The Delayed June Adventures

Boating mishap

Surftrip success.  The ride home, not so much.  Captain Marko’s engine wouldn’t start which left us stuck on the mooring at Palikir Pass.  And with a busted phone, he can’t call up his backup boat men who are only a mile away.  This is the point where we start sharing survival man techniques, tales of local drifters lost at sea, and the sea turtle story from Life of Pi.  I mean, we were still anchored, but the stories are fun.  Oh and it also starts downpouring and blowing a gale which makes the temperature drop like 20 degrees.  So we’re freezing cold and the rain hits us sideways so hard that it hurts.  Mollie and I jump overboard not to abandon ship but to gain sanctuary in the warm waters below.  

Then the unlikely rescuer arrives.  A salty and weathered fishing man pulls up in his saving skiff.  Looking not quite Pohnpeian, he could have come straight from the Bedouin nomadic tribes of Africa with his head wrap and beard.  He could have been a mirage.  He tows our boat to safety?  He tows our boat to Marko’s larger long-line fishing vessel which is attached to an even larger mother ship, like a sea lamprey attached to whale.  Here is where we find Marko’s henchmen who can fix the engine.  While we wait attached to the lamprey and the whale, thousands of (ok maybe 50) fishing men peer down on us like prey, crawling out of every last crevasse and hole that both ships can hold.  The men all smile and invite us to come aboard in all of their varying broken English languages.  While it was still freezing cold on the skiff, I politely decline “no, no thank you, no kidnap.”  The engine ignites and we speed off back to the pier, crawling out like drowned frozen rats.

Flat tire fiasco

So that same night we drag our sorry selves to Michael J Coleman’s house at Nihco Marine Park for dinner.  One of the World Teach volunteers, Will, is celebrating his last night in Pohnpei, so we rally and regroup.  After a fun night at MJC’s, we head out to join Will and gang for karaoke.  Oh I have a flat tire.  This is Boris’ Opel Tigra that I’ve been driving.  We all know that I can change my own tire, but it’s midnight and MJC is an eagle scout and would be more than happy to assist a couple damsels in distress.  Sooooo the jack is broken.  And the full spare tire is also flat.  Awesome.    

We abandon ship yet again and join the caravan to karaoke.  Tires can’t get patched in Pohnpei until Mondays, so little Tigra slept soundly for the weekend at Nihco.

Pohnpei Cinema

Definitely counts as a weekend adventure.  Honestly, I can’t believe there’s a working cinema in a small remote pacific island playing quite current movies.  Three at a time with one rotating out every Friday.  For real??  Too good to be true.  While I’m usually pretty particular about films, I am so thrilled that I will watch anything that comes to the Pohnpei Cinema.  Thor, Pirates of the Carribean 4, The Hangover 2 (twice), and Super 8.  I mean, The Hangover 2 wasn’t that good, it was just that I wouldn’t turn down another opportunity to go to the movies.  You can’t even find movies this recent in New Zealand.  It’s incredible.  Oh, and the best movie theater popcorn I’ve ever had except for that IMAX in Munich with the sugary salty popcorn.

Sokehs Ridge (Pohndollap)
“Mt. Sokehs is located just behind Sokehs Rock and is quite accessible.  The old Japanese Army built various facilities here and the ruins have been quietly sitting deep in the jungle ever since.  15 minutes by car from Kolonia.  2 hours from the beginning of the mountain path to the peak (even after wandering around the battlefields).  About 1 hour to get down if you walk slowly.  Firm soled shoes such as hiking boots are recommended.  Be sure to bring rainwear and enough drinking water.”   -Pohnpei Ecotourism Travel Guide, 2010

In February 1944, WWII allied forces began air attacks against the occupying Japanese.  120 tons of bombs, over 6000 in number, were dropped on Pohnpei.  Where did all those bombs go?  Oh, they’re still here.  Live.  Living.  Here, let me describe some of the protocols for ammunitions recovery.  (I don’t know the difference between munitions and ammunitions.)  So when local Pohnpeians find old bombs in the ground they find utility in the metal.  A long grenade may become the base for an outdoor firepit or even the base on which to pound sakau (local kava).  If such artifacts are reported to local authorities, they are carefully moved to a bunker underneath the state legislature building in the middle of town for routine detonation.  I can’t make this stuff up.  Also, these bunker holes are open, allowing a fun hiding/playing area for local kids.  I know.

Misko Beach

A fun beach day activity, until it rained upwards.  There are no naturally occurring sand beaches on the island of Pohnpei.

Pahnaker

Directly across from my house, there is the old dredging site which has become a swimming lagoon.  It only took me 2 months to discover this recreation paradise.  Despite the fact that we live on a small tropical island, there is little in the way of water access.  Almost the whole island is surrounded in a buffer of thick mangrove, and almost all of the land is privately owned so these public access spots are appreciated.  Imagine living on a very small island but hardly ever swimming.  So the girls and I finally investigate this lagoon spot.  Mollie and Cori Jo play with sea cucumbers and I pry live oysters off the rocks.  We swim in local swimming attire which means covering knees, thighs, and torso.  We don’t want to offend the neighbors or draw any unwanted menwai attention.