Around the middle of April, Debbie and I flew back from Chuuk to Oklahoma. It was a long, tiring flight, made longer by the need for a frequent layover for the dogs, but after five days of travel, we arrived back home.
Home was not as we remembered; our house had been occupied by a stranger who left it in disarray and who must have needed a full set of power tools for her next dwelling. We spent days trying to clean and repair all the damage - made more difficult by the lack of power tools.
The US had also changed. When we left, the majority of young people were glued to their smartphones, thumbs flying furiously as they texted messages to their best friends (standing a few feet away). When we returned, it seems as though Americans now are compelled to use tech devices to find anything or do anything. The simple art of conversation is being eroded until I fear we will lose personal contact.
Chuuk experienced a typhoon a few weeks before we left. Another hit them soon after we left. Food is becoming difficult to obtain. Coconuts, breadfruit, and bananas were struck down by the fierce winds. Taro patches were flooded by seawater. Container ships had to divert away due to the storms, and now the food supply is in jeopardy. It will be months before the trees recover and bear fruit; some will have to be replanted, requiring years to restore the food supply.
We left so many good friends in Chuuk. We worry about them and their future. I know their family members living abroad will send money to help them, but that won't be enough to restore life as usual.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Chuuk and Independence
On March 3, 2015, the people of Chuuk will vote on whether they will remain a state in the FSM or will become an independent republic. This will be an historical year for Chuuk.
After WWII, the US became the trustee for a UN-created territory composed of hundreds of tiny Pacific islands. The region was called Micronesia. Although it made sense to administer the Trust Territories as one unit, the attempt resembled the British when they put Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds into one administrative unit, known as Iraq. Micronesians are at least as diverse as the Iraqis, and the distance is substantially greater, so the effort to combine all Pacific Islands into one nation was doomed from the start.
Palau refused to join the FSM; the Marshall Islands also pulled out, and each of those groups formed a separate nation. The Northern Marianas also refused to join the FSM, and instead they voted to become a commonwealth within the US. Guam, with its established military base, remained a separate nation, as a territory of the US. That left Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae as the only "states" left for the FSM.
Inevitably, differences among the islanders made it difficult to form a cohesive union and sectarian preferences have led to charges of discrimination. Many Chuukese believe that the FSM national government (whose President is himself, Chuukese) does not adequately represent them, and they want out.
Some of the criticism stems from the FSM Constitution itself; while Chuuk hosts half of the nation's population, and thus half of the Congressmen, each Congressman has one vote on a bill's first reading. But on the crucial second reading, each state has one vote each, meaning that laws, spending bills, and other measures are voted by members, to assign them to committees, but when it comes to actually adopting the measures, Chuuk's half of the FSM Congress only gets 1/4 of the vote.
Some complaints arise from the repeated instances of Chuukese paperwork being lost within the national campus, going both ways. Requests to the national government have gone missing. Notices from the national government have not been delivered to Chuuk. Such an event, now and then, could be overlooked, but there seems to be more than coincidence involved.
US funding under the Compact of Free Association provides the opportunity for development, but Chuuk's projects are routinely delayed. Already, Chuuk is over $50 million behind in using Compact funds, and there may be no way for Chuuk to access its authorized funds before the Compact ends, in 2023. If the other states decide to divy up the unused funds, conspiracy theorists will deem their suspicions verified.
An independent Chuuk won't pose a threat to any of the world's powers. However, it may present an opportunity to establish an outpost for powers in the Pacific, and that is what makes the vote so interesting.
You won't hear much about the Chuuk plebiscite in the news; it isn't as glamorous as Scotland's vote, or as divisive as Crimea or Eastern Ukraine or even Catalonia, but it is part of a growing trend for the secession of ethnic groups from coalitions created long ago by former powers. It is as though WalMart is breaking up into stores that sell groceries vs. those that sell toys or household goods. It may seem counter-intuitive, if you view matters from a profit perspective, but when viewed from a tribal basis, it makes perfect sense.
Is the world becoming more tribal? Would that lead to chaos or more order? Would that lead to more, but smaller wars? Would WalMart shoppers clamor for a strong leader to unify us in spite of tribal differences?
After WWII, the US became the trustee for a UN-created territory composed of hundreds of tiny Pacific islands. The region was called Micronesia. Although it made sense to administer the Trust Territories as one unit, the attempt resembled the British when they put Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds into one administrative unit, known as Iraq. Micronesians are at least as diverse as the Iraqis, and the distance is substantially greater, so the effort to combine all Pacific Islands into one nation was doomed from the start.
Palau refused to join the FSM; the Marshall Islands also pulled out, and each of those groups formed a separate nation. The Northern Marianas also refused to join the FSM, and instead they voted to become a commonwealth within the US. Guam, with its established military base, remained a separate nation, as a territory of the US. That left Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae as the only "states" left for the FSM.
Inevitably, differences among the islanders made it difficult to form a cohesive union and sectarian preferences have led to charges of discrimination. Many Chuukese believe that the FSM national government (whose President is himself, Chuukese) does not adequately represent them, and they want out.
Some of the criticism stems from the FSM Constitution itself; while Chuuk hosts half of the nation's population, and thus half of the Congressmen, each Congressman has one vote on a bill's first reading. But on the crucial second reading, each state has one vote each, meaning that laws, spending bills, and other measures are voted by members, to assign them to committees, but when it comes to actually adopting the measures, Chuuk's half of the FSM Congress only gets 1/4 of the vote.
Some complaints arise from the repeated instances of Chuukese paperwork being lost within the national campus, going both ways. Requests to the national government have gone missing. Notices from the national government have not been delivered to Chuuk. Such an event, now and then, could be overlooked, but there seems to be more than coincidence involved.
US funding under the Compact of Free Association provides the opportunity for development, but Chuuk's projects are routinely delayed. Already, Chuuk is over $50 million behind in using Compact funds, and there may be no way for Chuuk to access its authorized funds before the Compact ends, in 2023. If the other states decide to divy up the unused funds, conspiracy theorists will deem their suspicions verified.
An independent Chuuk won't pose a threat to any of the world's powers. However, it may present an opportunity to establish an outpost for powers in the Pacific, and that is what makes the vote so interesting.
You won't hear much about the Chuuk plebiscite in the news; it isn't as glamorous as Scotland's vote, or as divisive as Crimea or Eastern Ukraine or even Catalonia, but it is part of a growing trend for the secession of ethnic groups from coalitions created long ago by former powers. It is as though WalMart is breaking up into stores that sell groceries vs. those that sell toys or household goods. It may seem counter-intuitive, if you view matters from a profit perspective, but when viewed from a tribal basis, it makes perfect sense.
Is the world becoming more tribal? Would that lead to chaos or more order? Would that lead to more, but smaller wars? Would WalMart shoppers clamor for a strong leader to unify us in spite of tribal differences?
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Today's word is "REMOTE"
I was sitting outside, breathing in the freshly scented air with strains of the many flowers blooming in Chuuk, when I was overcome by feelings of being remote. The remoteness of these Pacific islands is palpable. I am one-third of the way around the planet from my home and family, and that is far enough to make it impossible to reach out and touch someone. If we were farther west, we would actually be closer to "civilization" in the presence of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Asian continent. If I were asked to point to the part of the globe that is most remote, I would point somewhere near here.
Remote is such a well-worn word; we use it as a one-word noun to mean that electronic device we use to change TV channels, play a DVD, or even change the temperature on the thermostat. That derives from the phrase "remote control", which is what it was called shortly after I lost my job as the primary means to change TV channels, by twisting the dial on the set. That term came about to describe the wonder of being able to control the television without getting our fat butts up off the sofa, and at the time, it was a miracle.
The word "remote" really means something that is a great distance from anything else that might provide a context. When we tell people that Chuuk is west of Pohnpei, or west of the Marshall Islands, there is usually no reference point for them to understand where you are talking about. If we say, "south of Guam about 600 miles" only a few can place that on the map. But if I tell someone that if they fly to Hawaii, they are half-way to Chuuk, they begin to comprehend. Hawaii provides a reference point, a context.
In Oklahoma, remote means you live at least a half-mile from the nearest neighbor, and to really be remote your neighbors should be barely known. In Chuuk, you are at least 400 miles from the nearest neighbor, and most people have never heard of that island. That is REMOTE.
If you live within a close community, a city, some well-populated place, and you like having the feeling of being surrounded by other people, you wouldn't want to live in a remote place. Heck, you wouldn't want to live in a small town. But if you crave independence, and revere the concept of rugged individualism, you might want to get away from the city and travel to a place like Chuuk - a remote location.
That is what you get when you come here; a sense of separation and solitude and distance from the human spoilage of the planet. We have telecommunications, when it is working. We have electricity, and you can depend on it most of the time. We have a community, albeit small. But mostly we have the ability to breathe air that has no industrial pollutants, air that is scented with flowers.
That is because we are so damned remote!!
Remote is such a well-worn word; we use it as a one-word noun to mean that electronic device we use to change TV channels, play a DVD, or even change the temperature on the thermostat. That derives from the phrase "remote control", which is what it was called shortly after I lost my job as the primary means to change TV channels, by twisting the dial on the set. That term came about to describe the wonder of being able to control the television without getting our fat butts up off the sofa, and at the time, it was a miracle.
The word "remote" really means something that is a great distance from anything else that might provide a context. When we tell people that Chuuk is west of Pohnpei, or west of the Marshall Islands, there is usually no reference point for them to understand where you are talking about. If we say, "south of Guam about 600 miles" only a few can place that on the map. But if I tell someone that if they fly to Hawaii, they are half-way to Chuuk, they begin to comprehend. Hawaii provides a reference point, a context.
In Oklahoma, remote means you live at least a half-mile from the nearest neighbor, and to really be remote your neighbors should be barely known. In Chuuk, you are at least 400 miles from the nearest neighbor, and most people have never heard of that island. That is REMOTE.
If you live within a close community, a city, some well-populated place, and you like having the feeling of being surrounded by other people, you wouldn't want to live in a remote place. Heck, you wouldn't want to live in a small town. But if you crave independence, and revere the concept of rugged individualism, you might want to get away from the city and travel to a place like Chuuk - a remote location.
That is what you get when you come here; a sense of separation and solitude and distance from the human spoilage of the planet. We have telecommunications, when it is working. We have electricity, and you can depend on it most of the time. We have a community, albeit small. But mostly we have the ability to breathe air that has no industrial pollutants, air that is scented with flowers.
That is because we are so damned remote!!
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Christmas isn't white in Chuuk
As I sit in my house in Chuuk, the "Great Lake of the Pacific", I think of how Christmas time is back home in Oklahoma. We long for a little snow, just to make it like the Hollywood version of Christmas, and we hope we don't get an ice storm instead. But in the western Pacific, at 7.5 degrees north of the Equator, there is never snow. We may have a wet Christmas, but it isn't white.
People do put up lights, shop for gifts, sing Christmas carols (along with some reggae), and behave as though they are filled with the Christmas spirit. Even those who speak little English wish us a Merry Christmas!
Our television service expired last night at midnight; Christmas Eve went dark, as far as TV broadcasting goes, and although I went to our only Telecom and paid the bill, the one employee who is authorized to receive payments for television was off-island. We will have TV restored when he returns, on Monday. So we are spending Christmas day in a silent house, as we will on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We will miss so many football and basketball games.
Yet, it may be a blessing (you have to look hard to see that), since we are compelled to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. It's about hope, the hope that our pitiful lives may not be lived in vain. Hope that our Creator has a plan to reward us, put us in a better place, save us from the broken state of our existence. I suspect that the shepherds and Magi lived a lot like we do here, and they must have felt relieved that something good was happening.
Whatever your beliefs about Christ are, you have to admit that 2,000+ years later, his birth still brings hope to people. We act different during this season, no matter how the weather behaves. We remember that family and loved ones are more important than deadlines and profits and status. All of us hope for a better life.
We also make resolutions for the new year and hope that this one will be the best ever. In Chuuk, they beat on "drums" made of sheet metal panels, plastic barrels, and anything else that will resonate throughout the island. I saw a group of children practicing their rhythm on Monday. They continued to practice since then. On New Year's Eve, they will be joined by thousands of islanders, and the sound will rock the island. It will continue for three days, non-stop! I don't think any of the drummers get any sleep. It is a tradition that has been followed for a long time; it probably can be traced to a practice intended to drive away evil spirits. I know it scares our dogs, and evil spirits probably want to avoid it, too. If anyone believes that the Chuukese are lazy, let them come and observe the dedication of the noisemakers. They just don't see the point in working hard for a vague purpose - at $1.50 an hour, there is little motivation to work yourself to death and sacrifice time away from your family, for some obscure goal of prosperity. Prosperity is hard to come by in Chuuk.
So, to all my family and friends, may the blessings of the holiday season be upon you, and may you find love and joy in 2015. Be thankful for what you have and tend to the relationships that sustain us all.
People do put up lights, shop for gifts, sing Christmas carols (along with some reggae), and behave as though they are filled with the Christmas spirit. Even those who speak little English wish us a Merry Christmas!
Our television service expired last night at midnight; Christmas Eve went dark, as far as TV broadcasting goes, and although I went to our only Telecom and paid the bill, the one employee who is authorized to receive payments for television was off-island. We will have TV restored when he returns, on Monday. So we are spending Christmas day in a silent house, as we will on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We will miss so many football and basketball games.
Yet, it may be a blessing (you have to look hard to see that), since we are compelled to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. It's about hope, the hope that our pitiful lives may not be lived in vain. Hope that our Creator has a plan to reward us, put us in a better place, save us from the broken state of our existence. I suspect that the shepherds and Magi lived a lot like we do here, and they must have felt relieved that something good was happening.
Whatever your beliefs about Christ are, you have to admit that 2,000+ years later, his birth still brings hope to people. We act different during this season, no matter how the weather behaves. We remember that family and loved ones are more important than deadlines and profits and status. All of us hope for a better life.
We also make resolutions for the new year and hope that this one will be the best ever. In Chuuk, they beat on "drums" made of sheet metal panels, plastic barrels, and anything else that will resonate throughout the island. I saw a group of children practicing their rhythm on Monday. They continued to practice since then. On New Year's Eve, they will be joined by thousands of islanders, and the sound will rock the island. It will continue for three days, non-stop! I don't think any of the drummers get any sleep. It is a tradition that has been followed for a long time; it probably can be traced to a practice intended to drive away evil spirits. I know it scares our dogs, and evil spirits probably want to avoid it, too. If anyone believes that the Chuukese are lazy, let them come and observe the dedication of the noisemakers. They just don't see the point in working hard for a vague purpose - at $1.50 an hour, there is little motivation to work yourself to death and sacrifice time away from your family, for some obscure goal of prosperity. Prosperity is hard to come by in Chuuk.
So, to all my family and friends, may the blessings of the holiday season be upon you, and may you find love and joy in 2015. Be thankful for what you have and tend to the relationships that sustain us all.
Friday, December 12, 2014
The medical tourist
I am back from a medical treatment in Manila, Philippines, and we finally have an internet connection again. Technology in the Pacific islands is in early stages of development; it is slow and not that dependable, yet we have jumped over the generations of tech and landed in a modern tech era, but without the substantial backup facilities that keep most of the world connected.
My treatment was for my eyes. I have a condition called keratoconis, a weakening of the surface of the cornea that causes loss of vision and can eventually cause the cornea to burst, leaving its victims blind. In the US, treatment involves waiting until the inevitable happens, then transplanting an artificial cornea and trying to get the thin surface to heal over. At St. Luke's hospital in Manila, they do collagen cross-linking. It is a procedure developed in Germany that uses a laser to excite molecules of riboflavin (vitamin B6) and incite the collagen fibers to link together and form a protective net at the eye's surface.
First, they scraped the surface of my eye. That was the part I feared most, but it turned out to be the easy part. Anaesthetic drops left me without sensation, and I only "saw" the wrinkled up surface tissue, not felt it. Then, the B6 drops begin. One each 5 minutes, followed by focusing on the laser. Lying still and remembering to focus on the light is not as easy as it sounds. An hour and a half later, the procedure was finished, and I emerged with hardly any vision in my left eye. Over the course of the next week, the eye began growing new epithelial cells, and the "wound" healed over. Ten days later, I was able to see 20/40 with my old glasses. Most importantly, the surface of the cornea had doubled in thickness! In a few months, the eye will have adjusted fully, and a new prescription will make my vision sharp as new.
It could be some time before this procedure is widely available in the US. The FDA is not known for expediting new procedures. However, for those million or so Americans who have keratoconis, hope is on the way.
My treatment was for my eyes. I have a condition called keratoconis, a weakening of the surface of the cornea that causes loss of vision and can eventually cause the cornea to burst, leaving its victims blind. In the US, treatment involves waiting until the inevitable happens, then transplanting an artificial cornea and trying to get the thin surface to heal over. At St. Luke's hospital in Manila, they do collagen cross-linking. It is a procedure developed in Germany that uses a laser to excite molecules of riboflavin (vitamin B6) and incite the collagen fibers to link together and form a protective net at the eye's surface.
First, they scraped the surface of my eye. That was the part I feared most, but it turned out to be the easy part. Anaesthetic drops left me without sensation, and I only "saw" the wrinkled up surface tissue, not felt it. Then, the B6 drops begin. One each 5 minutes, followed by focusing on the laser. Lying still and remembering to focus on the light is not as easy as it sounds. An hour and a half later, the procedure was finished, and I emerged with hardly any vision in my left eye. Over the course of the next week, the eye began growing new epithelial cells, and the "wound" healed over. Ten days later, I was able to see 20/40 with my old glasses. Most importantly, the surface of the cornea had doubled in thickness! In a few months, the eye will have adjusted fully, and a new prescription will make my vision sharp as new.
It could be some time before this procedure is widely available in the US. The FDA is not known for expediting new procedures. However, for those million or so Americans who have keratoconis, hope is on the way.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Does Putin want war?
When you live in a remote place, you are often relieved to learn that you are outside the "circle of death" that marks the outer limits of missile ranges. For example, North Korea has an effective missile range that would allow them to send a warhead to Guam, just 600 miles to our north. However, Chuuk and its lagoon is just beyond range. So, when the heads of North Korea's government threaten the civilized world, we are not concerned. However, when trained Russian operators of a Buk rocket launcher shoot down a commercial airliner over Ukraine, in the name of the Russian separatists there, I get worried. Even if we are somehow out of range for Russian missiles, the concern is not a missile attack; it is that the rest of the world is going to be dragged into a war that involves most nations.
Chuuk experienced WWII when the Japanese fleet established its headquarters here, and the US military bombed the ships in the Lagoon into a watery oblivion. The Japanese suffered a massive loss. The Chuukese suffered massive deaths from the bombs, and their island homes were destroyed. Even seventy years later, the ruins remain unreconstructed. Roads, once plentiful, are reduced to one main road and a few (barely usable) side roads. I am convinced that New Orleans will rebuild before Chuuk.
Why would Vladimir Putin want to create a war - a world war that cannot end well? I assume that he is a very smart fellow, and that he did not intend to shoot down an airliner filled with people from around the world. However, since he could not personally man the weapon, he had to rely on subordinates to do the wet work for him. And they botched the job.
Now, we watch CNN for news of who blames who; who denies any involvement; and if we will ever be able to investigate the crash site and determine who is truly responsible. The war of words will escalate until somebody starts the fight. It is inevitably some subordinate who fails to see the big picture and who reacts with violence, rather than reason. The rest of us are left to deal with violence on a scale that is presently unimaginable. Nobody wins a war - some just suffer less than others.
Putin simply wanted to expand Russian territory into what was once considered part of the USSR. He was effective in stealing Crimea away from the Ukraine, and that emboldened him. The allies of Ukraine gave a weak response to Crimea, so why wouldn't Putin try to get more?
Obama is put into a precarious position; if he continues to give weak responses, the US appears unable to meet our treaty obligations, and Americans will no longer live in a world power. If Obama responds with an attack, he puts the world at war. Americans are tired of fighting in foreign places for causes that are not truly relevant to America's interests. Obama will find little support for a war.
Has Putin made the US a second-rate power? He may discover that he has underestimated his foe; even Americans who oppose a war will nonetheless fight in the military, and there should be no doubt that the US is the most destructive force in mankind's history. Putin may have destroyed the Russian future with his aggressive behavior. Only lawyers are concerned with having the evidence to prove that Russia provided the weapon and trained operators; most people make a judgment and tell it enough times to make their own brains believe it is a fact. Such "facts" have brought on wars before.
In the meantime, the nations who have lost citizens in the shoot-down of MH 17 need to unify and take the separatists who block the crash investigation out into the woods and give them a humane end to their stupid lives. Nobody can justify their behavior. The rest of the world cannot allow thugs to block an investigation of what may be a terrorist act. A combined military push will remove Ukraine's problem, allow the investigation to continue, and it will not serve as an act of aggression against Russia. Russia has already told us that those thugs are not Russian. Now they are committed to preserving that lie.
Just don't nuke them; it would damage the gas pipelines into Europe.
Chuuk experienced WWII when the Japanese fleet established its headquarters here, and the US military bombed the ships in the Lagoon into a watery oblivion. The Japanese suffered a massive loss. The Chuukese suffered massive deaths from the bombs, and their island homes were destroyed. Even seventy years later, the ruins remain unreconstructed. Roads, once plentiful, are reduced to one main road and a few (barely usable) side roads. I am convinced that New Orleans will rebuild before Chuuk.
Why would Vladimir Putin want to create a war - a world war that cannot end well? I assume that he is a very smart fellow, and that he did not intend to shoot down an airliner filled with people from around the world. However, since he could not personally man the weapon, he had to rely on subordinates to do the wet work for him. And they botched the job.
Now, we watch CNN for news of who blames who; who denies any involvement; and if we will ever be able to investigate the crash site and determine who is truly responsible. The war of words will escalate until somebody starts the fight. It is inevitably some subordinate who fails to see the big picture and who reacts with violence, rather than reason. The rest of us are left to deal with violence on a scale that is presently unimaginable. Nobody wins a war - some just suffer less than others.
Putin simply wanted to expand Russian territory into what was once considered part of the USSR. He was effective in stealing Crimea away from the Ukraine, and that emboldened him. The allies of Ukraine gave a weak response to Crimea, so why wouldn't Putin try to get more?
Obama is put into a precarious position; if he continues to give weak responses, the US appears unable to meet our treaty obligations, and Americans will no longer live in a world power. If Obama responds with an attack, he puts the world at war. Americans are tired of fighting in foreign places for causes that are not truly relevant to America's interests. Obama will find little support for a war.
Has Putin made the US a second-rate power? He may discover that he has underestimated his foe; even Americans who oppose a war will nonetheless fight in the military, and there should be no doubt that the US is the most destructive force in mankind's history. Putin may have destroyed the Russian future with his aggressive behavior. Only lawyers are concerned with having the evidence to prove that Russia provided the weapon and trained operators; most people make a judgment and tell it enough times to make their own brains believe it is a fact. Such "facts" have brought on wars before.
In the meantime, the nations who have lost citizens in the shoot-down of MH 17 need to unify and take the separatists who block the crash investigation out into the woods and give them a humane end to their stupid lives. Nobody can justify their behavior. The rest of the world cannot allow thugs to block an investigation of what may be a terrorist act. A combined military push will remove Ukraine's problem, allow the investigation to continue, and it will not serve as an act of aggression against Russia. Russia has already told us that those thugs are not Russian. Now they are committed to preserving that lie.
Just don't nuke them; it would damage the gas pipelines into Europe.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
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.
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.
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