Marshall Islands Internet

For a country so tied to the US, I had rather assumed that the Marshalls would have decent internet connections. It is the worst I’ve seen in the pacific by a long shot. I’ve been almost everywhere in the pacific so I got an idea for how expensive and slow it is to get online. …

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Majuro

I stated in one of my entries from Tonga that it was my first time on a coral atoll. That should be corrected. The main island of Tonga, Tongatapu, isn’t at true coral atoll. It is a raised atoll. It is flat like an atoll, but it is not the classic ring shaped one dimensional …

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A Micronesia Moment

I haven’t had an internet connection this week and I’m currently on a dial up, so this will be short. Micronesia has been one of the highlights of my trip so far. I’ve been living in grass shacks, eating fruit off the trees, diving, hiking in the rainforest and living life like it was a …

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Caesar in Ponhpei

When you travel on the seat of your pants like I do (not booking far in advance and doing things at the last minute) there is always the risk of not being able to go somewhere at the time you want. The biggest risk is running into a busy weekend or a convention and there …

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McPacific America

I’m lumping McDonald’s for Hawaii, Guam and Saipan all together. They are pretty much the same and all share the one unique thing I find interesting. The McDonalds in Waikiki did something I liked an haven’t seen anywhere else. They gave you a free package of diced pineapple with every meal: breakfast or dinner. It …

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Bungle in the Jungle: Day 2

Read part one of my Rennell adventure here. The “tourism” business on Rennell is informal to say the least. Not only was I the only real tourist on the island, but I really didn’t know how I could go about exploring the lake and the island once I was there. There are obviously no cars …

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The Mouse That Roared

I know you are all probably following along at home, but in case you didn’t know, the 2007 Pacific Games have started in Apia, Samoa. This has actually been a big deal everywhere I’ve been this summer. In Samoa, all the streets in Apia had banners for the games and every day in the paper …

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Final Thoughts on Guam

As I previously mentioned, I had no preconceived notions about Guam. Having nothing to compare it with, I sort of used American Samoa as a benchmark. American Samoa is a US territory, but it seems very subdued about it. You will see American flags flying here and there in American Samoa, but it is first …

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The Road to Saipan

I’m off to Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marinas Islands in a few hours. I have my flights booked through to October 3, so the month of September is locked up. Here is my schedule: August 31: Saipan, CNMI Sept. 3: Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) Sept. 5: Pohnpei, FSM Sept. 7: …

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