Category Archives: Marshall Islands

The Enchantment of Rongerik

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Despite the hardships this beautiful atoll has endured over the last 80+ years it is one of the most beautiful places to visit.  We had the pleasure of visiting 8 of the 12 islands on the perimeter of the Rongerik Atoll.

This is our beautiful anchorage between Rongerik Island and Bird Island. Look at the various colors of blue!

Most of the island have this stunning pink sand on the lagoon side that has crystal clear turquoise waters lapping up their shores.

On the windward side (ocean side) you can find these pretty little pools of water with crabs, fish, and eels thriving.

A few of the islands have coral walls that put on an impressive water display when the waves crash against them.

Sand dollars covered one part of the beach on Rongerik Island. It was a treasure trove of beautiful shells.  I tried so hard to walk around them so as not to ruin the beauty for others.

Loads of Bird Colonies

One island has been apply named “Bird Island.”  However, most of the islands are heavily populated by a variety of birds, including boobies, frigates, terns, and oh so many more.  When humans come ashore, the birds become super curious. These birds are not used to seeing two legged creatures.  Many will fly right over your head or swoop down you to check you out.

We did our best to stay on the outer perimeter of the island – as close to the water’s edge as possible so as not to disturb the birds and their nests.

So Many Babies

The good news is that we came across many birds nests with 1-2 eggs in each nest.  I’d say half were on the ground and half in the trees.  The nests on the ground are a clear indication that there are no rates on the islands.  Check out this beautiful blue egg.

We also came across over a dozen infants and teenagers.  They are so cute when they are so fuzzy!  Yes, I have a very good zoom on my camera. We tried to always be 10 meters from the nest and the babies.

Turtle Nests

The other beauty about rat-less islands is the survival of the turtle nests.  We encountered so many nests but never saw any baby or mamma turtles.  

We came across an old ship wreck. Only the bow remains.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual events.  We were in Rongerik during the last week of December and early January 2025. Don’t miss out on our last blog post on The Haunted Past of the Northern Atolls.

A Haunted History

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Far up in the North West side of the Ralik Island Chain lies several remote and isolated atolls.  These beautiful atolls were once alive with communities and abundant in wildlife.  However, today, they are still recovering from the nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. in the 1940s and 1950s.  The impacted atolls include Bikini, Enewetok, Rongerik, Rongelap, Alinginae, and several others.

Bikini Atoll was the detonation site of many nuclear tests and the famous Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb.  This atoll received the largest contamination and destruction. 

The Bikini residents were temporarily relocated to Rongerik.  They were told they could move back to their homes after the nuclear tests. This proved to be incredibly false.  Bikini is still radioactive today and remains uninhabited 80 years later. 

Residents leaving Bikini Atoll in 1946 – Courtesy of WikiCommons

Residents leaving Bikini Atoll in 1946 – Courtesy of WikiCommons

The Bikini islanders tried to create new communities. However, Rongerik could not provide enough food to support the population.  Many locals were extremely malnourished and or starving so after two years they were all relocated to Kwajalein. The Bikinians were relocated to Kili Island for their third move. 

The Damage to the Northern Atolls

On March 1, 1954, these atolls were exposed to radioactive fallout as a result of the detonation of Operation Castle‘s Bravo.

Bikini’s neighboring islands: Rongelap, Alinginae, Enewetok, and Bikimi make up the north west atoll groups.  Rongerik and Alinginae being the smallest of the four atolls.  All of the islands across all of these atolls are still uninhabited today.

Haunted Legend of Rongerik

Rongerik is an unpopulated coral atoll consisting of 17 islands.  The total land area is only 1.68 kilometers (.065 sq. miles), but the islets surround a lagoon of 144 sq kilometers (56 sq. miles).

In addition to its sad past with nuclear weapons, the beautiful atoll is thought to be haunted by the Demon Girls of Ujae.  The legend states that the irooj (chief) set to kill two demon sisters from Ujae after they stole yellow fragrant flowers from his sacred and very beautiful tree.  But once he saw the sisters he decided to take them both as his wives. 

They lived in harmony until the girls convinced the irooj to allow them to visit their family in Ujae.  Once they returned to their home island, the sister’s family sought to kill the irooj.  The elder sister escaped but the younger sister wanted to stay with her husband.  After a fight the irooj and the younger sister escaped back to Rongerik. 

The gods allowed them to escape.  However, they told the irooj that he had to keep his wife with him at all times. The irooj forgot once and went fishing on his own.  The angered gods killed the irooj and forced the sister to remain on Rongerik. Broken hearted and trapped. Locals tell stories of how they’ve heard her screams late into the night.

We did not hear her screams, but we did hear lots of birds.

Rongerik Today

Rongerik is a beautiful, thriving atoll, despite the unhappy history and legend of the demon sisters.  The waters are incredibly beautiful with millions of shades of clear blue sparkling water.  The birds and turtles are thriving here along with the flora and fauna making it a true paradise to visit.

Getting to Rongerik

It was a 20 hour passage from Likiep to Rongerik (an overnight sail).  We flew the genoa in 18-25kts of easterly winds and 3m seas.  It was a bit choppy, but not horribly uncomfortable.  We had 3 fishing lines out. We landed two yellow fin tuna while we were still in the lee of Likiep.  The poles went away for the rest of the trip as both freezers were full.  Can you see both tuna in the bottom right photo?

More Fun Links on Rongerik

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.  We were in Rongerik during the last part of December 2024.  We discover European artifacts from the 1800’s in Likiep – check out the last post.

European Artifacts in Likiep

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Two European settlers left behind a huge legacy on the island of Likiep. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s these two created families and built a thriving business.

The island continues to host many family members from both the deBrums and the Capelles.  We had the extreme honor of getting to know the deBrum family really well.

The de Brum House

The de Brum house was built in 1888 by Joachim deBrum. The house was made with a timber frame and consisted of three large rooms. In addition, a 3 meter-wide verandah surrounded the house on all sides.

The de Brum family lived in the house until 1947.  Then, the property was converted into a museum to display all of the expensive and rare artifacts. 

Unfortunately, the house fell into disrepair and the museum was shut down.  Most of the artifacts were moved into “storage.” Today only the pillars that used to hold up the house are remaining.

Antiques, Furniture, and Volumes of Books

The de Brum house held fine furniture imported from Southeast Asia. Many visitors flocked to the home, and later the museum just to see the artifacts.

The remaining furniture was stored in the last remaining direct relative’s home after the museum closed.  Bobo (grandmother) is 91 years young and she allowed us to take a peak at some of it.

Top left is a photo of the table and chairs in the museum and the other two photos are the chairs today.  This table and chair set is intricately carved wood!  The craftmanship is spectacular.

The room divider captured my attention with its detailed and intricate carvings of dragons.

A Library Dating back to the 1800’s!

The Joachim de Brum house has a vast and diverse library. Consisting of over 1,000 books covering a wide variety of topics from science to literature.

In the lower left photo you can see the reflection of the bookcase and some books.  I took the other 3 photos at Bobo’s house.  There are books dating back to 1823!  Treasure Island, The Pioneers 1823, The Hoop 1927, The Man Who Almost Lost 1935, The Country Beyond 1922, Mr. Crewe’s Career by Winston Churchill 1913!  These are just the ones I could zoom in on in my photo (as I could not get close enough to touch them).

Incredible Finds

The top left photo shows an old camera along with slides on display in the museum.  The bottom photo is that same camera that I saw sitting in storage.  

The “camera” is actually a “postcard machine” and we even found some old “postcards” or slides that still looked beautiful. Check out the bottom left photos of the slides.

We also found a bell from 1832 and some beautiful vintage Villeroy & Roche plateware.

Lanterns and pottery are just sitting in storage.  Makes you so sad to think of these just wasting away.

Beautiful plate ware and glass ware wrapped up and unused.  Bobo did manage to keep Joachim’s walking stick.  She used to use it when she could get up and around.

The de Brum Family

Bobo in the middle.  She is a beautiful, vibrant 91 year old woman. I sure wish I spoke Marshallese so I could hear her stories.  Junior, her grandson is the man in the far right and was such an incredibly host.  He was super welcoming and kind to us during our stay.

The names de Brum and Capelle are still dominant in Likiep as well as spread throughout the Marshall Islands. 

This is truly a distinct community with a unique culture and beauty all around.

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Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred over 3 weeks in December.  Read about the start of the deBrum family in our last blog post.