27th February 2007

Hello dear friends,

A few weeks have slipped by unnoticed, and now we enter our 8th week in Pohnpei. The distractions have been wonderful, and the island is now our home. It has been weeks since I have had to make a U-turn after missing our driveway, which at first sight was a nosebleed inducing goat track lurking behind an impenetrable wall of green. Now I approach it with some of the same vigour as the taxi drivers. (I will need years of practise, opaque mirrored tinting on the windscreen, a neuron frying amount of sakau and 24/7 subwoofer powered doof music to approach their mastery of the kamikaze taxi ride from hell though).

The week begins with another cataclysmic collision between our stationary island and the streaming Pacific rain clouds. I have never seen rain like this. For four days the sky has been dark and the rain nearly constant, cycling between moderate drizzle and ferocious deluge. Thursday night just got wetter and wetter, and the roar of the rain on the banana leaves, tin roof of our patio, and miscellaneous noisy when rained on things completely filled our little concrete echo chamber house. There was no point trying to play music, and it was almost too loud to read. Others who have been to the tropics will know this as common, but I find it incredible. For added effect, a banana plant has been blown over to lean against our bedroom wall, the kettledrum-like leaves especially placed under the dripping roof edge.

I am minding the house for a few weeks whilst Jo is travelling to Fiji for work and to Australia for a family visit. For those in Oz, she will arrive in Sydney on the 1st March, and will travel to Canberra and perhaps Melbourne before arriving back in Pohnpei on the 9th March. She will have my Australian phone number, 0402 836 726. Jo’s grandmother sadly passed away a week ago, and thankfully her trip is able to incorporate time in Australia.

Adventures? Tales of mystery and exploration? Some. Lying around? Soaking up the sun? Absolutely. Gin and tonics while watching the best surfers in the world? Almost.

There are few walking trails here which are easily navigated (that I have discovered anyway) without a guide. There is a good walk to the top of Sokehs Ridge which we cover a few times a week to keep body and soul in order, with a good steep bit and magnificent views from the top. I have walked from Kolonia to our house a few times, which is 6km but not particularly exciting. The yappy dogs and fragrant pig sheds add interest, and the taxi drivers keep your senses alert. Rumour (and some hard evidence) exists of a walk, ‘The Six Waterfalls Walk’, which has sparked interest. It apparently involves just a day walk to the central area of the island, visiting the waterfalls of which the title speaks. I have met several people who have completed it, some more than once. I am interested in challenging walks, but I have rarely seen the consistent look of terror remembered when I ask about this one. I wonder…

To have a small taste of what might be involved, I walked Nett Ridge last week, with our neighbour and some friends. It is (as is most of the island) on private land so required 3 machete wielding guides. I was initially a bit annoyed as we were paying each of them, however their trail blazing was pretty helpful , and the quiet one risked his neck climbing a coconut tree hanging over a precipitous drop for fresh coconut juice for all of us. Yum. The view at the top was great, as the entire ridgeline at one end has only a low (well waist high) grass growing on it, so none of those pesky tropical trees get in the way. I don’t think it is a natural clearing, as there are a lot of old WW2 trenches and the like on the way up the ridge, and the Japanese were known to plant rice paddies around the place whilst they were occupying the island. No sign of the paddies, but I think that might explain it.

I was interested to learn (elsewhere, this wasn’t really a botanical eco-tour) that each coconut on each tree requires in the order of 100 litres of water a day to grow. I have heard that on Kosrae, the next FSM island to the east, coconut water is the preferred liquid, and when the fresh water supply has run out in the past, no great discomfort was felt as there were adequate coconuts to use. Coconut trees are the traditional provider of a large number of useful products, fibre for weaving and braiding from the husk, leaves for thatching, shells for making those coconut bras, and the products of the flesh of the nut, which ranges from a gelatinous goop to a hard waxy block depending on the age of the coconut. The milk is also extracted from the flesh, but the only place I have seen it here is in the supermarkets, having been made a million miles away.

There is an industry recently started which processes coconut oil for use as a diesel alternative. A lot of the diesel cars here run exclusively on pure coconut oil, and I have been told there is no noticeable difference to performance or engine longevity. The oil costs 25% less than diesel, and apparently at the low speeds which are inevitably travelled around the island, economy is better than diesel. The oil has a lower octane rating however, so I expect economy may suffer at higher speeds (?) .You know when you are driving behind a car using coconut oil as there is a distinctive candle-waxy smell, and no belching black smoke. Not many places are able to use pure coconut oil, as it solidifies at any temperature much lower than the tropics. Blends of varying proportions with diesel are used elsewhere to keep it liquid. The oil is farmed and refined on the outer islands, and is potentially a valuable cash commodity for them. I do worry however that water and other resources may be diverted away from other food crops.

The power company apparently is looking at converting one of their diesel generators to use the oil. They are the only source of power on the island, and there is a steady creep upwards in the cost of electricity as the fuel costs increase. We prepay for power, and have a small electronic meter which is recharged and keeps track of your usage. The little red blinking kWh meter light is a good reminder of your money floating away. It is really quite confronting to face the real cost of your power usage. Just leaving the airconditioner on overnight costs more than $2 in power. We have to use it however, as the petri dish which is the tropics has spilled into our wardrobe and almost claimed a mouldy victory. Averted just in time, it would be much more expensive to replace all our clothing and linen. The energy saving light bulbs we bought have already paid for themselves. Apart from that the only power we use is the fridge and hot water, which still costs about $20 a week.

I asked a guy I met who works for the power company about other power options, and he just said there weren’t any (he seemed a bit disenchanted, but knowledge able so I decided to believe him, with room for being persuaded otherwise). They have a hydroelectric plant here, but as there are no reservoirs, the flow is very erratic depending on the immediate rainfall and apparently next to useless. Wind power is equally unreliable, as the winds are not really trade winds and we are actually technically in the doldrums. There seems to be very little use of solar power, and I think the regularly overcast days may reduce the efficiency. I am surprised. I wonder if sacrificing some of the land for a reservoir would have a positive net outcome, reducing the need for burning fuels for power? It would also help with the water supply, which again is dependent entirely on river flow. The rivers look pretty full to me, but I have been told that there can be quite dramatic shortages and the storage capacity is very low. It seems that until recently most residences harvested their own rainwater, but this seems to have been neglected since mains water has been made available. Most of the government or NGO owned expat houses have tanks (the Australian navy residential compound has its own water treatment setup), ours has an old decrepit unplumbed one, and they are otherwise dysfunctional or non-existent. Another problem which exacerbates the (until last week anyway) unseasonably dry el-nino affected weather and subsequent drop in river levels, is the recent increase in forest clearing in the watershed of the central mountains for sakau and other non-rainforest plantings. The natural action of water storage which the spongelike rainforest performs is being disrupted, and the water is dispersing much more quickly than usual. The local newspaper reported last week on the complete drying up of an apparently historic river for the first time in living memory. The cause is unclear, with recent land clearing and a new subterranean well nearby being the prime suspects. It seems extraordinary to me that a place which has up to 10,000mm of rain a year would need to contemplate water shortages and dry rivers, but the infrastructure does not exist to deal with, and the landscape is vulnerable to any change in the cycle of constant replenishing rainfall. The skies have come crashing to earth again just now, I can hardly hear the tapping of the keyboard, so thankfully water shortages are temporarily averted.

We had a great trip to Nahlap again with our neighbour, Alison and her two energetic kids Anya and Sarah. The weather was a lot less windy than the first time we went, so the hammock swinging was much more pleasant. I got a good case of sunburnt feet, right where my flippers rubbed the sunscreen off. I have become very good with sunscreen application (ha! I can hear Jo saying), even though I find the sensation of rubbing greasy whale fat sunscreen all over me pretty disgusting. Jo is endlessly exasperated with my whingeing, but I am slowly starting to learn my lesson. The sun here is fierce, and any missed bits are quickly punished.

Alison and David are our neighbours across the road, and their house is directly on the water. They have very generously allowed us to use their kayaks, and we have had a good paddle around the area. There are several islands within the lagoon which beckon, and hopefully we will paddle there soon for picnicking and snorkelling. Timing is important, as the tide sometimes exposes about 500m of mudflats when it is low. It looks like a long disgusting walk to drag the kayaks to the channel. There is coral just beyond the channel, which means easy snorkelling virtually at our doorstep.

We also spent the next day on the water, this time with our other (slightly further away) neighbours, Eileen and Simon. They have a boat, so we went for a day boating. Several hours were spent snorkelling at Manta Road, but again no Manta’s. Fantastic coral and a billion fish, completely unafraid and happy to just potter around right next to you. Very cool. What was also cool, and lots of other things as well, was the shark which also decided that it would just potter around me. It wasn’t exactly within arms reach, but it was less than 10 meters away and longer than me. I have no idea which sharks you are supposed to be concerned about, but as it was the first one I have ever seen in the wild I decided not to try and make friends with it. The well known profile and lithe movement causes a deep automatic sense of foreboding, tempered by the knowledge that the sharks on the reef aren’t particularly interested in you. I gasped a little and missed a few heartbeats when I first saw it, but it really just went about its business and swam away a few minutes later.

The next venue for the day was Palikir Pass, where we hoped to see Kelly Slater surfing (the Pohnpei grapevine had reported he was on the island). A great boat trip across the north of the lagoon, past the anchored international tuna fleet, the airport runway island and Sokehs Rock brought us to the mooring. The surf spot is several kilometres from the shore, created by a break in the fringing reef. There are buoys (say boowee like they do here and try not to laugh, I can’t) to tie your boat to, and the break peels off the end of the reef just a few hundred metres away. We were there for an unusually high tide, and as such the waves were smaller than usual (about 1 meter) and no tubes were forming. I have seen many photos of tubes here with surfers in them, standing upright with plenty of space to spare. Whilst small, the waves were perfectly formed and I looked on longingly. It was only the reef a few centimetres below the breaking waves which stopped me from jumping in for a bodysurf. Kelly Slater was nowhere to be seen, but there was a guy named Dennis surfing there so we watched him and drank very good gin and tonics. After a while the tide began to turn, our journey home through the mangroves required high water, so we left and ended a great day on the balcony watching the sun set over the ocean.

We are happy and healthy, settled into our house and work well. Jo is enjoying her work, and I am starting my online masters in toxicology today. I expect it will eat into hammock swinging time, but there is a lot of that to go around.

We hope you are all well, you are missed greatly and thought of often. (really. the group email thing is kind of impersonal I know, but reading my address book brings a smile each time I send them ).

Ben and Jo (in absentia)

Sad news

My Nanny (Dad's Mum) died on Friday. She was a wonderful lady who had a very naughty sense of humour and a wicked giggle. I couldn't get home in time for the funeral, but I will be coming back for about a week from March 2. I will have Ben's phone if anyone would like to catch up while I'm back, and will be contactable via my hotmail address. I don't want to put it on the web, but it's jojo then my last name at homail.com.

Oh, the INJUSTICE!

I know the blog so far has presented the 'paradise' view of Pohnpei, and it is very lovely. But I don't want you all to think that I 'work' by lounging by a pool and have men in suits bring me cocktails in coconuts and Ben weaves baskets out of banana leaves with topless women whilst eating local mangoes all day long. Just some days. There are all the normal frustrations of modern living, just different ones to Canberra!!.

Also, I've noticed that other blogs all have a whinge on them. (I've been looking at some American blogs, trying to understand the American-ness of this place). By their standards, ours has been too informative and non-judgemental. So I'm going to have a whinge. I promise they will be few and far between. And it seems that most blog whinges are solely to make the writer feel better, so feel free to skip this post and wait for the next installment.

My parcel.
I'm sure everyone loves getting parcels in the post - it's multiplied significantly when you live away from all your family and friends. So I REALLY wanted the parcel I got a slip for in the PO Box. I had tried to collect a parcel at the post office counter, but all parcels go through customs so they can extort *sorry, charge* import tariffs on stuff.

The post office is in town - a 10-15 min drive from my work. Customs is at the post office, but around the side at a different window. They were closed. It was 12.10pm. I asked the lady in the post office (to date the most helpful person I've encountered, no hint of sarcasm there) when they opened.

"They are at lunch."
"OK - when will they be back?"
"They finish lunch at 1.30"
"Thank you!" (I'm not criticising the 1.5 hour lunch - that's what I get. I think it's wonderful)

I start walking towards the door, then hear
"Ummm, but, maybe they not always come back then." (bless her for realising I am new here and expect things to open at the prescribed time)
"Oh, what time do you think I should come back?"
"hmmm... they probably back by 2"
"Oh, OK thanks. I can't come back then. Could you please tell me their opening hours?"
"from 10-12, and from 1.30-4".

I pop out of work the next afternoon (no lunch break!) and get there at 3.45. Closed.
Ben goes into town the next day, gets there at 11.50. Closed.

I went in today - got there at 11.20am. Closed. I went in and asked the lady behind the counter. "Oh" she says "they are at lun....." trailing off when she realises the time. Even for Micronesians, that's not going to cut it.

The other girl says with confidence "Oh, yes. they are at lunch. They take lunch from 11.30-1pm."
"But it's not 11.30"
shrug. "they open from 9-11.30 and 1-4"
"But last time you told me it was opened from 10-1.30 and 2-4?"
shrug. "No. these are definitely the times"
"so if I come back at 1.00 they will be there?"
shrug.
"How about if I come back at 2?"
shrug.
Older lady says "well, they never tell us the truth. we don't know."

At least I spoke nicely and didn't leap over the counter and get parcel myself, strangling whomever got in my way. No, I kept that on the inside.

So another weekend will go by... no parcel... sob! I'm going to change to a PO box in Palikir, which is where work. I found out they don't have a customs window. S0 please send all goodies, letters and floral tributes to:

PO BOX 268, Palikir, Pohnpei, FSM, 96941.

I'll still check the PO 2398 Kolonia one (no fear!) but maybe once a week is all I can handle.

And then I went to get petrol on the way home, broken and shattered and parcel-less. The gas attendant pumps for you. He (always a he) wedged the pump on and went to chat to his friends. That's fine - I worked at a petrol station for 4 years, I feel his pain. But as the amount zoomed closer and closer to $40 (the car can't fit more that that and it wasn't near empty)- the price of 'gas' never changes), I felt a twinge of concern. As it raced past, I looked at the nozzle - there were gallons of fuel spewing out onto the ground. The guy saw me looking, and raced to turn it off. I know mistakes happen. I was always going to pay the $43 - they might dock his pay if I only paid for the petrol I got, probably halving his salary for the day. So I was feeling very magnanimous, in tune with the developing world and ready to hand over the cash when the guy sauntered away, and got his mate to come up to the car.
silence. pause. silence

"how much is it?" (very sweetly)
"$42.99"
I couldn't help it. I felt this surge of rage. How about a 'sorry'? How about "well, I just don't know how much went on the ground... ?" I am so evil. So I responded:
"But what about all the gas on the ground?"
shrug. silence
"But my car can't fit more than $40 in it?!"
shrug. silence.
So I paid. As I was always going to. But without the nice feeling.

WHY DON'T I JUST DO THINGS WITH GOOD GRACE? (to borrow my mother's phrase). I can only blame it on the mourning period for the parcel.

Oh, dear. At least I am calm about the driving. That's the next post.

Jo

Nature vs Machine (1)

When a car dies here (which they do in vast, ever increasing numbers - Pohnpei is a bit like the Hotel California for vehicles) they lie where they fall. Nobody has insurance here. Not that you'd guess that by the way they drive, but that's another story. Once a car is damaged, it's usually cheaper to buy another car then to have it repaired - and the rust is so invasive and agressive it's not worth it anyway. So cars are abandoned at the side of the road (or, in the case below, ON the road - until someone gets fed up and moves it over). This car appeared 2 weeks ago (and that's when the picture was taken).


It's already being reclaimed by the jungle. Which is really what this post is about - yes, roll up roll up, it's NATURE VS MACHINE. Not too many points for guessing which always wins. The results are amazing - so we've decided to feature one each week. The example below is pretty lame, but I don't want to set the bar too high (like in high school cross country running- you got the best mark if you walked the first, power walked the second, jogged the next and ran the final one.... life is all about improvement).

Stay posted!
ps my work computer has died. So no email for me for a while. So if you've emailed me, it's not my fault I haven't replied! I've brought the laptop into work and can access my hotmail account....

Jo

Kepirohi Waterfall

Kepirohi waterfall

Kepirohi Waterfall is a welcome refreshing break about a half hour drive from our house. Pohnpei is in the middle of an El Nino influenced ‘drought’ here, so the waterfall was apparently small, and quite definitely slimey. Green sludge will no doubt be appearing in wonderful places for a while to come.

Ben

Sokehs Ridge

Sokehs Ridge (pronounced Sew-kez)


At the beginning of World War 2 there were nearly 14000 Japanese and only about 5000 Pohnpeians on Pohnpei. The US bombed Pohnpei heavily, Kolonia was virtually levelled, but the island was not actually invaded during the war. These are the remains of anti-aircraft guns on Sokehs Ridge (see the picture previously for the quite spectacular profile of Sokehs Ridge and Rock above Kolonia). There are apparently the remnants of rice paddies nearby, which obviously fell into disrepair when the Japanese left, but left the Pohnpeians with a hankering which is now met by enormous sacks of imported rice.


Sokehs Ridge is just about the only non-privately (ie: government) owned land on the island. They have created a quite beautiful little park around the relics, which doesn’t seem to suffer the neglect and rubbish which mars just about every other developed privately owned area I have seen. Perhaps also because it is quite a vigorous hour long walk to the top of the ridge not so many people go there…

Ben

Nan Madol

Nan Madol trip

I like the look of that bit of ocean for lazing about in…This is Na (sp?) island, our lunchtime stopover on the boat trip to Nan Madol, after a morning of snorkelling at Manta Road (but there were no Mantas to be seen this time unfortunately. They are within kayaking distance from our house so will definitely visit again and hope for better luck).


Our kayak man leading the way towards Nan Madol. This type of boat pretty much dominates the lagoon transport around the island, and they can definitely boogy along, especially if both motors point in the same direction…


The ruins of Nan Madol. A quick rundown courtesy of Lonely Planet (and others).
“An important political, social and religious centre built during the Saudeleur dynasty (construction began about AD1100-1200 and continued for 200-300 years), Nan Madol was a place for ritual activity, and the homes of royalty and servants. Comprising 92 artificial islets extending 1.5 km (covering 200 acres), it’s built on the tidal flats and reef off the south eastern side of Pohnpei. Wide basalt pillars, up to 7.5 metres long (weighing up to 50 tons) formed naturally into hexagonal columns. They were quarried on Pohnpei Island (some from Sokehs Rock nearly 40 km away by sea) and hauled to the site by raft (or magic or other supernatural / alien / occult assistance, depending whom you ask), then stacked around the islets as retaining walls; the resultant twisting canals are known as the ‘Venice of Micronesia’. On the level surface were temples, burial vaults, meeting houses, bathing areas and pools for turtles, fish and eels. It was uninhabited, though only recently abandoned, when the first westerners arrived in the 1820’s. Some believe that the legendary lost continent of Mu, or Lemuria, may lie off its waters and that Nan Madol was built as a mirror image of a sunken city that, at the time of construction, could still be seen lying below the water’s surface.”


The islet of Nan Douwas, the most intact of the ruins. The walls are nearly 8 metres tall. There are 4 crypts within the inner compound, burial places for the Saudeleur dynasty and later nahnmwarki (district chiefs). The entire complex was originally covered by a large thatched roof, but being biodegradable generally had to be replaced yearly. There is a strong local belief that the ruins should not be disturbed. In 1907, the then governor of Pohnpei, a German named Victor Berg, died suddenly and mysteriously the day after excavating a burial tomb here Stranger things have happened…


The central crypt of Nan Douwas, where we were greeted by one of the original inhabitants…


Kayaks are the best way to navigate the canals throughout Nan Madol. A lot of the canals are impassable due to mangrove growth, and a lot of the ruins have collapsed. Dredging and some restoration work has been suggested, but I wonder if the sites would be further damaged if this took place. I think preservation of some of the more intact areas would be wonderful, but a lot of it has disappeared, especially where the jungle has taken hold. If Nan Madol were elsewhere, I expect it would be given world heritage protection, and probably have a similar status to Machu Pichu.





The islets were originally constructed on coral reef, which has slowly sunk under the weight of the basalt logs.

Ben

Nahlup Beach Resort

On Sunday we went to Nahlup - an island off Pohnpei. It' s pretty close - only a 10 minute boat ride (you have to drive for 30 mins to get to the boat ramp though!).

When you arrive the staff take your eskys and all your stuff, and take it to your Cabana. I like it here. We stayed all day, snorkelling, swimming, eating our picincs and having a couple of beers (no corkage here!). Then we had to pay. I braced myself.... it was $4 each. FOUR DOLLARS. ($5 AUD). I'm going every weekend.

Our new favourite resort.


The day cabana. You can also stay overnight in little shacks.



The walkway out over the coral to launch yourself into the water (you can swim stright off the beaches too). Public liabilty hasn't taken off here like in Australia - make sure you jump off to the left or you'll stack straight into a huge jagged mass of coral. Unsignposted - but if you look down it's pretty obvious!! They would have been sued into oblivion back home - it's nice to be somewhere that outright stupidity isn't rewarded by the Courts.


Reception. They sell coconuts and spam. Honestly, you can't get away from the stuff.

I never knew how cocounts grew until I came here. Not that it was something I had turned my mind to, but there you go!

My life is tough.
So is Ben's.

- On our balcony. Picture of the house later.

Jo xx

30th January 2007

Hi dear email bulk mail list, (part 2 after the power failure, apologies if you got this twice).

Jo and I have arrived in Pohnpei safe and well, and all is going surprisingly smoothly so far.

By way of update to those who have no idea what I am talking about, firstly I am sorry for being a crap friend and not keeping in touch about our move. Jo has started a job as a lawyer for the congress of the Federated States of Micronesia. We are now living on the island of Pohnpei (PO Box 2398 Kolonia, Pohnpei FSM 96941 if you want to send luxuries from home, non-starbucks real coffee would be a lifesaver!) We are planning to be here for 2 years (thats what the contract says anyway).

Pohnpei is in the middle of the pacific ocean, pretty much north of Brisbane about 7 degrees north of the equator. Hot, wet and steamy is the best description (and not just because of the huge array of slightly dodgy DVD's for $1 rental...) and things go pretty slowly here. There is a thin veneer of american western culture pasted over a rather shambolic developing country here, but many pleasant surprises have been found. The japanese also have an influence here, as it is their premier diving destination, with some of the best scuba diving in the pacific. Quite a few australians are here for similar reasons. I am hoping to get my scuba licence and get out to the reef, and maybe to Chuuk, which is the next island and has amazing diving.

Food is very acceptable, and the cheapest item is often large slabs of sashimi tuna. It is everywhere and excellent. A whole sashimi set dinner of 3+ courses is just a few dollars (US of course). Booze is temptingly cheap here, they have Kirin and Asahi beer going cheap, and we found Tooheys New and XXXX in a supermarket the other day. We are avoiding Miller and Bud Lite though, it is just too hard to stoop to that level. The fruit and vegetable boat came in a few days ago so their is a gluttonous feast of fresh things going on, but I suspect it won't last. The last boat came in November... There are bananas, mangoes, lime, coconuts and starfruit all over the place here and they are very cheap, so we wont starve or get scurvy. We have moved into our house (in the State of U, which sounds like a psychiatric disorder) just a few hundred metres from the best hotel and bar on the island (no accident there of course) which is an eco-tourism resort from the 70's (one of the first in the world I believe). We had a magnificent dinner to celebrate our arrival there the other night, in a huge thatched room (biggest in the pacific!) on tall poles amongst the jungle foliage overlooking the ocean. There is also a small room similarly positioned but further out over a cliff above the jungle, which I think will very quickly become my favourite place on earth.

One of the biggest influences are the seemingly endless variations on the catholic missionary theme. We are regularly surrounded by (actual) hordes of boys in white short sleeved shirts carrying backpacks doing the mormon conversion spiel. I am waiting to have an actual conversation with one of them to see if they are familiar with the mormon situation in canberra (not sure if it is a myth, but I heard that canberra was the only place on the planet where the mormons gave up after achieving a zero conversion rate in their time there). They are on fire here however, and their fleets of giant SUV's are a formidable force on the streets of Kolonia. If the several dozen other missionary advance forces get their act together similarly it could get quite tense. It seems souls are a hot commodity here...

It rains here every day, a lot. They get 5000mm a year where we live, and more than 10000mm a year in the interior. There are some spectacular waterfalls and the whole place is GREEN. If you stand still for too long something will grow on you, or perhaps a coconut will fall on your head, or a gecko will take up residence on your leg.

Everyone drives everywhere here, and we are going to have to get a car, as it is about 15km from home to Jo's work, and the public transport system mostly consists of walking. The rain makes it a bit tricky to get about under your own power. Everything metal here is rusting, so cars have a very short life. They only cost a few thousand dollars, but people don't bother repairing them and there are hundreds of wrecks along the roads, slowly being consumed by the jungle. Tyres are at a premium, and most local cars have at least one of those tiny space saver spare tyres permanently mounted. Luckily the speed limit is 25mph so the complete lack of grip results in only a few accidents. The usual 3rd world improbably huge buses and trucks are charging around the roads here, and the pedestrians and endless dogs and chickens seem completely oblivious to their impending doom, which makes for amusing driving.

Jungle

So much has happened since we moved here it's overwhelming trying to start this blog...
so in typical Jo fashion I'll put it off til later, and do a slap dash job for now.

I'm feeling Jungle-y today. So pictures of jungle it is.

Ben on a main road. (not kidding)

This doesn't look nearly as imposing as it is - the jungle looms up in a cliff about 100m high and the top seems to curl over like a wave. I live with minor background dread of a jungle tsunami.

Bananas everywhere. Unfortunately all trees here are privately owned. Fortunately a huge bunch costs 75c. Up yours, cyclone Larry.

I am so immature, but I giggle every time I see a banana flower leaf on the ground.

The harbour. The Rusty Anchor is around further to the right. I love the Rusty Anchor. It has $2 beers. All the time. There is this incredibly decrepit building on the ring road - you have to go though a broken door, head down some scummy stairs, then follow a huge old sailing rope through a myriad of disgusting corridors until.. you burst though into a room open to the environment, with a huge balcony overlooking the harbour and the jungle and the mountains and out to sea, and all the rusty old ship wrecks.

Hibiscus here isn't just pretty - it's essential for making Sakau. More on Sakau later.

Pretty.

Jo xx

First post

The fringing coral reef which surrounds Pohnpei and forms the lagoon. The surfing here is apparently excellent, but deadly to the inexperienced. Some breaks have only a few centimetres of water above the razor sharp coral. I had hoped to learn to surf here, but everyone I have met, including the guy who runs the local surf club, tell me it is not a particularly good idea. I will have to experience it vicariously when the professional tour visits later in the year. The guys who are posted here with the Navy are keen spectators and I hope to tag along with them.

Sokehs rock dominates the skyline above Kolonia, the largest town in the FSM.
Welcome! Kaselehlie! Etc… Everything here is Kaselehlie this and that, it is the equivalent of the Hawaiian ‘aloha’ and happens to make a good tag for the state number plates, the name of the main street, and the name of the local Phillipino karaoke café which serves quite a reasonable Pad Thai..



We are very easy to please, especially after 18 hours travel overnight with no sleep…Glad to have made it through rather unfriendly US officialdom. (no rubber gloves but if you looked at them the wrong way…)We are very, very lucky to avoid the majority of US neuroticism in Australia regarding air travel. Our travel from Cairns to Guam, Chuuk and Pohnpei involved multiple x-rays of carry on luggage, disposal of all liquids (we even had to discard water purchased inside the sterile area of the airport!), searching of the plane at the 20 minute stopover in Chuuk, and Guam requiring us to go through immigration after leaving the plane (with digital photos and finger print scans), then immediately re-enter immigration after walking 50 metres in a sterile area to go back into the airport! Various metal detectors, shoe removals and liquid confiscations later, and I get the feeling they are just causing more angst than they are preventing.

Ben

Welcome

Hi everyone,

We haven't managed to make a proper post yet, but make sure you bookmark this page and check it next year!

Love Ben and Jo
ps. I am so impressed with my use of technology I can barely contain myself. Jo xx