LAMOTREK AND POHNPEI, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA 2012
Mike at Lamotrek Lagoon - fresh garlands every day for the visitors.
Garland detail.
A few strands of leaf make a beatiful adornment.
Pounding taro for puberty feast.
Sun shade.
Ellen does Gay's hair.
Still more garlands - we were given 19 by various friends on the day we left .
Norma, Mary's grand daughter - what can I say, just georgeous.
Stranding the bananna fibres into threads, and knotting together.
Wreckage from world war 2 Japanese float planes.
Lucky Star sails back from Elato with a catch of 5 turtles for Easter feast. These canoes are ocean going between the islands.
Fish trap made using long line nylon salvaged from a wrecked fishing boat.
Always a crowd of willing youngsters to help launch the dinghy - often followed by a dinghy trip around the bay.
Chief Manuel & Thomas thank the yachties for their assistance on the island - trade goods, food, fishing gear, fix solar panels, regulator & battery for dispensary (2 way) radio, fix valves on water tanks, charge laptops, donate dvd's, & take hand made rope, lavalavas, turtle meat & eggs to Yap.
Typical Island dress. Lots of lying in hammocks after the day's fishing.
Showing off the boat.
Expeditus at anchor, Sokens rock, Pohnpei.
Nan Madol, Pohnpei.
Stones worn down from pounding Sakau (kava) powder.
Manta ray surfacing - upside down in a feeding loop, (in rain). Half a dozen mantas performed endless loops alongside each other in the water, feeding on plankton.
Melody, Angel, and Mary enjoy a cool drink on Expeditus. This would be the first time in their lives that they have drank anything cool. Computer fan is our air conditioning.
Gay gets made up island style by Francis Mary..
Men return from fishing waving flags, shouting & singing about their good catch. Women sing and dance on the beach saying we don't need your fish we have plenty of breadfruit & taro. Part of 4 day puberty celebrations.
What is it with the fingers???
Boys at swimming hole.
More garlands
Russel & Mary at Mary's cooking house. Open fire, sittiing on the floor to cook.
Scraping bananna bark fibre with a pearl shell to get rid of pulp.
A completed bananna fibre lavalava - 5 weeks work.
Esterline & babe.
Perfect lagoon at Lamotrek, calm,water & 100 ft visibility.
Unloading turtles from Lucky Star.
Another style of garland.
Gay with her gift of hand made coconut fibre rope and lavalava. These are made on backstrap looms - generally several in each household. Spare lavalavas are sold in Yap for $25, & bananna or hibiscus fibre lavalavas fetch about $50. Local ship comes about every 3 or 4 months and takes goods for sale to Yap, but could be over a year between visits.
Ester weaves a basket for Gay.
Lamotrek sunset.
Nan Madol ruins, Pohnpei - 100 man made islands and stone structures up to 8 metres tall.
Nan Madol.
Big Sakau stone, Nan Madol.
Manta surfaces under the dinghy, belly up,near Nan Madol.