Ship Trip Adventure!

Hi Everyone!!

A few days before Christmas, I learned about a ship that takes cargo and people to outer islands on the eastern part of Micronesia. I talked with a few other volunteers from Peace Corps and they too were interested. The ship would go from Pohnpei and make the first stop at Mokil, then eventually leave for Pingelap and return in 3 days to Mokil. I called up the transportation authority and was told that all the spaces were taken. As you can imagine, I was bummed, so I called back and spoke in Pohnpeian. Well, what would you guess, they immediately put my name on the list, as well as the other volunteers, and told us to show up early with our stuff and that they would get us on the boat.

On Dec. 27, we all headed to the port. I helped my PC boss get some boxes put in the hole of the boat, packages that belonged to the 2 volunteers on the island, then patiently waited to pay for our tickets and get on the boat. The boat is a pretty large cargo ship. There are 2 decks and one was already full. People put down the local mats, duct taped them, and put all their belongings on their mats. Fortunately, the 2nd deck was empty, so as soon as we got on the boat, we staked out our spot! After a few hours of wondering if the tarp would be erected on our deck, we were pleasantly surprised to see it go up. Our spot was pretty large. Large enough for at least 8 people to sleep comfortably. Since there was only 4 of us, we were quite comfortable. We watched the ship get all the cargo. This included pigs and chickens. The pigs were in their boxes and a crane moved them from one side of the ship to the other. When they got put in their area, they were released and allowed to move freely on one side of the boat. Around 6pm, the boat set sail! The water was very rough and the Dramamine (Grandma’s meat- right Dad?! HA) definitely did the trick. What I thought was a great spot, turned out to not be so good. After we had eaten our dinner- cans of food directly from the cans, they pushed this extended pole out into the middle of our “camp” site. The pole had a very bright light attached to it and immediately illuminated our entire camp. This all happened right when I was nearing a peaceful sleep. So, there I am on a boat trip that is 12 hours long, not able to sleep, and when I finally did fall asleep, it started to rain. No biggie. I guess you could say that I heard every person throwing up throughout the entire trip. Poor kids were not doing well. The pigs were loving it, as you could tell when someone was throwing up because the pigs would go nuts! Gross.

We finally got to our first island, Mokil in the early hours. It was at this time that we found out that the ship would then leave for Pingelap, anther 7 hours, before turning around and coming back to Mokil. With this news, we realized that we would have maybe a few hours on Mokil then would have to get on the boat and not reach land until late in the evening and eventually only spend 1 full day on Pingelap before coming back. Erica, a Peace Corps Volunteer, and I were too excited to see Kate and 2 other World Teach volunteers, Tyler and Jonathan, wanted to stay with us. So, the other 3 volunteers (one Peace Corps, one World Teach, and one Jesuit) decided that they’d go to Mokil for the few hours then would hop the boat for Pingelap. This meant that we would have to unload ALL our stuff and we had a lot. We watched and waited patiently for our turn to deboard the ship onto a small motor boat which eventually took us to the island. The boat was outside the coral and the tide was considerably low, so we had to wait for it to rise before loading. This was very interesting as everyone on the ship and the little boats worked together to move supplies down the ship via this small walkway that went directly into the water. Of course, there were only a few of us and we don’t speak Mokillese so it was very nerve racking to know if we were going to get off the ship with all of our supplies. I asked various people and explained that I was Peace Corps, and once again it worked. I told one woman and man that I was there to deliver some packages to the volunteer on island. This set forth word and before I knew it, a man came over to me and Erica and said the next boat was ours. We had a lot of stuff, packages for Kate (the volunteer on island), all our food, water, bags, etc. We did an assembly line from the ship to the motor boat and eventually we got ourselves on the boat. I rode with a few other volunteers and 2 men- one of which remembered meeting me in Pohnpei at a meeting with the Dept. of Education and another gentleman who is the senator of Pohnpei (can we say small island?).

When we arrive on Mokil, I am immediately taken aback. The island is shaped like a horseshoe and is only about 1.5 miles long from tip to tip. Everything is so green and the palm trees are taller than any I’ve ever seen. When we unloaded it was like a new world. It was completely different than I had expected and nothing like Pohnpei. The houses and yards are manicured. The street (one street on the island) is as wide as 3 wheelbarrows and the “gravel” is actually coral. The houses are put together and everyone prides themselves by keeping plants and such in pots. Great decorations!

Kate, the volunteer, was thrilled, shocked, elated—I’m sure there are more words to describe her feeling when she saw Erica and I. Imagine not seeing another white person for a few months and then out of nowhere and with no knowledge, there are 7! Needless to say, she didn’t really know what to say or do. We spent a few hours with all the volunteers before they had to leave for Pingelap, just a quick tour of the island, then eventually they left. Kate’s host family was excited to have us but I think they were very excited to know that we had brought all our own food and water and the only thing we needed was a floor and a shower. Everyone was very welcoming of us and well, I’ll be honest, I was just happy to see Kate. J

The first day, we did the short tour of the island, then decided it was time for the beach. Kate took us down to the beach, which was in her backyard. But I should stop here before going on and explain the set up of the island. Again, it’s shaped like a horseshoe with one part facing the lagoon and the other on the sea side. The houses are set up on strips of land, remember that this is land owned by generations of families, so each parcel of land has it’s own history. On the lagoon facing side is where the front of the houses overlook. The view is difficult to explain. Just imagine looking out your front door and all you see is beautiful clear water and off in the distance 2 other islands, both uninhabited. As you walk down to the beach, you walk past the pig pens, which compared to Pohnpei do NOT stink and are considerably quiet, then you pass the taro patches, and eventually (okay 2 minutes later) you are at the beach. The beach is part sand part coral. It’s a pink color from the red and white coral smashing together. The water, amazing! 4 different colors of blue! We did a lot of sitting/laying on the beach. Kate, Erica, and I chatted endlessly and the 2 guys napped and swam. That night we had dinner and played with Kate’s brother’s and sister. They too enjoyed having us there. There was lots of guitar playing and singing. Kate’s host father is a popular guy, so there was a steady flow of people stopping by to visit and such. That night, us volunteers took a mat out to the beach and watched the ocean via the light of the moon. Amazing. No words can describe this place.

The island system is amazing as well. If democracy works, it works on Mokil- small government anyway. The 120 people are equal in everything. When the ship comes, like it did while I was there, everything is distributed equally to each family. The locals use motor boats for fishing. Gas is expensive, as you can imagine, but the way they have it set up is one family will buy enough gas for the entire community for 3 months before the next family is in charge of the purchase. During the holidays, Guam dropped a big supply of Christmas presents near the island. They spent many hours hauling all the supplies back to island where they again, distributed everything equally. There are no title system in Mokil like on Pohnpei, so everyone is generally the same except for the oldest man is the chief/mayor. That guy rides a bike and has a gray fro. Sweet! Like I mentioned, the strips of land are owned by family. Many times, families leave Mokil to move to Pohnpei. When this happens, the house stays as it is. No one is allowed to use the land or collect the fruit from the trees. It's a bit eerie at times as some houses are completely abandoned.

The next day we woke up later and took a walk to the airstrip which is located on the far end of the island. The waves were crashing and the breeze was amazing. We walked though the rain forest to get to the spot and the trees were absolutely amazing. Of course, we decided that we should do some beach time, so we took our mat to our little spot and soaked up the sun while the guys set off to swim past the reef. They didn’t make it past the reef because the waves were over 6 feet high! Later that day, Kate’s host father asked us if we’d like to go for a boat ride and of course we said yes. It was getting late but we did get to see an amazing sunset from the reef. Wow!

The following day, Kate’s father agreed to take us past the reef for some snorkeling. I wouldn’t have believed that the snorkeling would be any different from the snorkeling inside the reef but man was I wrong! This was beyond words! The water is so clear that you can see straight down for 120-150 feet. I swam with sharks and sea turtles and saw so much marine life I haven’t a clue! Barbara, I did use the book you found me, but didn’t take it with me to Mokil. I tried to remember from memory what all I saw, but now I know to always take the reef fish identification guide when traveling in the waters of the pacific! Huge angel fish swam behind the turtles and the red snappers were ginormous! The first time I saw a shark in the open water was at Mokil. So, I’m swimming along, Erica is behind me, and I come around a beautiful cylinder of coral when I see a reef shark. At first I’m cool, then I realize what I saw. No, it wasn’t BIG but it was a damn shark and I was all alone. So, what do I do? I freak. I’m perpendicular to the water and my legs and arms are flailing. I suddenly have this thought that not only am I not cut out to be a snorkeler but what in the world and I’m thinking getting scuba certified. My head pops up above water and I yell at Erica “Shark”! Obviously the worst thing to say. Eventually, I calm down a bit and realize I need a break from the sun and water. I crawl into the boat, so not gracefully, and rest for awhile. This was our last day on the island, so when we got home, we had to pack up our stuff and mentally prepare for the boat trip.

Later that day, Kate’s dad and Kate took us to the ship. We watched them hoist another motor boat us the side of the ship and eventually into the cargo hold. Crazy! Getting our stuff onto the ship was not as easy as it looked. I was on the top, so I had to push myself around people to set our stuff down before going back to ladder to receive more gear. Tyler was on the bottom of the ladder and about lost his flip flops 2 times. Kate’s little brothers were holding onto the ship for dear life while we unloaded. Needless to say, we got everything and everyone safely on board. We also scored a great spot on the same deck….minus the huge pigs, only baby one’s on the way home. We boarded at 6pm and the ship wasn’t sailing until 10pm, mainly on weather and tide reasons. So we had plenty of time to whip out our camp stove and make some delicious chili before the waves. I figured that I wouldn’t sleep again, but was completely shocked when I woke up around 4am and had been asleep since 8pm. We made it home to Pohnpei with no cuts or scrapes and many many fabulous memories. That was New Years Eve, so you can only imagine us that night when a bunch of already sea legs people decided to go out dancing! All I can say is that it topped everything I had expected to do this Christmas break. The best part, the round trip ticket on the ship- $22. *smile*

This summer there will be another ship that goes out for a 10 day cruise. My bags are already packed! Who’s in?

I’ll have pictures posted soon on FB so please check them out. I’m sure you will be able to put the story into pictures once you see them.

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year and I look forward to hearing about your adventures.

Much love and many hugs from Pohnpei,

amber