Blogs from Marshall Islands, Oceania

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 ... read more

Sunday 20.2 Eneko, Majuro Atol, Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean The Robert Reimers Tide Table Restaurant is great. It is at the RRE hotel where we are staying - everybody do. Not much is happening in Majuro, but much seems to have changed since the 2003 Moon handbook where it was described as a 'slum' - it is not. Everybody on these islands speaks English, but still, it is obvious that it is not their first language. We ordered oatmeal for Johanne, but got cornflakes, which she tried to make us accept. Something similar happened to a woman at the next table. Most visitors here are on business, it seemed we were the only tourists here. It was mostly clouded today, but we were still looking much forward to the trip to Eneko – one of the ... read more

Who has heard of the Marshall Islands? You? Really?!? I had no idea about them, but apparently one of the islands has an Army base on it. It's called Kwajalein. So, this blog happens to say Majuro, Kwaj (as we called it) isn't listed. Jay had been there many times and was able to tell me about the great diving they have there. There is a large stray population and he occasionally goes out to make a difference. Oh, and there are also some military families and contractors with animals that he can see as well. I must say, it was such a bizarre thing to see the Army having ships, but they did! The pilot that came on board to get us into the atoll was an Army gal, dressed in khaki shorts and a ... read more

After a wonderfully pleasant stop-over in sunny Hawaii, I arrived in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the capital of Majuro to be precise, to be greeted by torrential rain. Hang-on a minute, I thought, aren't I still pretty close to the Equator? Where's the sun? Nevermind, I knew my visit was going to be short and mainly work related, so I didn't have high hopes of seeing the sights this time round. And I was right. Apart from being put off by frequent and substantial bouts of tropical rain, I was in and out of offices for most of the first four days, with hardly a chance to poke my nose outdoors in between. At least I had been recommended a very good hotel to stay in, Robert Reimers, which was excellent. The best ... read more