I got back on the United Airlines island hopper on 1st March and travelled one stop further east to Pohnpei, another state in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It’s a much larger island than Chuuk and rather more developed. The people are just as friendly though, with one man calling my hotel from the airport to make sure my pickup was on its way, and a woman giving me a traditional headdress (lei) as a gift. My hotel, Mangrove Bay Resort, was probably the nicest place I’ve stayed at so far. It only has eight rooms and all of them are directly over the ocean with stunning views of the bay. Beyond the entrance to the bay, waves can just about be seen breaking over the coral reef. It’s clear why this place is so popular with surfers! I made a little pen sketch of part of the view on my final evening:

One of the reasons I choose the hotel (from admittedly very limited options) was the fact that it has a dive and surf shop on site. I went to see the owner, Allois from Brazil, straight away and talked through some options for my stay. It’s not possible to surf there as a beginner and I had to wait a couple of days for the weather and currents to be suitable for diving. As an alternative, Allois took me out snorkelling on his day off and I also watched him surf for a bit (he was rather good!). The snorkelling was great, despite fairly strong currents, and I saw a lot of different tropical fish. It’s a shame I forgot to put the battery in my underwater camera! I remembered to do so for the four dives I did in the following days.

The first day’s diving was a bit average, or “terrible for Pohnpei” in the words of our guide, who unfortunately developed the bends that day and is currently being treated in hospital in Chuuk. As a result, we had a different dive guide, Mike, on the second day. The diving was significantly better and we saw even more sea life, including a turtle, shark, Moray eel and some beautiful corals. My photos from the diving weren’t that great – I’m still figuring out how to best use my new camera – but I did manage to take one of the turtle.

I also picked up a couple of nice shells as mementoes. Mike noticed me collecting the shells and offered me an absolutely incredible giant triton (or “Trident”!) shell as a gift. He didn’t want anything in return and I was blown away by his generosity. Now, I just need to get it home in one piece so it can take up pride of place on my display shelf next to the shell of a similar size that I was given as a gift on a beach in the Gambia back in 2015.

On my final morning in Pohnpei, I just about managed to fit in a trip to the famous ancient site of Nan Madol. These ruins, which are over 2,000 years old, were the capital of an ancient Micronesian civilisation. Just as with the Egyptian pyramids, how and why this impressive site was constructed is still unclear. There are several theories and legends about how its builders managed to haul the gigantic stones into place, including that they were levitated using sound waves or hauled into place by dragons! I personally think a large amount of forced labour is a more likely explanation, but questions remain.

My guide, Franky, drove me around the island to reach the ruins, which took much longer than it should due to the poor state of the roads. We then followed a rough path through mangrove swamps, paid a few dollars to a couple of local families who own the land we crossed, and waded through a shallow lagoon to reach one part of Nan Madol (which is extensive and only visible in full by boat). This is a world-class archeological marvel, sometimes called the eighth wonder of the world, yet we were the only people there! The idea of there being a museum or visitor centre on site is faintly ludicrous in such a remote and impoverished location. However, it was absolutely mind-blowing and a definite “must-see” if visiting Pohnpei.

All in all, I thought Micronesia was a very interesting and under-the-radar destination (apart from the wreck diving in Chuuk, which is world famous). Its tourism industry is in its infancy and you can’t rely on people turning up on time (if at all) or access to western products that we normally take for granted. Customer service is very inconsistent but many locals go out of their way to help, and I was dropped home free of charge on more than one occasion. The food was, again, quite inconsistent and there’s certainly no fine dining scene – but I did have some lovely meals and fresh fish is almost always on the menu. My sunburn has gradually healed, with one day’s setback when I got windburnt on the boat, but I still haven’t been able to find any western aftersun. With all that said, the remoteness of the country is part of its charm and some locals seemed genuinely amazed and delighted to meet someone from as far away as the UK. Of those I spoke to, none had visited Europe and a few had never left Micronesia.

I left Pohnpei yesterday to resume my journey on the island hopper to Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands. This may well be the strangest place I’ve visited so far, and it’s even hotter than Micronesia. More soon!

Cross-stitch progress update (ft. background breadfruit tree)