Category Archives: Locations

Places around the world

Majuro, the “Big City”

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The capital of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) is the big city of Majuro which is located on the Majuro atoll in the Majuro motu.  So, there is no mistaking its name (me smiley face).  We can technically clear into the RMI at either Majuro or Ebeye which is located in Kwajalein (Kwaj).  However, it is far more convenient in Majuro as this is where the majority of the boats handle the formalities.

The anchorage is full of cargo ships, passenger ships and large fishing vessels giving it a very industrial feeling.  There are several private vessels spread across the two anchorages, but of those 3 are derelict, 3 are for sale and 11 permanent residents.

It is definitely a new experience for us.  It is not the ideal picture of paradise, but the water is clear, we are close to town, and we have a few friends in the anchorage.

We are on a mooring because this is a super deep anchorage.  Lucky for us several moorings are owned and maintained. 

Fueling the Boat

How does a super small country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean get fuel?  Twice a month, the fuel barge, Sophia comes for 1-2 days to re-supply the large Mobile fuel tanks with diesel and gasoline.  I am surprised she doesn’t come more frequently as there are a TON of cars on this very tiny atoll.

We used so much diesel to get here that we had to refill our tanks. We have (2) 400 liter tanks and we had used more than half to motor 5.5 days out of the 10 day passage from Vanuatu.  The problem is that there is no place safe to dock the big boat close to shore so we have to do this all by jerry cans.

We have (10) 20 liter jerry cans which means we will have to make multiple runs.  The other problem is that there is no gas station close to the dinghy dock.  Lucky for us, our friends on Uno Mas were able to borrow a truck and they let us tag along on their fuel run.

We go to PII (Pacific International Inc.) to pre-pay for the fuel, then we drive 2 miles down the road to the PII fuel station where they fill our jerry cans.  Any overages are paid in cash.  We then have to haul them back to the dinghy, then transport them up from the dinghy to the boat.  

Matt sets up the filter and pump and he pumps the diesel from each jerry can into the two tanks on the big boat.  Then we take our empty jerry cans and repeat the process.

Provisions

There are several good options for provisioning (shopping to my land-lubber friends).  Payless is the most convenient and closest to the anchorage. Plus the pricing is a little more reasonable.  I say a little more reasonable as prices are similar to Hawaii prices (expensive).  There is K&K Island Pride which offers a great variety, EZ Price Mart offers a lot of American brands and several Chinese stores.  

The problem is you have to watch out for weebles or bugs in your dry goods (flour, sugar, coffee, mixes).  I bought two items, opened the carton to store them and found them infested with weebles.  They both went straight overboard.

You can even find an Office Mart and Copymasters for school and office supplies too.

Around Town

Top left photo is the view from a new restaurant called Tide Table located on the 5th floor of a building.  The top right is a new basketball court built by the Taiwanese, bottom left and right are the public library and museum.

There is a fairly large cemetery, college, and lots of stores along the road. 

Handicrafts

A few of my friends join me for a day of handicraft  admiring and shopping.  There are a lot of woven items including: purses, wallets, floor mats, wall decor, Christmas ornaments, and jewelry.  I am lured toward the hand crafted canoes with woven sails that are simply divine.  However, they were way out of my price range so I just admired them.

In RMI, only Marshallese are allowed to be buried here.  Most locals bury their family members in their front yards.  However, for those who don’t have families or are from the outer atolls they are buried in the cemetery located in the center of town.

The U.S. Embassy

My passport expires in October 2025.  I can try to renew it during the short 2 week period I am in the states, or I can try to renew it from Fiji (but that would force us to go to Suva where the U.S. embassy is located and we don’t like that anchorage), or we can renew it here in the Marshall islands.

I contacted the good folks at the U.S. embassy and they were so responsive and very helpful!  They only have passport appointments two days a month and unfortunately I just missed it.  So, I had to wait almost 3.5 weeks for the next appointment.  But in the meantime, I filled out the application, took my horrible non-smiling passport photo, and got the exact amount of cash.

You cannot go inside the embassy building without an appointment. All very strict and formal.

As you can see, this is not the island paradise we are used to.  However, every country needs the necessities and Majuro provides just that for the many locals who call RMI home.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in early October 2024.  Our last blog post shared a little history on the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Republic of Marshall Islands

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The Republic of Marshall Islands (also known as RMI) is located in the North Pacific about 800km (500 miles) north of the equator.  It is made up of two parallel island chains.  The Ratak (Sunrise) island chain in the east and Ralik (Sunset) island chain in the west. 

These island chains consist of 29 atolls and 5 islands spread across over 800 miles from the Northwest to the Southeast.  Roughly 97.87% of its territory is water which makes it the largest proportion of water to land of any sovereign state.  The total land mass is just 181 square meters (or the size of Washington, DC).

RMI is located in Micronesia, which literally means “small islands.” It is a group of coral atolls and islands in the North Pacific Ocean about one-half of the way between Hawaii and Papua New Guinea.

Being mostly atolls, the highest elevation is a mere 10 meters (30′).  The total population in 2011 was 53,000 people with over 27,000 living in Majuro and 15,000 living in Ebeye (Kwajalein).  That means that less than 11,000 are spread out over the remaining 27 atolls and 5 islands (of course many of these are uninhabited).

The main economic driver is the production of copra and fisheries.  However, over 60% of the GDP is provided by the U.S. under the Compact of Free Association.  Which basically says that the U.S. can use these islands for military use in exchange for subsidies (lots and lots of subsidies).  The average worker makes $4.00 an hour including government officials, police workers, and sanitation.

The United States, Japan and Taiwan have diplomatic missions in the Marshalls.  So, you will often see signs “donated by” the country who donated the funds.  The problem is the countries donate the funds to build the buildings but not the funds to maintain them. So, often you will find derelict buildings left to rot because there are no funds to maintain them.  They just get more funds to build a new building, rather than maintaining the existing buildings – it makes no sense.

History

Japan occupied the islands at the beginning of WWI in 1914 but then the U.S. kicked Japan out and took over the islands during WWII.  Then between 1946-1958, the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll.  The fallout from the nuclear explosions is immense.  Many displaced Marshallese have severe health issues that have been passed from generation to generation.  The atolls where the tests took place are still uninhabited to this day with contaminated soil and sea life. See this website for more fall out on the nuclear testing.

In 1979, the U.S. gave the Marshall Islands independence and recognized its constitution and president.  The Marshalls are one of only four atoll nations in the world and are also one of the world’s youngest nations, independent since just 1986.

The United States provide defense, subsidies, and access to U.S. based agencies such as the FCC and the USPS.  The American dollar is the main currency and we can receive mail, packages, and deliveries from Amazon!

The U.S. Army occupies Kwajalein (also known as Kwaj) which surrounds the world’s largest lagoon.  They use this as a missile testing range even today.  Our country pays dearly for the right to inhabit this atoll – to the tune of $37 million annually.

The Anchorage in Majuro

We arrive in the Majuro atoll, which is a very industrial lagoon covered with at least 30 large fishing vessels (20-30m long), several cargo ships, and various private yachts.  Not exactly what we imagined. Of the 16 sailboats, only 5 are transient (like us they are “visiting”), 3 are derelict and 3 are for sale.  Many Americans have sailed here and have zero plans leave.

The amazing thing is the water is crystal clear.  We can see our mooring, the fish, and the abundant jelly fish in the water.

Ashore are several grocery stores, a US Post Office, museum, public library, and several restaurants.  We spend a few weeks getting to know the “lay of the land”, doing a little shopping, applying for inter-island permits, opening a PO Box (so we can get mail and parcels), and eating out.

We join the local yacht club, Meico Beach Yacht Club which offers discounts at a few places and free moorings at two of the neighboring motus on the north coast of Majuro.

Majuro, the Atoll

Remember, this is an atoll. An atoll is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There are usually coral islands, motus, or cays on the rim.

You have a small strip of land where everyone lives and on one side you have a lagoon and the other side you have the North Pacific Ocean.  The top image shows the atoll of Majuro and the bottom right shows the island of Majuro which has two towns Uliga and Delap.  Everything is squished onto the motu of Majuro (which is the far right motu of the atoll).

We have walked up and down the streets between the two towns of Uliga and Delap.  It is about 2-2.5 miles one way along the single main road with no side walks.  The cars are fairly polite, but the dogs (sleeping under the cars) will try to bite you.  So, caution must always be taken.  In addition, when it rains, which has rained a lot, the streets flood.  So, the only place to walk is down the center of the road with the cars.  There is good reason why nobody walks in this town. Most people just take a shared taxi for $2/pp.  But we like to walk so endure it all.

Cover Photo:  The cover photo shows Sugar Shack at anchor in front of the town of Uliga.  We have all of our canvas up as we attempt to keep the house cool.  It is a feeble attempt but it does help keep it a few degrees cooler.  Have I mentioned it is super duper hot here!  So very hot with little breeze and we have NO aircon on the boat.  And we can’t jump in the water because it is full of jelly fish.

Permits

In order for us to sail to the outer atolls we have to obtain inter-island permits.   Well, evidently we have to receive permission from the local government of every atoll we want to visit.  We visit the MOCIA (Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs) office to complete 9 applications each with various associated fees that are paid to the local mayor upon arrival at the atoll.

Typically, we don’t like to have a schedule or a set plan.  However, we are forced to come up with an outline of a schedule and plan in order to get the permits.  We can only get the permits in Majuro and we do not plan to return here until we clear out of the country in March.

So, our “rough plan” is to make a giant circle around the two island chains.  We only have 3.5 months to explore so we have to manage our time at each place.  

The Plan and Schedule

We will spend roughly two weeks at each of these atolls: Maloeap, Wotje, Likeiep, and Ailuk.  This will be a slow northwest journey starting at Majuro and ending at the most NW atolls.

We will then head to Rongerik, Rongelap, and Alinginae where we will spend 1.5-2 months. If we can, we may stop at the famous Bikini Atoll where the U.S. detonated 23 nuclear devices between 1946-1958.  

From here we will search for the elusive weather window back to Majuro.  Evidently, during January-March it is very difficult to sail in this direction.  We may try to go straight to Majuro or we may try to go to Wotho, Kwajalein and Namu (which are south) before heading east to Majuro.  We applied for permits to all of these atolls to keep our options open.

Kwajalein is a military outpost and we have to find a sponsor to be able to visit this unique atoll.  We are searching for one with the hopes of being able to visit.

Best laid plans in sand during low tide….which means it can and probably will all change.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred during the last week of September 2024.  Check out our 1300 mile passage from Vanuatu to the Marshall Islands in our last blog post.

Ambae a Volcanic Island

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Ambae, also known as Aoba is an active volcanic island.  Ambae is an exceptionally beautiful island and is known for its legendary disappearing act.  On rare days, you can see the beautiful island rising from the ocean in the early morning light.  But as the sun climbs higher, the island quickly disappears behind a glare of sea haze.

Ambae Island is home to one of the seven active volcanoes in Vanuatu, Lake Manaro Volcano. The level 2 active Lake Manaro summit and volcano is about 3000 – 4000 feet above sea level. 

There is an anchorage at the northern tip of the island called Lolowai Bay which is actually an old caldera.  We can only enter this beautiful bay at high tide as we have to cross over the submerged northern wall of the caldera.  Once inside we are blessed with truly beautiful conditions and gorgeous, clear turquoise waters.  The surrounding cliffs are rich in colors as they jet from the water up to the sky.

Even though this is a fairly calm anchorage it was not super peaceful.  We arrived on Friday later afternoon and ended up leaving on Sunday early morning.  As it would happen, four different supply ships were dropping off and picking up during our short 2 day visit.  Not surprising as this is the business center of the province, but a little disappointing as the locals zipped around the anchorage most of the day and night.

Manaro Volcano

The Manaro volcano is pretty active and constantly monitored by a live web cam and seismological charts. The summit is 1,496 metres (4,908 ft) above sea level and about 3,900m (12,800 ft) above the sea floor.    

According to indigenous custom Chief Virenaliu Paul Vuhu, the summit’s valley and lakes are considered `the “sacred place and paradise” where they believe after death, their spirits go to live happily ever after.

The entire population of 11,000 residents were evacuated during its last eruption which started in September 2017 and had after effects well into September 2018.

There are several “lakes” on Ambae which were formed by volcanic cones and filled with fresh water.  We happened to anchor inside one and fairly close next to 2 of them on shore.  So, Matt and I decided we needed to go check them out.

In the bottom right photo, you will see the anchorage is one caldera, the lake on the right is another and then there is a cluster of lakes that make up a third caldera.

A 8.1 mile Loop 

The plan was to walk from the anchorage, which is between 3 and 4 (closer to three) clockwise to the airport and back around.  It looked like there was a road on maps.me so it should not be “too difficult.”  We could have cut it short at Lovatumemea but we were feeling “jiggy” and continued on.

We were enjoying the beautiful views so much that we actually missed the turn off for the first lake. Unfortunately, we did not realize it until we were already several miles past it.  We opted not to backtrack since this was already going to be a long walk.

But the views were lovely and the breeze was so appreciated as it was a really hot day.

At the very tip of the island we came to these beautiful cliffs.  We heard some chatter and decided to carefully look below.  To our surprise, there were two young boys trying to bring up a tire.  What the heck?  Where are there parents?  Yikes.  It doesn’t look that scary in the photo, but let me tell you it was no place for children.

We made it to the airport and followed the dirt trail that ran parallel to the runway.  We toyed with the idea of walking on the runway (I know, not legal, but still thrilling).  Our thinking was that there is only one flight per week that comes here and both airlines were operating on limited flights (one fighting bankruptcy and the other recovering from a fatal plane crash).

Thank goodness we did not do that as a few minutes later we heard the roar of an airplane.  What are the odds? Seriously?

In the end, we walked over 8.1 miles or 13 kilometers around the northern tip of Ambae.  It was a little longer than we both anticipated. I had one small bottle of water and no food.  We enjoyed a well deserved rest once we got back to the boat.

Intruder Alert

It has been a very, very long time since we had intruders onboard.  We try to be very vigilant by locking all hatches and doors and stowing our belongings.  We try not to leave anything in the cockpit or on the life lines that might provide an “opportunity” for thieves.

However, we noticed footprints in our cockpit when we returned from our long walk around Ambae.  Normally our boat is pretty clean so seeing footprints in the cockpit leading up to the bow is not normal.  We later checked our security camera and found out that two teenage boys boarded Sugar Shack uninvited.  Lucky for us they did not take anything but it still was a violation.

The irritating thing was that we saw these two boys on shore as they were trying to pull their white canoe into the water.  We waived and said “hello” just as they were heading out to illegally board our boat.

The camera captured one kid’s face and the body of the other. We left early the next morning so we did not get a chance to report it to the police or the chief.  Not that they would have done anything about it but I would have liked to scare the pants off these kids.

This is the 6th incident that we know of here in Vanuatu this year.  Of course there are many others that we don’t know about.  But we were lucky as nothing was missing or stolen.  Just a reminder to stay aware of your surroundings, take all precautions, and lock everything up.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post on Ambae occurred in early September.  Visit the scintillating island of Santo in our last blog post.