Yesterday we arrived at the Jokaj entrance to Pohnpei in the early afternoon. The entry through the reef is well marked with a pair of vertically striped sight markers, a shorter one in the foreground and one taller one a distance behind it. When one lines up the markers and keeps them lined up, the course through the reef is safely indicated. Once inside, a dog leg to the left and then right are well marked with numbered pole markers, although several rusting wrecks act as dramatic examples of where not to go along the way. Again we had Wade at the bow, Dave on the binoculars spotting marker numbers, and Roger on the roof spotting coral heads with yours truly at the wheel. Spoke to Pohnpei control and we docked at the government pier nestled amid 4 huge tuna seiners, each with Hughs 500 C model helicopters strapped on their foredecks to spot fish. (Thanks for chopper I.D. to my search and rescue buddies)(did you think that was in my own fund of knowledge?) Unfortunately, all of the necessary agents were not available on a Sunday afternoon so we were relegated to spend the night on a concrete pier as we had not passed quarantine, customs, and immigration. Technically, one is not allowed off the boat, although a bunch of Taiwanese and Vietnamese fishing crew from the tuna boats gathered around Shearwater and excitedly asked in limited English and sign language about the boat, our route, the paravanes, and admired our fishing tackle. As nice as it is, it is hardly as effective as these huge seiners who are depleting tuna stocks in this region drastically, but that discussion is for another time. We declared a movie night and set up a 2 TB Hard drive packed with films and with snacks and drinks we settled in for 3 feature films. On one extreme was "Love is a many splendored thing", a dated amusing film shot in old Hong Kong whose vistas were fun to compare to the modern city. Lest you worry that we were becoming too sensitive, on the other extreme was "Dirty Harry 5", an earlier example of when Clint should have known better.


The next morning, another can of spam was sacrificed with cheesy eggs in honor of our island arrival. Officials arrived in droves and apologized for our wait and in a short while we cast off our lines and navigated around coral heads to the anchorage. We set the hook in 20' of water and headed into shore where there is a nice dinghy dock and met a couple from Kingston, WA, a mile from Wade's house, who have been cruising for 10 years! Leslie teaches Chemistry and nutrition at the local college and was busy repairing their boat's sails under a thatched roof beach shelter in an impressive manner. They were a wealth of information about the island as they have been here since December. While we were at the government dock, a taxi driver named Soster introduced himself and when we arrived on shore, surprise of surprises, he was waiting and drove us on a tour and to the phone store, Coco grill for lunch, and to the main craft center where there are some beautiful wooden carvings and weavings which we will look at more carefully before we leave. Unlike Palau, the island is hilly and there are gorgeous vistas and lush growth everywhere.

John Douglas from Laysan sent me this description in a recent email.
"Now that you are in the shadow of Sokeh rock, please enjoy the last high island of your journey. The scenery there in Pohnpei is truly impressive with one specific hidden gem I must implore you to see, Nan Madol. A series of basalt columns laid on the reef by countless labor men, to create a canal laced city of pyramids, now overgrown with jungle and abandoned, you paddle kayaks silently along imagining the ancients in their glory. It is an Indiana Jones kind of place.

The Village Eco resort is the departure point for a $100 day tour that includes a fast boat ride around the reefs with stops for manta ray snorkeling and hiking to a King Kong type waterfall and a lunch. But the best part is Nan Madol. It is UNESCO world heritage awesome, and nobody is there."

Sounds like a plan!