Visiting a small island

Over the past two weeks, I had the opportunity to visit a tiny reef island.  My wife and I chartered a boat and took seven of our Chuukese friends on a day trip.  It required an hour to steam from the docks at Weno to the barrier reef to the east, and when we arrived we realized that the water depth would not allow the boat to get up to the island.  So, we swam about 150 meters from the boat to the shore.
By the time I arrived, I was in doubt as to whether I could make the swim back.  Our two dogs swam with me, but they had life jackets - I had only a swimsuit and water shoes, neither of which adds buoyancy.  We also had to transport coolers filled with food and drink, so eveybody was worn out after our swim.
The island is magical.  The reef causes waves to form and break over the wide reef, causing a continuous roar -- it is a quiet roar, that makes a beautiful background to what is otherwise quiet.  Birds provide a melody of calls that punctuate the silence.  Coconuts grow abundantly, and there are many fish in the surrounding waters; otherwise the island is devoid of food.  A family lives there, taking care of the place for the owner, and they have a stress-free life (except for the occasional typhoon).
The owner once attempted to build a hotel and resort there, but a decade ago a typhoon destroyed the project just before completion.  Now, the hotel restaurant building sits atop concrete pillars, with vegetation sprouting out from silt deposits at the junction between floor and wall.  The long concrete walkway has been broken by the typhoon storm surge, and one must pick his way amid chunks of concrete to get to the restaurant site.
Sea cucumbers abound.  The shallow waters provide a perfect environment for them to feed and grow.  Small fish and crabs move about as the incoming tide brings a steady flow of new water, filled with the nutrients offered up by the reef.  Chuuk is one of the last places where sea cucumbers enjoy a healthy population.  We are debating legislation to conserve what is available, doing that before foreign fishermen deplete the rich resources of the Lagoon.
The reef forms a barrier around the Lagoon, probably the remnants of an ancient volcano.  Most of the people in Chuuk live within the Lagoon; those who live in the Mortlocks and in the Northwest, which lie outside the reef, have to travel a long way to get to the commercial center in Weno.
Some of the men went spearfishing, and I followed along, shooting fish with my camera.  Although it was difficult to navigate among the coral without making contact, it was a relaxing and enjoyable time.  We managed to spear 3 fish, all small, plus a puffer that we released.  Later, I realized that my back had become quite sunburned, and that the "relaxing" involved far more exercise than I thought.
If you have the opportunity to visit Chuuk, please don't stop with diving the shipwrecks.  Hire a boat to take you around to see the other islands in the Lagoon.  Then, you will experience true island life.