Weekend Standard Program: Beach and Hiking

Nihco Beach Resort

It sounds like a posh, fancy place, but actually Nihco Beach is more a Barbecue and Picnic Spot for Expats and Locals. On a shallow lagoon beach some bigger spots have been created with Coral sand material and huts of several sizes are set up. It is reachable by a 10 minutes drive by taxi (2USD) and costs 1,50 USD entry fee. If you want to rent a hut it could be more. We went there for the Saturday afternoon with a small group of Philippinos. It is nice to see the children playing on the beach, but I was surprised how unsure some children were in the water, 8-year-olds even wore life vests. The sea temperature is about 28 degrees, so no refreshing effect whatsoever when you jump in. None of the kids is actually having beachwear in the water. It is not appropriate to show that much of your body. So mostly over the bikini one wears board-shorts and a T-shirt. Whereby it was sort of okay to have only shorts and a bikini top in Papua New Guinea, here the shorts have to be at least knee-length and a shirt is obligatory.

Sunday hike:

If you see the photos you might start to ask yourself: is she actually doing much else than running around in the jungle?!?! Well, I think I got by now quite proficient in climbing jungle zones and it is a good workout for a Sunday afternoon.

It is an activity organized by a number of peace corps people, happening on a regular base. And frankly, there is not that much else you could do here… At least if you want to be active. So we climbed a hill about 30mins out of Kolonia. It was a bit longer than I was expecting, in total it took us 4 hours straight hiking to get to the top and come down again. But it's awesome to have the jungle right at your doorstep.

At the summit we had the ubiquitous Japanese war remains, but no view as clouds had covered the top. Still, the nature is stunning and I just can't get enough of those "Frauke in the Jungle"-photos…

Everyday life part I: Taxi driving, Sakau and Sashimi

A Taxi drive experience in Pohnpei

Taxis are the only public transport in Pohnpei. The fare is standard 1 USD within Kolonia and 2 USD for the closer area (ca 10miles). Price is per person and the taxis collect several passengers for their journeys.

Price question: would you think it is enough time to call a taxi 45 minutes in advance of your appointment which is in Palikir, 6 miles from Kolonia?

I thought so, too. I called the Taxi service at 8:45 and asked to be picked up at MicSem going to College of Micronesia, National Campus, in Palikir. Ok.

After waiting for over 10 minutes I called the taxi company again at 8:58 AM:

Frauke: "Hi there, I called a while ago and I want to go to Palikir from MicSem. Are you guys coming at all?"

Taxi-woman: "ahm, the road to MicSem is very bumpy and not easy to drive."

Frauke: "right – what does that mean? You can't come to pick me up then?"

Taxi-woman: "First I want to ask if ok to pay three dollars then"

Frauke: "sure." (and without me calling you would not have been able to ask the question, hence I would've been waiting forever...?!)

Taxi-woman: "then we will send a car."

Frauke: "Kahlangen (thanks in Pohnpeian). But would it be quicker when I wait at the catholic church?"

Taxi-woman: "Yes, and only 2 dollars."

Frauke: "ok, will wait there"

I stood at the church for another 10 minutes and then called again, 09:10 AM:

Frauke: "hi – sorry to bother you again, I am here waiting at the catholic church. Is any driver going to come?"

Taxi-woman: "yes, he is now at the hospital" (3mins away)

Frauke: "okay, thanks I'll wait here"

At 09:20 AM I already had to control my temper with all my forces:

Frauke: "hey – it's me – the menwai girl at the catholic church. Are you sure that somebody will come to pick me up still?"

Taxi-woman: "Yes, the driver is now at COM, Kolonia Campus" (2,5 minutes away – what on earth did he do the last 10 minutes?!)

Frauke: "you're sure?"

Taxi-woman: "yes."

At 09:30 AM, I was already having my mobile ready to call again, eventually the taxi arrived.

The driver was a smiling young guy with nice Micronesian Island beats roaring from his radio and two other women as passengers who welcomed me with a "kaselehlie". I decided that I will forget my bad mood, get over the fact that the lecture will not happen today and tried to enjoy the scenery. And that was a very wise move, because our next stop was at another place in Kolonia, where we picked up a man with firewood. But not in an organized bundle, he had 100 single sticks. The trunk of the taxi then was loaded with all time of the world, and finally the man joined us two girls sitting at the back. So we drove peacefully out of Kolonia, fully (over-)loaded but with good music and at every junction stop the doors (except mine) opened so that the passengers can spit out their beetlenut-chew. Of course we also stopped at the petrol station to fuel up for 3 USD and were finally on the island road. On half way towards Palikir the firewood-man was dropped off, and with all care (and time) the firewood was unloaded. Arriving in Palikir we first drove to the National Government Complex to drop of one of the passenger, stopped then at a kiosk to get some cigarettes and eventually arrived at COM Campus around 10:10 AM – only 40 minutes too late!

When I arrived at the classroom surprisingly more than half of the students were still present, so that we could hold the lecture. But really , I think this is a proof of my adaption to Pacific ways of life – in Germany I would have SIMPLY GONE MAD!!!

Barbecue with Sacau, Sashimi and Reef-fish

I was invited to join a Barbecue from Jhun and Rea's colleagues; a colourful mixture of Philippinos and Locals, Pohnpeians and Chuukese. I was present for the Europeans. There was a huge food pile prepared from local food, such as bread fruit, yams pounded with coconut, cooking banana, tapioca, pandanut fruit and some "normal" things like rice, potato salad and Phillippino-style-Pancit. Outside Barbecue was prepared with different meat and –yummy- fresh reef fish. Tuna Sashimi (raw tuna slices that you eat pure with soy sauce and wasabi) are present at every dinner here in Pohnpei and I really like it.

The traditional drink in Pohnpei (and across Micronesia) is sakau – a non alcoholic psychoactive drink. Its biological name is piper methysticum and the more commonly known variant is the Fiji Kava. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kava)

It is prepared from meshed roots of the sakau plant. The roots are pressed out with fresh water, which creates a kakao-milk coloured, slimey liquid. It is sold on the street for 2 usd per bottle, or you go to sakau markets, where you pay 5 usd entry fee and can drink then as much as you like.

At the barbecue I also tried my first sakau. It tastes bitter, like grass mixed with a good chew of leaves, not my favourite taste. But the effect is interesting: it makes the mouth numb, like swallowing a dolo-dobendan or strepsils when you got a sore throat. After a couple of glasses the feeling is similar to alcohol, but according to the locals it makes you peacefully happy and sleepy. Not like Alkohol, and it's not recommended to mix sakau and alcohol. Really interesting stuff – would not drink it more than once every couple of weeks though. My stomach didn't like it too much, hard to imagine that some locals drink it every night.

On top of the island: climbing Nanah Laud

The highest "mountain" on Pohnpei is Nanah Laud with 778metres above sea level. This fact does not sound too exciting or challenging. Yet it lies right in the middle of the island and is only accessible through thick rainforest in a 2-day hike.

So on Saturday early morning our international crew consisting of Daniela from Austria, Jo from the US, Jhun from the Philippines and myself off towards a small village in the southern part of Pohnpei. On our way we picked up Wawah and Drivingzen, two young Pohnpeians, who wanted to climb with us together. In Sapalwuk we left our car and went to the house of the family who will guide us for the weekend. They are well acquainted with Daniela, who works as a missionary in the Pre-School in Kolonia. At about 9:30 AM we took off with a group of local boys, the rest was said to come later.

The weather was alright and in the beginning I did not quite understand why people said the hike was so hard. The trail led through a marvelous jungle-scenery, we crossed small creeks and stood on top of various waterfalls. But after an hour the ground was merely an endless row of irregular rocks, covered with moss or overgrown by plants. It is impossible to tell which of the rocks will give your feet good grip and which ones are slippery. So it started to be more of a stumble then a hike. The creeks also got deeper and everybody had fully soaked boots. Well, at least us, the menwai. All the locals were jumping along the path in flip-flops with an incredible security on where to put their feet without ever slipping. When we were exhausted asking for a longer break after 3 hours our guides and the kids gave us a look between pity and annoyance. I started to feel my respect for the nature on this island and also for its local population, who, despite all western influences still cultivate skills and practices where we city kids just completely fail. Our younger guides, some of them not older than 14 years found the trail like a duck takes to water, meanwhile I already got off into the jungle when I lost sight of the group for two minutes.

The last part of Saturday's hike went then up into higher mountain terrain – all on these rocks, tree-roots and swampy creeks. This means you have to concentrate on every step you take, always ready to compensate and re-balance. This is what makes the hike challenging, not the distance. On steeper parts we had to climb on hands and it got even more slippery when rain started. I was already starting to feel very tired – easy recognizable by my grumbling mood and comments, getting frustrated that my body did not quite want to do anymore what I required – when we suddenly reached our destination for the night: a gorgeous cliff-hang-over, which forms a big open cave and provides excellent shelter from wind and rain. Wh at a location, nature is a great architect!

The guys were cutting big palm leaves and laid them on the floor as some sort of natural insulation mattress and started to light a fire. The dinner of the day was a rice with two small chicken, of which Jay picked off the feathers. The meal is served on banana-leaves and Pohnpeians eat with their fingers. Water we got from a close by creek and we did not have any stomach issues. The evening was nice and quiet, we all spread out across the available space, Pohnpeians, Menwai – all mixed – and we even started to sing some songs together. Around 8 pm heavy rain started and continued throughout the entire night.

In the morning at 7 the first ones got up again and lit a fire to cook some rice and palm hearts-makerel curry for breakfast. We e ven got some hot water for a coffee.

In the beginning we were not thinking of going up to the top – I was simply frightened of the slippery surface after all that rain. And it was still very cloudy, not promising a good view. But our young companions were eager to reach the top and we let us being motivated by the youth. When we set off for the summit I was not really convinced it was a good idea. The climb was on rocks, sometimes risky and rain was powering on my face. While almost blindly following Jay's flip-flops in front of my eyes, which seemed to fly up those rocks, I was mumbling to myself that I really was not sure if I was enjoying this moment. But when we reached the top all of this vanished. Just reaching the point which marks the middle of the island is already nice, but then the clouds cleared up eventually and permitted us a breathtaking view all across the island. We saw Kolonia, Nan Madol and the outer reef with its small islands lined up along. What a view!!! So nice!!! And of course we did a massive photo session there!

Strengthened by these impressions we began with the hike down. This time we took a different path, less rocky, but much muddier and also slippery. But as soon as I accepted the fact that my clothes will never reach the status "clean" again and I will arrive much dirtier at home than in my most glorious times in the mud-corner of the local playground during elementary school, I found it really enjoyable. And one develops a real skill in sliding down muddy patches… The style of the jungle changed over time, we saw stunning tree formations and were all in a good mood.

However, we were a bit slower than the locals had estimated and so we walked the last part in darkness, my legs only mechanically executing a movement rather than controlling the steps. But at 7 pm we reached Sapalwuk all safely, proud and happy. I think also the guys have enjoyed the time with us and greeted us warmly for farewell.

Once at home I resumed my last powers to wash off the mud from my body and realized that my legs and arms were full of scratches. I had hardly noticed this earlier. Although my mind was in a high-fly-trip I fell asleep as soon as I hit the mattress…

New Year’s celebration on Black Coral Island

This year 2009 has featured without any doubt the most exciting 365 days in a row I ever had so far!

When you start off the year in the desert of Namibia with your family, live in Madrid for 5 months, Papua New Guinea for another 5 months, travel through Australia /South Asia to make a Micronesian Island your home for the last month of the year – what could possibly be a decent setting for the New Year Eve??

Answer: a celebration on a private island of 80x30metres with a wonderful group of international people.

I was invited by Ute and her family to join them for this event. After securing the necessary supplies and organizing some camping equipment we left on Wednesday, December 30^th to the southern coast of Pohnpei and went by boat to this small island about 5 km off Pohnpei. If you ever wonder where you can rent your own island for 10USD per person and night – well, come to Micronesia…

Black Coral is has three wooden huts to sleep in, a cook house and a bigger noss for hanging out in the midday heat. Toilets are operated with sea water and rain water tanks supply for showers and washing dishes. It is surrounded by a coral reef and has many trees and palms to supply shadow during the day.

The place is like in a picture book and as we had sunshine almost all the time during these three days it was close to a dream setting. For meals everybody provided a dish which was more than enough; the rest of the evenings where spent with nice conversations and some games. As one Australian family had three younger kids I tried my all-time favorite game "Grummeln", which I think was a good success.

The group was very international with people from the US, Brazil, Australia, Germany and even Camerun. You can imagine that I enjoyed the conversations and discussions, which made the time fly by. Although I missed my family and friends a bit it was a very nice new year's evening!

And to be honest: It's not too bad to start the year with snorkeling and sun bathing!

I stayed for three nights at Black Coral and went back to Kolonia by boat along the Pohnpei coast line and through a mangrove forrest. Really cool time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU AND ALL THE BEST FOR 2010!!