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Published: September 3rd 2023
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I have to admit it. I've been on TB since 2007. TB is a good 20 years now...and yes, if you try to find a blog about Marshall Islands, you will not find one! Would have thought it could be the case for Tuvalu or Nauru, but it's actually Marshall without one...I guess this may be the only UN nation left in this case on TB.
So here it is, the first blog on TB about Marshall Islands! Brand new country too, as they gained independence only in 1986! After all, the US blew up the full atoll of Bikini from 1946 to 1958. The atoll is only around 500kms from the capital, Majuro. There is actually a dive liveaboard running 6 months per year in the Bikini, it's just not yet on my wish-list and a little over budget for me! This is one of the only two places in the world where you can dive a sunken aircraft carrier, in this case, I name the USS Saratoga!
Organizing a trip here is already a challenge. You simply cannot book accommodation online. So you first send an email...don't receive a reply...make a phone call...and
then hope for an email confirmation!
I arrived on time on United. Trust me, being on time in the region is not a given! It was raining, but the smiles were around. 42,000 people live in the Marshall Islands, 27,000 of them on the Island of Majuro, the Capital. The atoll island is 42 kms by a maximum of 400 meters. So there is one main road, and a lot of cars on it!
This place has been financially supported big time by the US, and it is also one of the few little countries still recognizing Taipei instead of Beijing! This clearly shows around!
Due to the very limited amount of flights in and out of here, I'm staying five nights in Majuro, staying at Robert Reimers hotel. You won't find much about this place on internet. I was happy to discover a clean and in decent condition room. Price wise, welcome to a part of the world where everything has to be brought in, so nothing is cheap beside tuna poke or sashimi!
There is no golf here, so the aim is obviously to try to
dive. This is a challenge as there is not a single dive center open here in August. I knew about it before landing. The divers are staying in the hotel, they claim they are trying to open a dive center...but after being here over 2 months, they claim they have dived once and been screwed by few tens of thousands of dollars by a little resort on an outer island. This won't work with them. Bumped into an American in the restaurant with a dive t-shirt. he put me in contact with a foreign girl living here and diver too...but she is working during the week and I'm leaving on Friday. Well, she knows a guy that could help. I contact Matt...he tells me he is in Florida, but has a guy who can bring me out...but no reply from his friend for 48 hours. Thursday morning, I believe, oh well, it's over! 9am message in with a phone number...contact the guy, and by 12pm I'm getting ready for a single dive in Downtown Majuro. Mission accomplished! We went down to 18 meters...with a lot of trash, but I did dive Marshall Islands!
You are going to ask, what
else do you do in 5 days. Simple, first day, I walk to the right...few kilometers and came back with one of those taxi that you share with a ride at 1.5usd. The next day, I walk to the left....till the end of the island and once again return by taxi.
There is a single beach on Majuro. it is at the right end of the island, 40kms from Majuro. I checked on internet, a bus is going there, but there is no schedule. The reception at Robert Reimers tell me to forget about the bus and rent a car...65usd for a day. Well...it is actually not a bus, but a 7 seaters car that is going once 9 people are packed in. I found it....it was empty...came back 25 minutes later, waited for 20 minutes and I was on my way to Laura Beach. Check the pictures, the place looks decent, but the water, is packed with rubbish...I'm not going to swim in this!
So here it is, the main issue about Marshall is the trash. It's everywhere! We speak about global warming, but it seems the locals here, even with a place maximum 2-3
meters high, don't seem to care. Single used plastics are everywhere...given to you till you refuse them. the main road is in a constant state of traffic jam! Why so many cars for such a small place? They clearly don't have any idea how to clean their act. Sad sad sadd, but it's a little bit like this all over the Pacific. Beautiful islands are simply turned into open-air trash!
Hope you enjoy the pictures! I deliberately didn't put trash pictures on every single of them! Marshall Islands, I've dived my 64th country...next, 60 minutes South!
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