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Best of Micronesia Rabaul to Palau

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Best of Micronesia Rabaul to Palau Best of Micronesia Rabaul to Palau February 23 - March 12, 2018 Chuuk (Truk) Island Sorol Ifalik Satawal Pulap Koror, Ngulu Oroluk Atoll Island Atoll Island Atoll Palau Atoll Pohnpei Island FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA PACIFIC OCEAN Nukuoro Kapingamarangi Tingwon Island Rabaul PAPUA NEW GUINEA From Cairns AUSTRALIA Monday, February 26, 2018 Cairns, Australia / Rabaul, Papua New Guinea / Embark Caledonian Sky After a good night’s sleep in Cairns we flew to Kokopo airport, Rabaul. Splendid views of the Torres Strait below marked the northern edge of Australia and the southern coastline of Papua New Guinea. Upon arrival we stopped to visit a Japanese barge tunnel, part of over 300 miles of tunnels laboriously cut into the mountainside to hide Japanese munitions, stores, hospitals, artillery, and other relics of the Pacific War. Arriving at theCaledonian Sky we had a quick dinner before buses transported us into Baining country to watch the famous Fire Dance, a performance still considered essential to Baining life. The dances celebrate the birth of a child, the commencement of harvest, as well as to honor the dead. The masks are made of bark cloth, bamboo, and leaves. They are thought to be inhabited by ‘bush spirits’. Once the dance is finished the masks are destroyed so as to protect the village from these spirits. The fire dance is also a rite of passage for young men being initiated into adulthood. Because the spirits were considered too dangerous for women and children they were forbidden to watch the dances in the past. Even today, they keep their distance as the young men, emboldened by the spirits that inhabit their costumes, defy physics and challenge the fire. Tuesday, February 27 Tingwon Island, New Hanover Group There is something very soporific about a rocking ship, gently lulling one to a deep sleep. After what seemed like days of travel, the opportunity to get a good night’s sleep set us up for the day ahead. Shirley Campbell presented our first lecture of the trip, Micronesia: A Known Seascape. We were treated to an overview of the archipelago of islands we were on our way to explore. However, we were still in Melanesia, and today we visited one of the most northerly island groups in Papua New Guinea, the New Hanover Group. Tingwon is a low-lying coralline island with a maximum elevation of 23 feet above sea level. Its small population was excited to have us visit and put on a spectacular display of cultural dances despite the pouring rain! The welcoming songs of the Uniting Church’s choir were presented with stunning choral harmonies, the Christian nature of the lyrics a reminder of the missionary activity in this region. This was followed by boys performing a dance recalling the story of a man who had been injured and, dying from his wounds, sought refuge from the villagers on the island. It was during the second dance that the monsoonal skies finally broke, spilling torrential rain upon the dancers. Nevertheless, the dances continued with girls presenting a story about fishing off their island. Once the deluge had subsided we were free to follow Brent Stephenson in search of the Nicobar pigeon, of which there were many good sightings. Those who accompanied Annette Kuhlem and Shirley explored the main village, about a 30-minute walk to the far end of the island where we visited the school, health clinic, the church, and observed people going about their daily tasks. Others found tranquility in the water observing marine life. Snorkelers swam over a steep drop-off and saw three different kinds of anemone fish. One of these had made a home within a beautiful, purple anemone. There were a large number of pyramid butterflyfish patrolling their paired territories. This evening was captain’s welcome drinks and dinner, so we dressed up for the occasion to meet with our fellow travelers and Captain Håkan Gustafsson and his senior staff. Wednesday, February 28 At Sea Sailing north on lovely seas to the southern reaches of the Federated States of Micronesia, our day was full of educational opportunities. The morning started with Jack Grove pointing out some of the key features that help identify fish inIchthyology and the Art of Watching Fish. From fish to WWII, Terence Christian prepared us for the theater of war fought in the islands we were heading towards, Everything and all the World Became my Enemy. After lunch Annette told us the story of the migrations of Polynesian people west instead of the more generally known migrations east in Little Strongholds of Polynesia: The Cultural Relationships of the Outlier Islands. The hotel department put on a non-fattening Ice Cream Social before the last lecture of the day by Rich Pagen, Productivity on the Coral Reef: How Interspecies Relationships have Built an Empire. Fully fed both mentally and physically, we enjoyed the gentle rocking of the ship as she continued north. Thursday, March 1 Kapingamarangi Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia Our first stop in the State of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, was this delightful Polynesian Outlier. Colonised from Samoa in the 1700s, there is now a population of about 500 living on two connected islands; Touhou and Welua. Welcomed by young girls doing a pan-Polynesian dance to a club version of Alo’a hoi, it was hard not to giggle at the mixture of contemporary music with classical hula. Following the welcoming dances, we walked through the two villages and visited the school on Welua Island. It was still in session, but we peeked through the shuttered windows to see earnest students focused on their lessons. Walking along the pathways we saw taro patches, breadfruit, pandanus trees, and tethered pigs. Sago and banana leaf thatched houses were arranged in clusters, using corrugated iron to collect rainwater. Fishermen had brought in a catch of yellowtail tuna. As they were carving the fish up for distribution amongst their families we got to have a of taste this delicacy. In the water there were plenty of small fish swimming around beautiful coral heads of enormous sizes; some of which must be thousands of years old! Reef sharks patrolled while pairs of redfin butterflyfish danced elegantly over the corals and burrowing clams decorated the reef. Divers explored a steep, craggy wall and saw lots of parrotfish. Back on board Brent Stephenson offered tips on photographic success in The World Through a Lens. Friday, March 2 Nukuoro Atoll Conch shells blew as our Zodiacs approached the landing site, alerting villagers to our arrival. This scene is one often played out in eastern Polynesia and so somewhat out of place in Micronesia! We received ingeniously woven banana leaf hats and colourful leis. A program of the morning’s events was given to each of us, containing a map of the island. The Acting Mayor had organized a selection of local delicacies for us to try, including banana and breadfruit chips, taro and banana slices, and cooked breadfruit. Once the welcome was over we went off with our local guides to explore the island. Not far along the main path the Protestant church stood out, while another path led to the ocean side of the island where the school is located. Out on the snorkel platform inside the lagoon, we snorkeled off a sheer wall encrusted with thorny oysters and mushroom corals. Small groups of fusiliers fed in the blue water column while schools of surgeonfish pulled bits of filamentous algae off the rocks. Divers dove in calm conditions along a channel inside the lagoon. The highlight of our underwater experience, however, was snorkeling over the Nukuoro Zero, reportedly flown by Captain Tosiuki Hiachi. The Nukuoro Zero came to rest in the shallows of Nukuoro Atoll after running out of fuel while chased by Allied aircraft. The villagers watched to see if there were any signs of life, and when Captain Hiachi climbed out of the cockpit and dropped into the lagoon, the villagers paddled out to rescue him. Reports from villagers recall that Captain Hiachi made an SOS sign out of coral on the beach. American aerial sweeps observed the call for assistance and, recognizing the SOS as specifically a Japanese request for assistance, proceeded to bomb the island. Conversations with villagers and secondary sources report Captain Hiachi living on the island for 1-2 years and fathering 2-3 children before being repatriated back to Japan. Back on board for lunch, the Caledonian Sky sailed north toward our next destination. Terence continued his exposition on the role Micronesia played in WWII, From Island X to Island Y: The Origins of the Island Hopping Strategy in WWII. A break in feeding the mind turned to feeding the stomach when the captain and first mate prepared Swedish pancakes. Then Steven Victor from The Nature Conservancy gave his presentation, The Nature Conservancy: Building a Sustainable Future for Asia-Pacific. Saturday, March 3 Pohnpei Island They say that you haven’t been to Pohnpei unless it rained while you were there. Well, we can say to have been to Pohnpei! Locals claim it is the second wettest place on the planet with rain 70% of the time, overcast 20% of the time, and sunny 10% of the time. Our experience of the island might alter that calculation to 70% rain and 30% pouring rain! A local pilot helped navigate the ship into the harbor at Kolonia where children dressed in grass skirts sang welcome songs to greet us despite the downpour. Undaunted, we disembarked for three different excursions; cultural, World War II, and birding. First, we all experienced Kepirohi Waterfalls hoping for a lovely swim in its calm pools.
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