Pohnpei Majuro 2009

[Gemini Cricket]

So, it's been four months but I thought I'd continue on with my trip report of journey to the South Pacific. In this segment, I'll share pictures of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.

btw - Not sure why everything is in Bold, but for some reason, I can't un-Bold it.

Of all the places I visited (Palau, Saipan, Guam, Pohnpei & Majuro) Pohnpei was my second favorite. It was also the place where I took a majority of the pictures.

We landed at the airport and Sokehs Rock greeted us. Here's a couple of shots of that:







So, after spending a week and a half going from meeting to meeting, this is how I was feeling about Pohnpei at first:



Yeah, not very thrilled at first. But I left Pohnpei thinking that it was one of the prettiest places in the Pacific.

Not that I could tell that at first... This was the view from our hotel called the Joy Hotel Pohnpei:







The best part of the stay there was that we could get separate rooms this time because it was so inexpensive. It was great getting a break from my traveling companion. He felt the same way... apparently I snore.

Here is a pic of one of the carvings that was on the wall. I love this one. The dolphin says: "Hi, I'm a dolphin! I can balance a ball on my nose." and the shark says: "I'm gonna eat you, bitch!"



That night we went to a really cool restaurant attached to the Village Resort Hotel. The resort was made out of little grass shack bungalows that were pretty neat. It was like staying in the Enchanted Tiki Room with the birds being replaced by mosquitoes. It would be a cool place for a LoT Swanking tho.

This is the front of the hotel:



Here's a pic of one of the shacks overlooking the bay below. The rooms looked like this but this shack was a place you could dine at at their restaurant.



Here was the view from that shack:



After wandering the grounds a little bit, we headed across this bridge to get to the restaurant as it got dark:



This kitty came to say hi during dinner:



As did these dogs who were regulars at the restaurant.



I must say, the restaurant was great. And of course, they served ahi and pretty much nothing else. But it was good ahi.

After a couple of days of work meetings, we had a day off and decided to take another boat tour. This time the destination was Nan Madol.

As per Wikipedia:

Nan Madol is a ruined city that lies off the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei (presently one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia) and used to be the capital of the Saudeleur Dynasty until about AD 1500. The city consists of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals and is often called the Venice of the Pacific. Nan Madol means "spaces between" and is a reference to the canals that criss-cross the ruins.

Nan Madol was incredible.


To Be Continued...

[Gemini Cricket]

So, the next day, we jumped into the back of a truck at the hotel and they drove us down to the boat dock.





This was our captain. I'm afraid I don't remember his name, but he was a really funny and informed guy.



Here are a couple of shots on our way out:













Before long, we stopped at a small island. We hopped in the water and did some snorkeling. Again, didn't have an underwater camera. Slapping myself if the head for not bringing one...





More to come...

[Betty]

Yay! more more!

[Gemini Cricket]

After our snorkeling stop, we sailed to a river on a secluded side of the island. This area kinda reminded me of Lost or a Polynesian Jungle Cruise.







We docked and the captain of the boat told us he was going to take us on a hike to the Kepirohi Falls.





















The trail took us by some houses that people lived in. Part of me was sad at the poverty level of the area, part of me was envious of the beauty they lived in.



This dog followed us for a bit. He was so cute!









TBC...

[Gemini Cricket]

The river leading to the Kepirohi Falls:



The Kepirohi Falls:







Me


Me again


At this point, I saw people jumping in the water. I decided to join them. It was freezing cold but wonderful. I sat at the base of the falls and let the water pour over my head. There's nothing that feels like it...





On the way out, we saw some more flowers.







We set sail again and headed off to Nan Madol. There were a lot of mangrove trees and rock islands on the way. We even saw some stingrays and manta rays but none of those pictures came out... Sorry.







We docked at a small island and had lunch.







The tour company provided us lunch. This was my lunch. It was a bento wrapped in a banana leaf. There was chicken, rice and a boiled egg inside.



Random shots of the beach...





A nearby island:



TBC

[Snowflake]

OMFG, this is teh awesomeness.

You take terrific pics and the kitty was SO KYOOTE!

[innerSpaceman]

I guess I'm gonna miss the ruined city. I can't look at any more.

I hate Gemini Cricket and his guts.




Le Sigh.

[Gemini Cricket]

The captain pointed out Nan Madol in the distance. It didn't look like much at first...





But as we got closer, Nan Madol revealed itself to be a mysterious and amazing half sunken lost city.













We docked and got out to explore the city. The whole place was a building built right on the water. There wasn't any island that the structure was on. Everything that came up from the water was put there by man.

The elite centre was a special place of residence for the nobility and of mortuary activities presided over by priests. Its population almost certainly exceeded 1,000, and may have at one point in time doubled that number. Although many of the residents were chiefs, the majority were commoners. Nan Madol served, in part, as a means by which the ruling Saudeleur chiefs both organized and controlled potential rivals by requiring them to live in the city rather than in their home districts, where their activities were difficult to monitor.
Madol Powe, the mortuary sector, contains 58 islets in the northeastern area of Nan Madol. Most islets were once occupied by the dwellings of priests. Some islets served special purpose, like food preparation on Usennamw, canoe construction on Dapahu, and coconut oil preparation on Peinering. High walls surrounding tombs are located on Peinkitel, Karian, and Lemenkou, but the crowning achievement is the royal mortuary islet of Nandauwas, where walls of 18 to 25 feet (7.6 m) high surround a central tomb enclosure within the main courtyard.
Supposedly there was an escape tunnel beginning at the center of Nan Madol and boring down through the reef to exit into the ocean. Scuba divers continue to look for this "secret" route, but so far a complete tunnel has yet to be discovered.

Today Nan Madol forms an archaeological district covering more than 18 km² and includes the stone architecture built up on a coral reef flat along the shore of Temwen Island, several other artificial islets, and the adjacent Pohnpei main island coastline. The site core with its stone walls encloses an area approximately 1.5 km long by 0.5 km wide and it contains nearly 100 artificial islets - stone and coral fill platforms - bordered by tidal canals.
Carbon dating indicates that the construction of Nan Madol began around AD 1200, while excavations show that the area may have been occupied as early as 200 BC. Some probable quarry sites around the island have been identified, but the exact origin of the stones of Nan Madol is yet undetermined. None of the proposed quarry sites exist in Madolenihmw, meaning that the stones must have been transported to their current location. It has been suggested that they might have been floated via raft from the quarry, but no one has successfully demonstrated the process. Archaeologists have yet to unravel the mystery, and some modern Pohnpeians believe the stones were flown to the island by use of black magic; however, a short dive between the island and the quarries shows a trail of dropped stones.
In 1985, the ruins of Nan Madol were declared a National Historical Landmark. Currently, a greater effort is being made to preserve them. Permission for a visit is necessary and a small fee is charged.

Our tour guide was telling us the story about the theories on how Nan Madol was built.



TBC

[innerSpaceman]

hate, hate, hate, hate.

[Gemini Cricket]

Some close up shots of the columns:







Here are a couple of structures that were built on the inside of the walls:



The tour guide told us that many people believe this structure to be an altar or sacred burial area. My theory is that they just didn't want us farting around in that area for fear that someone would climb all over the structure.



So, of course, I didn't go near it...







Nearby was the Nan Madol Toilet...



Trails lead all over Nan Madol.







Someone said this flower smelled good:



Next... kayaking around Nan Madol...