Just Add Bubbles

Guilty Pleasures

Within 10 minutes of tying up to the mooring ball at Majuro, we were in the
dinghy and heading for food. After our overnight passage, we were anxious
for some yummy lunch. DAR hit the spot with shrimp chop suey and chicken
chow mein. Yum.

Our overnight passage was pretty uneventful. We went through several
squalls, which we've come to associate with Majuro. There always seem to be
regular squalls as you get closer to this atoll. We always find one or two
day trips a bit painful, because there is no time to get your body into a
sleep rhythm. Try going to bed at 7pm. Not easy. Or staying up half the
night. After our 2nd or 3rd night, we're in the groove and life is good, but
a one night trip always takes a toll. Even if the passage is short, we still
think of the good food we'll eat when the boat stops rocking and hopefully
when someone else is doing the cooking!

After our lunchtime splurge we grabbed some eggs, potstickers, and an
internet card, and returned to the boat for a few hours of zzzzzz's.

Still more to see at Maloelap

We've been in this atoll for 2 weeks and there is still more to see. We
spent the last few days with Savannah at Ollot/Ollet Island, and now we're
back at Taroa Island. Savannah has left for the atoll of Aur, so we're on
our own again.

Today, we ventured out in the dingy to a tiny dot of an island about 1/2 a
mile north. There were a few whitecaps as we crossed to pass between the
islands, but it was an easy, albeit wet, trip. When we arrived, we realized
that the island was so tiny, that we wouldn't see much. We had read there
was a plane on the beach, but it was still buried under the high tide. We
did find the control panel, some aluminum scrap, and the landing gear.
Unfortunately, the beach was rocky, so there was little chance of finding an
intact glass ball, yet we searched the high tide line regardless. We did
find a beautiful conch shell.

In the afternoon, we returned to the village to stroll the beach one more
time, and say our goodbyes. We plan to head to one other uninhabited island
in this atoll, then head back to Majuro. We're in a rush now...John is out
of coffee!

Labels: Maleolap, Marshall Islands, culture, sightseeing, cruisers.

Savannah Joins Us

Our friends on s/v Savannah came to join us at Maloelap. Even though we were holding a piece of their mail hostage, I like to think they came because they wanted to hang out!

Savannah arrives!

We've had a great time hanging out with them again. It's been great catching
up on what we've all been up to since we were last together - we last saw
them in December in Majuro. I've destroyed numerous military bases, rocket
launchers, gun turrets, and even a aircraft carrier as a result of some
serious battles against Jake. He's six. And we're putting a good size dent
into our booze supply with our regular cocktail hours. We've all wandered
around the island, as John provided (once again) his tour guide services of
all the relics we've located here so far.

Touring the junk...

John and Andy dove on a sunken Japanese supply ship. Andy took some amazing
pics, so be sure to check out their blog soon (there is a link on the right
side bar). We've also moved 5 miles to a nearby island of Ollot Island, and
dove on two wrecked Japanese ships. Tomorrow we'll snorkel two Japanese
zeros (fighter planes) nearby.

Jake checks out a stash of old bullets on the beach

Our plans from here are not firm. We're down to our last few potatoes and onions, so I expect we'll head back to Majuro before venturing to any new atolls further north.

Our new position is 8 45N, 171 10E.

Deep Fried Goodness

We heard that our friends on Savannah were going to brave the winds and bash
upwind for two days to come hang out with us here in Maloelap. Yippee!!

So, in honour of their arrival, I thought I'd better try my hand at
deep-frying. They are from the South after all.

In the atoll of Aur, our friend James gave us some bananas and what we
thought were plantains. We don't really know what to do with plantains, but
I have heard that they are delicious when deep fried. So bring on the oil!
I sliced the plantains thinly, dipped them in a pot full of veg oil and
fried em up. Added salt. Yum. Like chips.

That was my test batch.

When Savannah arrived a couple days later, I made them again. But this time
they didn't get crispy. They were much softer. My plantains had ripened.
Monica and Andy listened to my woes, and quickly replied, in unison,
"Double-fry". DOH. OF COURSE!! I should have fried, drained, cooled, then
refried. Hmmmm. I have a lot to learn about deep frying.

They also informed me that they weren't plantains at all, just big bananas.
Oh well. Turns out I like deep fried bananas. Even soft and mushy ones. So
long as they have lots of salt.

Maloelap War Remains

Our first few days at this atoll of Maloelap have been very interesting.
This atoll was a major military base for the Japanese during WWII, and there
are tons of artifacts strewn around the island. At one time over 3000
military personnel were stationed here. Every day we've walked in search of
guns, bunkers, bombs, planes and buildings. And we have not been
disappointed. Some days, the local kids guide us. When they are in school,
we just wander on our own.

 

We've found:
- zeros
- betty bombers
- bunkers
- live artillery shells
- live bombs
- 127 mm howitzers
- machine shop
- generator shed
- hospital building
- large fuel and water tanks
- huge storage areas
- gun emplacements
- sunken ships
- railroads
- air field and runways
- Japanese gravesite or memorial
- rebutments (?) for plane storage

The ground is covered in pits where bombs landed.

And many times, we don't know what we're looking at. The jungle is working
hard to take over the land and conceal all the evidence. Pigs and chickens
dig amidst the rusty relics. Coconuts grown on old buildings. Vines twist
themselves around the guns.

But still...no glass balls.

One of many generators

The locals are using this engine cowling to cover their well

Another boat has arrived here. S/Y Jennifer from Sweden
(www.yacht-jennifer.nu), with 7 people on board. We were treated to a
wonderful dinner aboard yesterday. Today we all tromped through the jungle
on another junk-hunting mission. They are moving quickly and will only be
here another day or two.

From Aur to Maloelap

We woke on departure day to grey clouds and rain. Not the ideal conditions
when traveling across bommie (coral head)-filled lagoons and squeezing
between reefs to enter a new lagoon.

We need bright sunlight for the best visibility through the water in these
areas where coral grows up from the depths in random patterns and with no
warning. These coral heads are also not marked on our charts.
So...with the decline in weather, we decide to stay put and collect water
instead.

Within half an hour, blue appears through the clouds, and the sun is
visible. We change our minds again, and start the labourous chore of hauling
our rusty and heavy chain and anchor. We both comment several times on how
we can't wait to get rid of this chain. Give me nylon rode any day.

The wind is a good 25+ knots and we make our way across the lagoon and out
into the open ocean. The next atoll, Maloelap, is close. Only 30 miles. So a
day trip. But the winds shift, and we find that we are beating into the
strong winds. We end up motor sailing through the frequent squalls that
leave John drenched for most of the day!

We make it through the pass into Maloelap's lagoon early in the afternoon.
They waypoints we'd been given were perfect. It is slow going to cross the
lagoon and we finally make it to our anchorage at 5 pm, during a rain squall
of course.

At Anchor in Maloelap. Photo by SY Jennifer

There is one other boat here, a local fish supply boat, Ms Timur. They will take the fish caught by locals to Majuro for sale and export. From our location, we can see several war relics all around us. A couple of masts
from a wrecked Japanese schooner loom out of the water just south of us. There are guns and bunkers to the North.

This gun is visible from our anchorage

We can see rusted hulks of who-knows-what all over the beach. Looks like lots of exploring to do here.
If you check our position on google earth, you'll see 6 yachts were anchored at this location when the image was taken. Today, it is just us and a local boat. Our position is: 08 42N, 171 13E.

Tabal - Aur

Not sure if I can adequately describe what an amazing time we had at
Tabal-Aur. This is a small island on the north east corner of Aur Atoll. If
you are looking at Google Earth, you can enter our coordinates: 08 18N, 171
09E

We stayed a week, and we have plans to return. In our short week, we've met
many of the locals and the children have taken to following us around on our
"jambos" (walks). I spent a day in Kendra's classroom, teaching the older
kids about Canada and discussing our trip, and reading Dr. Suess to the
younger kids. It was a hoot. We left all the kids with Canada pencils to
remember us by!

We had Kendra out to the boat to share a meal of pork chops, a rarity around
here, and she took advantage of the opportunity to send an email to her
family. Normally, the mail system is unpredictable, and letters can take
months to reach her.

The kids are very interested in the boat, and some were brave enough to ask
that they see the boat. We were unsure how to answer. How can we make it
fair? How do we get the kids to the boat? What about their parents? Is it
safe? In the end, they solved our dilemma for us. The braver kids swam out
to Renova! First, four of the older girls came out on a foam raft with
Kendra. We gave them a tour and some fruit slices.

Then four boys swam out...all clutching to an old deflated fishing float. They made it, and were
treated to some cold juice and apple slices.

 

As always, we must move on. Upon leaving, we were gifted with some wonderful handicrafts made by our new friends. We look forward to returning here next month for their Liberation Day celebrations.

An Eight Coconut Day

Upon our arrival James, the local medical officer here at Tabal, asked John
to look at his outboard engine. No one works on a Sunday, so on Monday John
spent the day with James to troubleshoot the Honda 15hp. John's fiddled with
lots of outboards, and he kept our little Johnston running well past it's
prime. He replaced the carb in our Yamaha, adjusted the points, and now it
runs beautifully, even for me. He's got a gift.

It took all day, but he managed to get that honda running. It had not run in
2 years. James thought it was just a broken impeller, and he had a spare, so
we thought it would be a quick job. But it turned out to need its carb
cleaned, throttle rebuilt, sparks cleaned, coils cleaned, and so on. The new
spark plugs and impeller he had were not suited to the engine. So, even
though it ran, it still needs a new impeller.

He was thanked with a gift of 8 drinking coconuts. YUM. There are two in the
fridge as I write.

Spelling Bee at Aur Atoll

We're out of Majuro and exploring Aur, an atoll about 70 miles north of
Majuro. We're back in South Pacific paradise. Beautiful islets of coconut
trees, sandy beaches, and friendly people.

 

We stopped at the main island of Aur, and paid our respects to the mayor and
did a short 'jambo' (walk-about). When the wind came up, we decided to seek
a calmer anchorage, and meandered north to a small uninhabited islet, where
we stopped for a couple days. We walked the island (no glass balls yet), and
read our books.

We then moved north to the islet of Tabal - where James called us on the vhf
to welcome us to Tabal, and invite us to his home at the local clinic. His
outboard needs some work, so John will give him a hand with repairs on
Monday (Sunday is a rest day). We also met the local World Teach volunteer,
Kendra. She has introduced us to many people here, and invited us to watch
the Spelling Bee, a big local event in celebration of Education Week.

Earlier in the day the school enjoyed a sports day, complete with weaving
competitions. The community was in attendance, and we were treated to a
shared meal of delicious fish and rice after the children had demonstrated
their exceptional spelling skills!

An aggressive game of musical chairs was part of the pre-bee activities

We were invited to share in a feast of fish and rice. John and I were honored to be served the heads. Notice also the awesome plates woven from coconut fronds.

Today is Sunday, so we're heading to church, and we expect a leisurely day
ahead of us.