Yesterday was a good travelling day. It was very overcast but the wind had died overnight so the ocean between Maloelap and Wotje atolls was good. It took us 10 hours to travel from one anchorage to our new one just off the north quay next to the main village of Wotje. It rained on arrival and throughout the evening. There is a weather system sitting over us at the moment giving us frequent heavy squalls. The water here has fewer coral heads than the last 2 atolls. We anchored in sand.

This morning Bud, Bubba and I went ashore to find the Acting Mayor, Ejjo Kiotau. Bud met the Mayor, Miles Parton Phillip in Majuro. He told us to pay Ejjo the $50 permission fee and to ask for Ray at the MEC power station to see if anyone was available to give us a tour of the island and the Japanese relics by pickup. Fortunately for us, Parton Phillib was free to drive us in the MEC vehicle, so at midday we returned with Andy and had an interesting afternoon being shown the Japanese relics including their old power station, torpedo racks, gun in placements as well as the Marshallese way of living, their beautiful weekend beach where they go to picnic, BBQ, relax and swim. We were taken to the very south end of Wotje which Ray said is called 'London'! The north end of the island is not called 'New York'.

We were shown the island's airstrip. Two locals look after it having sit on lawn mowers to keep the 'grass' short for the weekly flight from / to Majuro on Thursday. It can take 17 passengers. Bomb craters have created pools for fresh water (laundry only, not drinking water). There is only one small lake on the island, again used for washing and swimming only. A year ago the islanders got the large run-off tanks I mentioned in a previous post but one is not enough for a family, although they are getting topped up now with all the rain we are having. We joked with them that it is because the English are visiting! Towards the end of our trip we stopped at Parton's family land and collected a large hand of bananas (cut down for us) as well as some limes off another tree. We stopped at another relatives who was given a wicked machete to cut fresh drinking coconuts. Parton cut the top off for us to enjoy the deliciously refreshing coconut water. Finally we stopped at the MEC power station for a guided tour by Ray. The power is generated by a single 6 cylinder diesel generator with a second as a standby. It creates 250kw which is more than the village currently requires. The power station was a gift from Taiwan- Who also happen to have the fishing fleet in the Marshall Islands. Any houses without electricity are given solar panels. The electricity runs 24/7. In the morning Bud bought a cup of coffee at the local store and we found the shack with the pool table next door.

The standard of English is very good. Wotje has an elementary school but also the high school. Students from the local atolls of Aur and Maloelap come to Wotje High School in August remaining until May when they return to their island homes. There are 400 some students at the moment. They live-in from age 12 to 16. Part of Bud's conversation with the Mayor was regarding how important education is. This can be nicely summed up by the High School's moto "Today We Follow, Tomorrow We Lead".

PICTURE: Our tour guides collecting a hand of bananas for us from their tree