason with a tight grip on the safety guide rope.

On our careful descent, we catch a glimpse of the large pool at the base of the waterfall.

"Mason, don't drop the camera in the water!"

Lower Liduhduniap Falls, all to ourselves.

Great swimming hole.

Beautiful.

Kwajalein Atoll: no mountains or waterfalls, but happy to return home!
Our next holiday adventure takes us to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands...let's hope it doesn't take a year for us to post the pictures :)