IntroIntroTakeoff at 5:30 from Hawaii. 3 hours after takeoff the day was over…
The reason was of course the
crossing of
the date line, so suddenly it was Saturday. Landing, we passed the Arno
atoll and it was great to see both this and the
Majuro atoll from above. Landing on a small strip, an airport with no
planes
and a small house for an airport witnessed about the statement in the
Moon
handbook: The Marshall Islands are about as remote a chain of islands
as exists
on the planet. Also it is the least visited country in the world in my
travel
club (3 persons before me, as for Equatorial Guinea and 24 hours in the
Vatican
city). RRE (Robert Reimers Enterprises)
had a mini bus
waiting and we were quickly on the way into D-U-D, the three islands
making up
Majuro. Again the Moon handbook said is was like a slum, but that has
changed a
lot since being published in 2003. It was not like Hawaii, and it was
dusty all right – but not
garbage everywhere as stated. Felt much welcome at the hotel and the
cottage at
the RRE was wonderful. But, admittedly, there is not really anything to
do
here. We bought some supplies for the trip tomorrow to Eneko, postcards
and
stamps.
The Robert Reimers Tide Table
Restaurant is
great. Everybody on these islands speaks English, but still, it is
obvious that
it is not their first language. We ordered oatmeal for Johanne, but got
cornflakes, which she tried to make us accept. Something similar
happened to a
woman at the next table. Most visitors here are on business, it seemed
we were
the only tourists here. It was mostly cloudy today, but we were still
looking
much forward to the trip to Eneko – one of the islands across the
lagoon. I had
searched for a way to get to the Arno atoll
east of here, but it was not so easy. The trip took 15 minutes and it
was like
a small paradise. A kitchen we could use and we had one of only three
rooms.
The water was crystal clear and we went straight in. 
The
corals were
thriving
and many, many types of soft and hard corals. Lots of fish and I saw my
first
clown fish. It was low tide when we arrived. There were a few people
here. Two
women and a man who worked as teachers at the Majuro high school. They
had
started as teachers several years ago on a volunteer basis and later
being
employed. They used Eneko as a weekend getaway. There was also a boat
with a
family that had been sailing for 10 years. Their twins looked like they
were
around 4 years. They all went away in the late afternoon. A local
family were
caretakers here. The lagoon side was very quiet where as the sea-side
was with
big waves.
Many times I thought about us
being here.
Many wishes to be at this paradise place with good weather, sea,
snorkeling and
quietness – as we do. But for the local, it is obvious that it is
difficult to
go anywhere, and they are stuck here. If you zoom out, like on Google
Earth,
there is nothing in the vicinity. Water world. But we felt privileged
to be
here. So much better than a bit boring yesterday. The day passed
quickly,
swimming a lot. The supermarkets in Majuro had 2-3 red wines per store,
but it
was actually good Australian reds, so I had brought a good limestone
Shiraz which made it
perfect for our macaroni cheese and sausages dinner. We fall asleep
with the sound
of the waves and the cicadas.
I don’t know the date or weekday any more. A good sign. I slightly remember where we are – on a isolated pacific atoll, all alone. We spend the morning with snorkeling and more snorkeling and playing in the water. There is not so much more to tell – but it is heavenly. When the boatman arrives around 11, we kindly ask him to wait until 12 as agreed – we don’t want to leave.
We are in the restaurant when
it opens at 6:30 and quickly get coffee. The
pancakes are not coming though, and we have to leave at 7 with the bus,
so when
it finally arrives we have to quickly take them with us. We have paid
10$ for
the bus (2 persons), and we find out it includes the return trip. Also
the trip to Eneko had only cost 40$. The cottage at RRE was 133$. In
the
airport, all luggage is hand searched and the tax is 20$ for adults and
15$ for
the children. There are a young Japanese couple that seems to be
tourists; we saw
them in the restaurant yesterday. A couple in ‘uniform’ come and talk
to us –
we had noted them when arriving from Hawaii,
and they are now also in the onward flight – getting off in Phonpei.
They are
from the Salvation army and are sent from the bishop in Hawaii. They
help with different projects
here (like housing projects and clean water in Marshall Islands).
45 minutes flight to Kwajalain atoll – also in the Marshall Islands. It is an American military base, and most people got off here. No other passengers were allowed off the plane. After 45 minutes the Island hopper continued and an hour later we were in the easternmost island in Micronesia – Kosrae.
Continue reading about Kosrae in Micronesia
