The joys of tropical island travel. Wanting to get away and travel back off the grid, I took a job on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It seemed like a good idea, at the time.
General Information
Stopping to take a good look at the blog posts while updating the book section of this website, I came to realize that I hadn’t posted anything in so long that most normal people have probably assumed that I died. That opinion is close, funny, but still no cigar.
The truth is rather more mundane. Let’s see, we’ll go with the short version. It all started with a pandemic. LOL! There was COVID, and hen the euphoria that came with the lockdowns, followed by the boredom that came from being locked down. Somewhere at the end of that period in the states, I took a job in Mississippi. (It seemed like a good idea at the time.) Long story short, don’t go (to Mississippi, I mean), it’s a pit of despair … and full of COVID.
After deciding that I’d had enough of that, I actually got COVID. You can’t make this stuff up. But while lying on my couch watching crap on YouTube, I had an interview for a job in an idyllic, island paradise. Tropical island travel? Trade winds and pristine beaches? Sunny days full of fruity drinks? Hell yes, count me in. What could go wrong? So, I shook off the flu and hopped on a plane.
It turns out that a whole host of things could go, maybe not wrong, but definitely sideways. My new job on a desert island in the Pacific Ocean was actually on a rundown military base in the middle of nowhere. I mean literally in the middle of nowhere. One airline flies here, and the cost of traveling is prohibitive. The base is a secure area, so no one else is coming this way. And the remainder of the area directly around me is known in travel circles as the “slums of the pacific”. if you haven’t figured out by now, I’m in the Marshall Islands.
That’s what happens when you make rash decisions, I guess? Anyway, once you look past all of that, it is a tropical paradise. Consistent weather, the trade winds blowing the salt air all about to cool things off, and pristine waters for recreation. Needs to be nice, considering it cost 1850.00 dollar just to fly round trip to Hawaii. And considering it’s a restricted area, there aren’t any crowds. Anybody travelling pre-pandemic can appreciate the lack of crowds to be found these days.
Okay, enough of that. I really wanted to do this blog so I could add video to a blog post. Yes, I plan on more video once I start traveling again. This seemed like a good of a time as any to attempt a little editing and uploading.
I apologize for the vagueness of this post in regard to place and activities, but as I said it’s a restricted military base. If you’re curious you can look it up on google. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy, and I promise better content once I escape this place.
General info: A couple of tid–bits if you happen to be heading toward the Marshalls in general. They require proof of COVID vaccination and are currently (2023-2024) requiring proof of measles vax as well. there is a reoccurring measles outbreak going through the Marshall Islands. I have found that Hawaii customs doesn’t stamp US Passports coming or going from the Marshall Islands (I’m guessing they still think it’s a territory???). The general currency is also US Dollars, which makes things super handy. (Kinda reminds me of Cambodia.)
The general view from the lagoon side is gentle water laying on sandy beaches and flat coral shelves. One can look out to the north and see a nice piece of the southern atoll in the form of different islands and breaking waves defining the edge of the caldera still trying to poke its head out of the ocean. The lagoon side is very pleasant.
Getting Here and Away
I usually like to help people figure out how to get to different places. That being said, there are actually a bunch of ways to get to this part of the Marshall Islands. None of them will be helpful to anyone not traveling here for work.
The number one way is to fly United Airlines from either Honolulu of Guam. The Island Hoper route is a famous flight across the pacific and runs a semicircular route from Honolulu down and then up through Micronesia to Guam, where it turns around and runs the same route back to Hono. As I said above, it IS NOT cheap. Nor is it really super reliable.
This option is actually an idea many people might want to look into if they’re planning a little tropical island traveling. It’s not cheap, true, but it does get you some of the places you might want to go. If you go from the Guam side, it stops at some excellent tropical paradises and world class sites (Think Nan Madol).
Option two is to grab a flight from Majuro north on Air Marshall Islands. Getting to Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands is also problematic, so this probably won’t be cheap or easy. Air Marshall Islands is locally known as “Air Maybe” because if may fly and it may not. no way to really tell in advance. Frankly, not recommended unless you have time to kill.
Option three is to sail in. if you have the capabilities to undertake such an adventure, there are numerous other atolls in the immediate area that would provide worthy time spent. Obviously, if you’re not a sailor, this probably won’t be a good alternative.
Lastly, if you work for the US Government, there’s a space-A flight directly from the air force base in Hawaii to the island on a rotating schedule.
As with all of these options, the entire area is restricted, so if you aren’t already cleared to come here, or a native Marshall Islander, they’re not even going to let you on the planes. And, boating in unannounced is a BAD IDEA.
The ocean side of the atoll system is a rough-edged affair comprised mainly of a pronounced coral shelf transitioning to rocky surf lines where land still juts above the waves. Any part of the exposed land not actively maintained by people is overgrown by palm trees and thick jungle undergrowth. The oceanside is surf pounded and breezy.
The Headquarters
Normally, I have a section about where I’m staying and hotel options in the area. Don’t really need that part in this one. Suffice it to say that the digs are 2-star, at best.
Island Highlights
Even with the consideration that I refer to this place as a tropical hell, it does have a certain amount of charm. Like any adventure to any new destination, the enjoyment you find in your tropical island travel completely depends on how much effort you put into enjoying your life.
One would think that in a tropical paradise scuba diving or offshore fishing would be the number one non-work activities. Nope! Number one is, hands down, is boozing! Some form of recreational drinking is, by far, the number one activity across the islands. Sad, maybe, but true.
Now that that little gem is out of the way, we’ll get to the rest of the outdoorsy stuff. The four big tickets are scuba diving, Sport fishing, outdoor exercising (and exercising in general) and golf. Since I’m not really a triathlete or a fisherman, we’ll look at the other two.
The area encompassing the internal lagoon of the atoll has an amazing amount of World War Two wreckage to be viewed under the waterline. And since the area is off limits to anyone who doesn’t work here, there is almost no pressure on the underwater environment caused by the typical over-diving. The wrecks are intact and in great shape and the marine life is healthy and unbothered by mankind. It’s kind of refreshing, if you’re an avid diver.
A Japanese patrol boat sits on the shallow bottom of the near-shore lagoon in the same place where the US Navy sent her to the bottom. It’s a highly frequented dive site on the main island.
Up to the north end, A B25 Mitchell bomber sits on the sandy bottom of the lagoon looking as though it’s still ready of takeoff. The tail section looks funny in this picture because the disposal team that dumped it there also dumped a truck axle onto of it for a little final indignity.
Not far from the B25, An F4U Corsair sitting nose down in the sand. On a sunny day, the site is lit up quite nicely through the water column. This is what tropical island travel is supposed to be about.
Where the majority of the upper lagoon (above 130 FT) is generally a mix of sandy bottom and coral outcrops, the coral outcrops are the defining features and gather most of the marine life.
Moving up to dry land, there is your obligatory golf course which every 1950s military installation seems to possess. The main island course is a 9-hole affair, laid out in links style. If you want to play 18-holes, you have to play 9 on the main island and then get on a plane to the north end of the atoll to play the other 9-holes. I will say the country club at this end is intact and functioning quite well.
Final Thoughts
Okay, I admit that I complain a lot. Still, I think there is a comparison to be made here between the desert and the ocean. When I was working in the desert, you looked out through the fence lines on a magnificent sandy expanse which you couldn’t walk cross and escape. Here, you look out from the beach on a vast blueness that you can’t swim across and escape. It’s a wet desert. Though, the climate is significantly better.
If you’re looking for world class diving and have money burning a hole in your pocket, Micronesia has many, many opportunities available. If you need a place to chill for a year or so, and don’t mind being stuck, the Marshall’s are so bad, I guess. it’s some of the pros and cons of the tropical island travel scene.
Now that I think about it, there’s also that whole tramp steamer across the pacific thing that I haven’t tried yet. Maybe that’s the next idea?
The tranquil beachline of the northern atoll islands. This is probably what you’re thinking about when I say tropical island travel. It’s cool, it can be a nice place, at times.
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